Archeology and Paleontology
The human middle ear—which houses three tiny, vibrating bones—is key to transporting sound vibrations into the inner ear, where they become nerve impulses that allow us to hear. Embryonic and fossil evidence prove…
In egg-laying amniotes (reptiles, birds and monotremes), the developing embryo is tethered to a number of the extraembryonic membranes that deliver oxygen and nutrients and remove metabolic waste products throughout embryonic developmen…
Scientists recently announced the tantalizing discovery of ancient prokaryotic and algal cells - which may potentially still be alive - inside an 830-million-year-old rock salt crystal. Now, the researchers have spoken a li…
An incredible discovery has just revealed a potential new source for understanding life on ancient Earth. A team of geologists has just discovered tiny remnants of prokaryotic and algal life - trapped inside crysta…
Sometime around 14,000 years ago, the first humans crossed the Bering Strait to North America with canines, domesticated dogs they used for hunting, by their side. But long before the canines arrived here, there were…
A hybrid matter—an antimatter helium atom containing an antiproton, the proton's antimatter equivalent in place of an electron, has an unexpected response to laser light when immersed in superfluid helium, reports the ASA…
A gold-hilted dagger found in the tomb of King Tut surprised archaeologists when they discovered that it was made of a material forged in outer space. Now, two new studies are painting conflicting pictures of the origins of the …
When did populations of Homo sapiens first arrive in China and what happened when they encountered the Denisovans or Neanderthals who lived there? A new study in Nature by an international team of researchers opens a window into …
It had long been thought that the famous site of Stonehenge served as an ancient calendar, given its alignment with the solstices. Now, research has identified how it may have worked. New finds about the stone cir…
About 95 million years ago in what is now Australia, a massive crocodile relative clamped down with its powerful jaws on the small body of a dinosaur and gulped nearly all of it down in one mighty swallow. The cro…
Archaeologists have uncovered more than 20 new Terracotta Warriors, life-size figures built to protect the first emperor of China in the afterlife. The Terracotta army is thought to consist of 8,000 sculpted …
New research published today in the Journal of Archeaological Science Reports reveals how archeologists can determine when a pot was used by Romans as a portable toilet, known as a chamber pot. "Conical pots …
The age of the oldest fossils in eastern Africa widely recognized as representing our species, Homo sapiens, has long been uncertain. Now, dating of a massive volcanic eruption in Ethiopia reveals they are much older than pre…
