Early people weathered the Last Ice Age in the significantly cooler uplands of central Spain, eschewing the warmer coastlines, according to a new archaeological survey. Its findings counter the prevailing wisdom that hunter-gatherers stuck close to the Mediterranean and Atlantic shorelines of the Iberian Peninsula, which include modern-day Spain and Portugal.The relative scarcity of evidence for inland settlement is not because the sites themselves are scarce, a statement from the researchers sa ...read more

In a world marked by the constant hustle and bustle of urban life, there exist communities that defy the norms of settled existence, embracing a lifestyle that revolves around perpetual movement. These enigmatic groups, often called nomads, have a rich history of following traditional lifestyles, and many of them still live as nomads all around the world.What Are Nomads?Nomads are communities of people who continually move (usually seasonally) rather than live in a permanent settlement. Experts ...read more

This story was originally published in our Nov/Dec 2023 issue as "Blowing Smoke?" Click here to subscribe to read more stories like this one.If you were to drown in the Thames River in the late 18th century, your best chance of survival would be for a good Samaritan to pull you from the water and carry you to a receiving house outfitted with basic medical equipment — possibly even located in the pub you had just stumbled out of — established by the local life-saving organization, the Roya ...read more

At first, it seems ridiculous — serial killers "retiring." After all, murdering isn't a career. And don’t serial killers have an innate urge to kill, a need that is overwhelming, complete and doesn’t falter throughout their lives? The truth is that the urge to kill can come and go in a serial killer’s life due to many factors. A number of murderers have taken long breaks from killing or even have stopped altogether. The Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, for instance, appears ...read more

When someone nearby yawns, we often feel as if we've lost bodily control. Our jaws open involuntarily, overcome by some unseen force and compelled to mimic the gaping mouth in our midst. Merely thinking about yawning can cause you to yawn — an unrelenting problem for anyone pondering and writing about the subject.No one knows for sure what triggers this automatic (and often unconscious) response, but experts have proposed a few theories. Whether simultaneous yawning raises our collective aware ...read more

It's been 485 years since the last eruption at Italy's Campi Flegrei. As you might guess, a lot has changed. When Monte Nuovo formed in 1538, the population in and around Naples was a few hundred thousand people. Today, that number is closer to three million people. The 1538 eruption produced a small cinder cone in Pouzzuoli at the mouth of the Bay of Naples, burying parts of medieval villages. With increased restlessness under the Campi Flegrei, Italy has to contend with the fact that even a sm ...read more

With the gnawing emptiness that follows a skipped lunch, or a day of fasting in preparation for a big meal, you might wonder if that rumbling stomach of yours is actually capable of shrinking with hunger. After all, it sometimes feels like it.The idea that our stomachs can shrink is thrown around often, especially in the context of dieting to curb appetite or by medications promising weight loss. Sure, you can lose weight and body fat, but does that mean your stomach has changed sizes, too? To a ...read more

Women make up about a third of the workforce in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Though still underrepresented, women have made gains over the years and now comprise almost half of students earning STEM undergraduate degrees. But despite women's current struggles in pursuing STEM education and careers, historically, there have always been women who persevered in these areas. Marie Curie, Lise Meitner and Katherine Johnson are just a few. Anna Mani is another. As a pioneer ...read more

The human liver is renowned for its regenerative capabilities. Some researchers describe it as “one of the most amazing tissue injury response.” “Liver regeneration […] has fascinated clinicians, surgeons, and scientists who have observed this apparently supernatural process and studied its mechanisms for many years,” write a group of researchers in a 2019 paper. The not-so-supernatural process has cells called hepatocytes that split and proliferate in response to injury or loss. Even ...read more

It all started in the small town of Lyme, Connecticut. For years, doctors had been diagnosing children with a type of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis that had begun popping up in the area. But it wasn’t until 1975 that the condition was conclusively identified as something separate, and named after the town where it was first observed.In the decades since this discovery, the tickborne pathogen has spread to a number of new states and into Canada. In the U.S., Lyme disease is (by far) the most co ...read more