There’s a lot in our lives today that traces back to ancient Greece and the other cultures of the Aegean: our politics and philosophy, our art and architecture, and, apparently, our lead pollution. That’s according to a study of sediment cores from in and around the Aegean Sea, which found the earliest-known evidence of human-caused contamination from lead, and tied it to the area’s inhabitants around 5,200 years ago. Published in Communications Earth & Environment, the study also iden ...read more
Romantic breakups really can go right to one’s head — more specifically, to one’s hippocampus.That part of the brain, which helps control memory and regulate emotion, tends to be smaller in people who’ve both experienced childhood trauma, then lived through the end of a long-term relationship once they are older, according to a study in the European Journal of Neuroscience.How Trauma Impacts the BrainA smaller hippocampus is a hallmark of many mental disorders. Although childhood mistrea ...read more
Researchers have identified a new form of zombie fungus that is infecting spiders in Irish caves. According to the study published in Fungal Systematics and Evolution, the spider species were found in different “ecological niches within the caves.”While filming a BBC nature program — Winterwatch — the crew came across a spider infected with a fungus. The white fungus looked like frost or coral had grown from the spider’s body. Now, after further study, researchers have identified it a ...read more
In southern Mexico, remote sensing technology has recently provided a snapshot of a 15th century archaeological site in its heyday, revealing a bustling city built by the pre-Columbian Zapotec culture. The site, known as Guiengola, was initially thought to be a fortress occupied by soldiers, but one researcher has found that it was actually an entire city complete with a network of internal roads and amenities like temples and ballcourts. The updated perspective of Guiengola, featured in a Nove ...read more
Centuries of votive offerings cast into a lake in Denmark and other archaeological discoveries have revealed that barbarian warriors may have indulged in psychotropic drugs to stimulate themselves during battle against the Romans and other enemies.These warriors may have used small spoons — dozens of which have been discovered attached to Barbarian belts — to ingest or measure magic mushrooms, an organic precursor for LSD or other substances.“The lack of fatigue or inhibition, and the mobi ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine