When imagining what archaeologists find during excavations of ancient human remains, we might think only of bones — dry, silent, and skeletal clues to our past. But under ideal conditions, internal organs can survive thousands of years as well, preserving biological data that bones alone can't reveal.Now, researchers at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Medicine have developed a groundbreaking method to extract and analyze proteins from ancient soft tissues. This new approach ...read more
Europa, a moon of Jupiter, has long been one of the most exciting targets in the search for life beyond Earth. Many scientists believe that an ocean lies below its icy surface, potentially hosting geologic activity capable of supporting life, but what happens on the moon’s seafloor is still largely a mystery. Although discussions on Europa are mostly centered around this hidden ocean, the shell of ice that envelops the moon has its own surprises. A study recently published in The Planetary Sc ...read more
For a few months of the year, the Alaskan Arctic becomes flooded with birds. From shorebirds to waterfowl, these avians arrive in the spring to breed, nest, and raise their young, and to take advantage of the ample plants and prey (invertebrates and other animals) that thrive in Alaska’s short summers. They do it today, and they did it around 73 million years ago, too. Documenting the earliest evidence ever discovered of birds breeding and nesting in the Arctic, a new study in Science describe ...read more
The Campi Flegrei (the Phlegraean Fields) area in Italy is no stranger to volcanic activity. One of the largest eruptions in the area took place around 40,000 years ago, covering the area in ash and blasting open a caldera 9 miles wide. A recent study in Communications Earth and Environment discusses another massive volcanic eruption that occurred in the area 109,000 years ago, known as Maddaloni/X-6. However, this area is now inhabited by about 400,000 people, and with an uptick in seismic act ...read more
From Hadrian’s Wall to the Great Wall of China, ancient fortified structures have been the subject of interest for centuries. When archaeologists come across these walls, they often categorize them as military structures used to defend and protect communities. A recently excavated wall in Mongolia is proving that the military assumption isn’t always true. The new study, published in Antiquity, suggests that this wall was an important part of frontier life and provides a more complex picture ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine