Latest science news in Paleontology & Archaeology
How sticky toepads evolved in geckos and what that means for adhesive technologies
Geckos are known for sticky toes that allow them to climb up walls and even hang upside down on ceilings. A new study shows that geckos have gained and lost...
UWE Bristol researcher plays key role in DNA bar-coding of native flowering plants in Wales
A researcher from UWE Bristol has contributed to a groundbreaking project that has succeeded in generating DNA barcoding for all the native flowering plants in Wales.
Tortoise George to be embalmed
Lonesome George, the giant Galapagos tortoise believed to be the last of his subspecies, is to be embalmed, Ecuadorian officials say.
Cambodia said vital to vulture survival
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, June 26 (UPI) -- Conservationists say Cambodia has become the last refuge for Southeast Asia's vultures facing a slide toward extinction across the continent.
Subway work unearths ancient road in Greece
(AP) Archaeologists in Greece's second-largest city have uncovered a 70-meter (230-foot) section of an ancient road built by the Romans that was city's main travel artery nearly 2,000 years...
Sri Lankan skeleton is 37,000 years old
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, June 25 (UPI) -- A skeleton found in an underground cave in western Sri Lanka is believed to be 37,000 years old, an official from the...
Remarkable Creatures: ‘Nature’s Masons’ Do Double Duty as Earth’s Storytellers
Tiny creatures called foraminifera helped to create the materials necessary for making some of the world’s spectacular monuments, and are also valuable in telling Earth’s history.
Mystery of the flatfish head solved
A new discovery describes a fossil fish, named Heteronectes (meaning "different swimmer") that was found in 50 million year old marine rocks from northern Italy. This study provides the first...
Mercury mineral evolution tied to Supercontinent assembly over last 3 billion years
Mineral evolution posits that Earth's near-surface mineral diversity gradually increased through an array of chemical and biological processes. A dozen different species in interstellar dust particles that formed the solar...
Missing Link For Wonky-Eyed Fish Discovered
A scientist has discovered the fossil that ties modern flatfish to their symmetrical ancestors.
Roman Icon Actually Younger Than the City
The finding quashes the belief that the sculpture was adopted by the earliest Romans.
The fantastic Dr Dee: angels, magic and the birth of modern science | Carole Jahme
As Damon Albarn's opera opens in London, Carole Jahme wonders why Dee has been written out of the history of scienceElizabethan England is enjoying a revival in the public imagination, with Shakespeare integral...
Creative individuals traveled to the south Swedish inland 9,000 years ago
Despite its good ecologic status, there were no permanent settlements in the south Swedish inland 9,000 years ago. Yet the [...]
The origin of artists: why humans should take credit for inventing art
Why are we Homo sapiens so keen to attribute the world's oldest cave art to Neanderthals when there's stronger evidence to suggest that art came from us?Why do Neanderthals so fascinate Homo sapiens?...
Complex thinking behind the bow and arrow
The bow and arrow have long been regarded as a possible indicator of culture in prehistoric times. Bows and arrows appear to have been in use for some 64,000 years,...
Richard Dawkins in furious row with EO Wilson over theory of evolution
Book review sparks war of words between grand old man of biology and Oxford's most high-profile DarwinistA disagreement between the twin giants of genetic theory, Richard Dawkins and EO Wilson, is now being...
Singles try to sniff out love at pheromone parties
Research shows humans can use scent to sort out genetic combinations that could affect offspring
Best Science Photos of the Week
Our White Marble? Stonehenge of Unity? A Shark Sanctuary? Take a peak at our picks for best science photos of the week.
Laser-scanning bot builds 3-D map of ancient Roman sewers
Roman archaeologists deployed a remotely controlled rover armed with a 3-D laser scanning system to help map and study one of the ancient city's little-appreciated features: Its sewers.
Life inside Rio's slum city
Life inside Rocinha - Rio de Janeiro's slum city
Dino Dealer Says He's Not a 'Smuggler,' Calls Fossil 'Political Trophy'
A Florida fossil dealer who restored a tyrannosaur says a dispute over it has cost his family greatly.
Ash tree pests spreading in Wisconsin
MILWAUKEE, June 22 (UPI) -- An invasive pest that has killed millions of ash trees in the eastern United States and Canada has been found in yet another Wisconsin...
What is that structure on ancient lake?
Archaeologists have unearthed the foundation of what appears to have been a massive, ancient structure, possibly a bridge leading to an artificial island, in what is now southeast Wales. The...
The Most Amazing Science Images of the Week, June 18-22, 2012
Glowing Jellies Part of the American Natural History Museum's "Creatures of Light" exhibit, the crystal jellyfish, Aequorea victoria, flashes green when it's touched. Read more here. AMNH This week we've got...
Disappearing grasslands: Scientists to study dramatic environmental change
The Earth's grasslands and savannas are experiencing a major transformation as woody plants, such as trees and shrubs, have begun to dominate arid lands around the globe. While ecologists document...
Rare rhino birth expected soon in Indonesia
A pregnant Sumatran rhinoceros is expected to give birth soon at a sanctuary in Indonesia, in a rare event that has only happened three times in the last century, experts...
Easter Island Mystery Solved? New Theory Says Giant Statues Rocked
How did ancient Polynesians move the stone giants? The answer may lie in the moai's pleasantly plump midsections.
Sage grouse could soon be extinct in Canada
The endangered sage grouse could disappear from Canada if the dramatic drop in its population documented by conservationists this spring continues.