Latest science news in Paleontology & Archaeology
Study: Neanderthals left a genetic legacy
TEMPE, Ariz., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Neanderthals were not wiped out by modern human ancestors but more likely were integrated into the human gene pool thousands of years ago,...
Austrian man prepares to freefall from space - video
The Red Bull Stratos team have announced that they are moving into the final preparation phase for Baumgartner's attempt to break the 52-year-old record for the longest freefall jump from...
Pictures: Bird Mummies "Fed" After Death, Stuffed With Snails
Some of the millions of ancient Egyptian ibis mummies were "fed" after death, scans reveal—the better to live the afterlife.
Entire genome of extinct human decoded from fossil
Researchers have now been able to sequence the entire Denisova genome using 10 milligrams of a finger bone fragment that was found in the Denisova Cave in Southern Siberia. In...
Ancient seagrass holds secrets of the oldest living organism on Earth
It's big, it's old and it lives under the sea -- and now an international research collaboration has confirmed an ancient seagrass to hold the secrets of the oldest living...
Guinea Pigs Were Widespread as Elizabethan Pets
The tiny South American rodents were bred as pets throughout 16th- and 17th-century Europe, a new study suggests.
Invasive alien predator causes rapid declines of European ladybugs
A new study provides compelling evidence that the arrival of the invasive non-native harlequin ladybird (ladybug) to mainland Europe and subsequent spread has led to a rapid decline in historically-widespread...
Fortress is proof 'Hill of Jonah' was inhabited
Remains of thick stone walls uncovered recently atop a hill in Israel — where tradition says the prophet Jonah was buried — indicate the site was occupied during the time...
VIDEO: Skydiver: My mum's still scared
An Austrian adventurer planning the highest skydive in history has announced he will make the attempt later this year.
The Dead Outnumber the Living (Infographic)
Although some seven billion individuals are alive on Earth today, an estimated 100 billion more have inhabited the planet since the beginning.
The periodic table: a very short introduction [Book Review] | @GrrlScientist
A wonderful story about the history and evolution of the periodic table, including the close relationship between chemistry and physicsThe modern periodic table is basic to the sciences and is so familiar that...
Microscopic marvels captured on video
Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: What could be more wonderful than pictures of microscopic marvels? Brace yourself for some award-winning movies showing those marvels in action.
Strange Life Found in Underwater Caves
Studying these extreme microbes could shed light on evolution of life on Earth and other planets.
True history of Ferdinand Bol paintings revealed
For the past 100 years, four gigantic paintings have hung in the Peace Palace in The Hague. Together with a fifth painting in the State Room in Den Bosch they...
Clarity needed on use of chemical weapons, says UK report
A report examining the role of neuroscience research in military and civilian law enforcement contexts, led by a Queen Mary, University of London academic, has called on the government to...
Viking apocalypse linked to elite killers of the medieval world
A crew of Viking mercenaries – some of the fiercest and most feared killers in the medieval world – could be the occupants of a mysterious mass grave in the...
Nigeria lead poisoning 'worst in modern history': HRW
A lead poisoning epidemic in Nigeria's north that has killed 400 children and affected thousands is the worst in modern history, but cleanup has not even begun in many areas,...
Pictures: "Supergiant," Shrimp-Like Beasts Found in Deep Sea
"It's a mystery" why giant, shrimp-like animals found off New Zealand are nearly three times larger than other amphipods, experts say.
Our Amorphophallus Is Smaller, but It Stinks Like Its Big Cousin
The famed "corpse flower" plant - known for its giant size, rotten-meat odor and phallic shape - has a new, smaller relative: A University of Utah botanist discovered a new...
Observatory: Fossilized Skull of Giant Crocodile From Cretaceous
A partial skull from the Cretaceous period suggests that the crocodile had a bulging shield of thickened skin on its forehead and was considerably bigger than its modern counterpart.
Jurassic cricket's song recreated
The "love song" of a 165-million-year-old insect is recreated from a tiny and remarkably intact fossil, say scientists.
The right's stupidity spreads, enabled by a too-polite left | George Monbiot
Conservativism may be the refuge of the dim. But the room for rightwing ideas is made by those too timid to properly objectSelf-deprecating, too liberal for their own good, today's progressives stand back...
Jurassic Bug Sounds
At dusk, Archaboilus musicus sings in a Jurassic forest of Northwest China. The forest grew under humid conditions, probably close to the banks of a river and consisted primarily of...
New 'Doomsday Preppers' Show Highlights Extreme Survivalists
"Doomsday Preppers," a new show on the National Geographic Channel, profiles people who fear the coming apocalypse. Scholars say this phenomenon is on the rise.
Researchers revive the call of a Jurassic katydid
Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Researchers reproduce a katydid's call from 165 million years ago, based on an analysis of fossilized wings found in China.
Ocean Scientists Shed New Light on Mariana Trench
An ocean mapping expedition has shed new light on deepest place on Earth, the 2,500-kilometer long Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean. Using a multibeam echo sounder, scientists found...
How prejudice reveals the caveman in men
Like their cavemen ancestors who fought outsiders for land and potential mates, the modern guy still holds such prejudices against "outgroups," new research shows.
Pigeon deterrents: a question of chemistry
If you want your statues clean (and your pigeons healthy), you just need to make them of bronze laced with arsenicAs the heavens inevitably cover every mountain peak with snow, so do...