Latest science news in Paleontology & Archaeology
Fossil challenges view of dinosaurs
TORONTO, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Dinosaurs did not spread throughout the world by fiercely overpowering other species but by a more stealthy and patient advance, North American scientists say.
Long-extinct passenger pigeon finds a place in the family tree
With bits of DNA extracted from century-old museum specimens, researchers have found a place for the extinct passenger pigeon in the family tree of pigeons and doves, identifying for the...
Key Reproductive Hormone in Oldest Vertebrate ID'd
A UNH professor of biochemistry and her colleagues have identified the first reproductive hormone of the hagfish - a gonadatropin -- representing a significant step toward unraveling the mystery of...
Footprint Fossils Offer Earliest Evidence of Dinosaurs’ Ancestors
The oldest known relatives of dinosaurs were the size of a house cat, walked on four legs and left footprints in the quarries in Poland about 250 million years ago,...
Study to reveal link between climate and early human evolution
Olduvai Gorge is a steep-sided ravine on the edge of the Serengeti Plain, East Africa, and is home to some of the world's most important fossil hominins. Geologists are...
Charlie the smoking chimp dies of old age
Charlie the smoking chimpanzee has died. A spokesman for the South African zoo where Charlie had been a fixture said the chimp died Tuesday, apparently of old age. Charlie was...
Shipwreck may yield secrets of antiquity
The examination of a Mediterranean shipwreck from the 4th century B.C. could shed light on ancient sea routes and trade, researchers say.
Genetics Influence Way You Shop, Study Concludes
Ever wonder why you prefer chocolate to vanilla, sci-fi movies instead of romantic comedies or jazz rather than rock?
Unmasking the matriarchs of thoroughbred racehorses
Thoroughbred racehorses have typically been associated with the highly-prized breeds of the Arabian Peninsula; but according to new research, their origins may be far more cosmopolitan than previously thought.
Hidden language found in India
A "hidden" language spoken by only about 1,000 people has been discovered in the remote northeast corner of India by researchers who at first thought they were documenting a dialect...
Honour for man who caught egg smuggler
A cleaner at Birmingham Airport has been rewarded for his part in catching a smuggler trying to take rare birds eggs out of the country.
Nuclear receptors reveal glimpses into the evolution of complexity
An international team of researchers charted the one billion year evolutionary course that a protein family followed, finding that today's novelty and complexity came about through many small changes.During my lifetime, science and...
'Enhanced ebooks' take giant book fair by storm
Is it a book? Is it a film? Is it a game? Or all three? Publishers and authors at the world's biggest book fair are battling to entice a new...
Neanderthals In Love? Four Stages Of Human Compassion Through Time
New research by archaeologists from the University of York says that Neanderthals were a lot more compassionate than their reputation as brutish cavemen.How do you chart the 'compassion' of early...
Hunting for gold with Chilean miners
The BBC's Tim Willcox visits a mine in Chile to see how self-employed miners earn a living by recovering gold.
Evolutionary tinkering produced complex proteins with diverse functions
By reconstructing an ancient protein and tracing how it subtly changed over vast periods of time to produce scores of modern-day descendants, scientists have shown how evolution tinkers with early...
Gem of an idea: A flexible diamond-studded electrode implanted for life
Diamonds adorning tiaras to anklets are treasures but these gemstones inside the body may prove priceless...
Teen drunkenness levels converge across cultures, by gender
In the past decade, cultural and gender-based differences in the frequency of drunkenness among adolescents have declined, as drunkenness has become more common in Eastern Europe and among girls and...
Neanderthals' Reputation Getting Makeover
In Latest Studies, Experts See Early Man as More Clever, Adaptable and Possibly Better Looking than Previously Thought
First dinosaurs walked on little cat feet
Tiny footprints from Poland show that the first dinosaurs were extremely small animals that walked on four legs — and probably only came to rule the world after a mass...
Video: Marine census uncovers new sea creatures
Scientists are cataloguing hundreds of thousands of species under the sea, and as NBC’s Peter Alexander reports, the findings are spellbinding. Take a look! (Today Show)
Previously unknown language identified
NEW YORK, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. field linguists working in the Himalayas say they've discovered something increasingly rare -- a language previously unknown to science.
Spain's Science Budget Proposal: Not as Bad as Feared, But Not Good
After weeks during which Spanish researchers fretted nervously about possibly significant cuts to their...
Fossilized Peru penguin provides evolutionary clues
LIMA (Reuters) - The preserved feathers and scales of a giant fossilized penguin discovered on Peru's central coast provide a glimpse of Peru's Eocene period, and how the species evolved...
Better Bricks Made Of Wool And Seaweed
Researchers have made environmentally-friendlier bricks that are also stronger than traditional ones. That is a big win for everyone. Untreated clay was one of the earliest building materials to be...
Roman remains at risk from Turkey's dam building
Conservationists argue that development of archeological site would be more beneficial than irrigation plansSeveral metres of sand now cover the second-century Roman baths at Allianoi, the largest in Asia Minor. The wall paintings...
Forget Big Asteroids: It's the Smaller Rocks That Sneak In and Blow Up
If you thought huge asteroids are Earth's biggest threat, think again. Small space rocks that explode may be a bigger problem.
Stepping stones through time
Stromatolites are the most ancient fossils on Earth, and these structures built by microbes can still be found forming today in various places around the globe. Although they provide a...