Latest science news in Paleontology & Archaeology
Earth's Original Ancestor Was 'LUCA'
Evolutionary geneticists have published a ground-breaking study that characterizes the common ancestor of all life on earth, LUCA (last universal common ancestor). Their findings show that the 3.8-billion-year-old organism was...
'Hobbit' fossils represent a new species, concludes University of Minnesota anthropologist
University of Minnesota anthropology professor Kieran McNulty (along with colleague Karen Baab of Stony Brook University in New York) has made an important contribution toward solving one of the greatest...
Polygamy, paternal care in birds linked to dinosaur ancestors
Sure, they're polygamous, but male emus and several other ground-dwelling birds also are devoted dads, serving as the sole incubators and caregivers to oversized broods from multiple mothers. It is...
VIDEO: Farmer Busted With Artifacts
A farmer in Italy uncovered hundreds of ancient artifacts—some perhaps 2,500 years old—but ran into trouble with police when he tried to sell some of them.
American Indian cremation pit found
Exposed by erosion at the edge of a crumbling bluff, the pit discovered beneath 2 feet of sandy dirt at first appeared to be a grave just long and deep...
Indonesia's "tree man" faces new operations
TANJUNG JAYA, Indonesia (Reuters) - An Indonesian man dubbed the "tree man" because of the gnarled warts all over his body said on Friday his condition had worsened again although...
Daddy day-care: dinosaur fathers guarded the eggs
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - You can call it dino daddy day-care. Scientists who examined the fossilized remains of three types of medium-sized dinosaurs found with large clutches of eggs have concluded...
New World post-pandemic reforestation helped start Little Ice Age
The power of viruses is well documented in human history. Swarms of little viral Davids have repeatedly laid low the great Goliaths of human civilisation, most famously in the devastating...
Inventor's 'refrigeration system' for planet shows promise, but scientists are skeptical
Ron Ace says that his breakthrough moments have come at unexpected times - while he lay in bed, eased his aging Cadillac across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge or steered a...
Male Dinosaurs May Have Been Babysitters
Those ferocious Hollywood meat-eating dinosaurs you’re used to seeing in the movies very possibly had a much softer side: the males might even have been sort of prehistoric babysitters, according...
Psychiatrists Revise the Book of Human Troubles
Psychiatrists are working on the fifth edition of a manual that is both medical guidebook and cultural institution.
Sketches found on back of da Vinci work
Researchers have found three previously unknown sketches on the back of a painting Leonardo da Vinci that may have been drawn by the Renaissance master.
Researchers Discover New Tooth Cavity Protection
Clarkson University researchers have discovered a new method of protecting teeth from cavities by ultrafine polishing with silica nanoparticles.
PHOTOS: Ancient Mass Graves, "Baby Bottles" Discovered
On Sicily, ten thousand ancient Greek graves have come to light. Among their contents: war dead and infants encased, womblike, in jars.
Dinosaur baby boom hit Cretaceous Korea
Cretaceous-era Korea was the site of a dinosaur baby boom that resulted in hundreds upon hundreds of dinos, ranging from giant plant eaters to bird-like, fleet-footed runners, two new studies...
Passage graves from an astronomical perspective
Passage graves are mysterious barrows from the Stone Age. New research from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen indicates that the Stone Age graves' orientation in the...
Dreaming of a green Christmas? Try these tips
When I was growing up in a small town in eastern Pennsylvania, I was horrified that my mother insisted on carefully opening Christmas packages so she could reuse the wrapping...
Ancient cemetery found in Syria
DAMASCUS, Syria, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Archaeologists have dug up a large ancient cemetery in the middle of the Syrian desert, providing a glimpse into life and death...
Why Did The London Millennium Bridge 'Wobble'?
A new study finally explains the Millennium Bridge 'wobble' by looking at how humans stay balanced while walking.
Short-armed raptor dino found in Argentina
An unusual raptor dinosaur found in Argentina is the largest of its kind found so far in the Southern Hemisphere, with awkwardly short arms that made it resemble a Tyrannosaurus,...
PHOTO IN THE NEWS: Potty-Mouth Dinosaur Had Weird Bite
Recently found fossils reveal that an ancient amphibian swung its head and upper jaw upwards to eat in an action much like raising a toilet seat.
Ancient Insect Hails From Sunken Island
The Lord Howe tree lobster is 13 million years older than the land on which it dwells
Study: Flora not flourishing in tropics
CALGARY, Alberta, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Canadian researchers say they've determined extinction risks for plants growing in the Earth's tropical regions are higher than previously thought.
Archaeologists unearth ancient Wari city
Researchers digging at the Cerro Patapo archaeological site in northern Peru have discovered the ruins of an entire city, which may provide the "missing link" between two ancient cultures.
News 2008: Prizewinners of the year
Medals, cash and fame rained down on the heads of prominent scientists in 2008. Ashley Yeager rounds up some of them.
Peter Singer: Mbeki and the tragic cost of ignoring scientific evidence
Peter Singer: Malicious or not, the former South African president's Aids policy is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths
VIDEO: Roast Guinea Pig for Christmas?
A local government in Peru is promoting roasted guinea pig for Christmas dinner instead of the traditional turkey or pork.
Simple soybean anything but - genetically, researcher says
(PhysOrg.com) -- Think humans are complex creatures? Consider the lowly soybean, said a Purdue University researcher. When it comes to genetics, the soybean plant is far more intricate than that...