Latest science news in Paleontology & Archaeology
DNA study shakes up bird family tree
CHICAGO, June 28 (UPI) -- The Field Museum in Chicago said a massive study of bird genetics has completely redrawn the avian evolutionary tree.
Early origins of maize in Mexico
The ancestors of maize originally grew wild in Mexico and were radically different from the plant that is now one of the most important crops in the world. ...
VIDEO: Dinosaur Mummy's Meal Revealed
A fossilized dinosaur known as Leonardo has shed light on what Montana was like 77 million years ago—including what the duck-billed reptile ate.
Amazon Tribe Attacked by Masked Gunners
Footage released by human rights groups shows masked gunners opening fire on Makuxi Indians after the tribe tried to force a farming operation off a national Indian reserve. With video.
Museum confirms discovery of rare fossil
Scientists with the Virginia Museum of Natural History have confirmed the discovery of a 500 million-year-old fossil called a stromatolite.
Pumice As A Time Witness
Chemical fingerprints of volcanic eruptions and numerous pumice lump finds from archaeological excavations illustrate relations between individual advanced civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean. Thanks to new tests and to the...
New Fossils Of Extremely Primitive 4-Legged Creatures Close The Gap Between Fish And Land Animals
New exquisitely preserved fossils from Latvia cast light on a key event in our own evolutionary history, when our ancestors left the water and ventured onto land. Scientists have reconstructed...
Researchers Test Canine Tooth Strength for Clues to Behavior of Early Human Ancestors
Measuring and testing the teeth of living primates could provide a window into the behavior of the earliest human ancestors, based on their fossilized remains. Research funded by the National...
ER shut down at Tobique Valley Hospital
The Tobique Valley Hospital in Plaster Rock, N.B., is closing its emergency department and cancelling its in-patient service.
Pigs fed indoors differ from other pigs
UPPSALA, Sweden, June 26 (UPI) -- Swedish scientists say they've found pigs raised in indoor pens have different feeding patterns from those raised under more natural conditions.
Online Dating: Where Technology and Evolution Collide
When searching for a soul mate, you might think that the more options, the better. But the rise of technology - notably, the Internet - has thrown a...
PHOTOS: Midwest Floods' Animal Victims
Thousands of pets, pigs, deer, and other animals were left stranded or worse by floodwaters that rose to rooftops in some areas of the U.S. Midwest.
Dinosaur bone in New Zealand
A fossil hunter has discovered that one of the largest known dinosaurs, a titanosaurid, almost certainly roamed New Zealand about 80 million years ago.
Opinion: Life changes
If our grandmothers did not have such difficulty in facing the menopause why do modern women, questions Helen Lobato?
Climate change could kill Calif. plants
BERKELEY, Calif., June 25 (UPI) -- A University of California-Berkeley study contends climate change could prove deadly to two-thirds of California's native plants.
Spanish lawmakers boost ape rights
Spain's parliament voiced its support on Wednesday for the rights of great apes to life and freedom in what will apparently be the first time any national legislature has called...
Fishy Ancestors of Humans Surprisingly Diverse
The ancestors of the first four-legged land animals already showed signs of the group's trademark diversity, suggests a new fossil reconstruction of a transition species.
Texas-Size Asteroid Slammed Early Mars, Studies Say
A huge impact basin in the red planet's northern hemisphere could explain why the crust there is so much thinner than crust in the south, three new papers report.
Tropical habitats disappearing fast
A new literature review has found that tropical habitats are quickly disappearing, a loss that could result in ecological disasters such as flooding and famine.
Floods, droughts make mild diseases deadly: study
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Extreme floods and droughts brought on by climate change can turn normally harmless infections into significant threats, international researchers said on Tuesday.
Warming May Make 'Perfect Storm' of Disease
Now the first clear example of such a perfect storm of diseases has been discovered by an international team of scientists.
"Arab" Found in Danish Iron-Age Grave
DNA analysis of ancient Danish skeletons, including one with Arabian genes, suggests Scandinavians living 2,000 years ago were more diverse genetically than today, scientists say.
Ancient Eclipse Found in "The Odyssey," Scientists Say
A real-life solar eclipse has been "discovered" in Homer's epic, according to scientists who used clues from the poem and a simulation of ancient skies.
Cockroach bait kills multiple roach groups: study
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A single dose of a new insecticide killed cockroaches that ate it and other roaches that fed off their bodies, U.S. researchers said on Monday in findings...
Observatory: Calls From Crocodile Eggs Serve as Alerts
Baby crocodiles make noise even before they are introduced to the cold hard world.
Philadelphia Set to Honor Darwin and Evolution
In the long-running culture war between evolution and creationism, Philadelphia is firing the latest shot.
Ancient Giant Wombat Sex Differences Were Huge
Some weighed more than a pickup truck, others a small car. Despite their different sizes, Australia's ancient wombats belonged to a single species, a new study says.
New Orleans opens a bughouse
Ron Forman wants to change grown-ups' views of bugs and spiders from "ehttp://www!" to "cool!" After all, such critters clean the earth, pollinate plants and form a huge chunk of...