Latest science news in Paleontology & Archaeology
Lice DNA Point to First Humans' Use of Clothing
Scientists Say Lice DNA Reveals When Humans First Clothed their Nakedness
The 'mad' Egyptian scholar who proved Aristotle wrong
Ibn al-Haytham's 11th-century Book of Optics, which was published exactly 1000 years ago, is often cited alongside Newton's Principia as one of the most influential books in physics. Yet very...
Some Ammonites Ate Plankton
Very cool new research on feeding in ancient ammonites! (Thanks to R. Olley for the link.) Ammonites, though not the direct ancestors of modern-day cephalopods, are their ancient cousins--and they...
Egypt threatens to remove ancient Central Park obelisk
Since 1881, the obelisk known as Cleopatra's Needle has stood in New York's Central Park, but a letter from the secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities threatens to...
Story tips from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory January 2011
FORENSICS -- The telltale bone Technology developed more than 100 years ago to wirelessly transmit electricity is being adapted to locate clandestine graves. Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Charles...
World Briefing | EUROPE: Italy: Pope Favors Design, Not Accident
Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday that God’s knowledge, love and “inexhaustible creativity” — not chance — lay at the origins of the universe.
Professor discovers hidden literary references in the Mona Lisa
Queen's University Classics professor emeritus Ross Kilpatrick believes the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, incorporates images inspired by the Roman poet Horace and Florentine poet...
Ancient oceans said toxic to evolution
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 6 (UPI) -- The Earth's ancient oceans became a toxic mix at one point that put the brakes on the evolution of early animals, a paper...
Observatory: Prehistoric Bird Used Wings as Weapon, Study Says
Researchers said the extinct, flightless bird, which came from Jamaica and belonged to the ibis family, used its wings as a powerful club.
Shell to face hearings on Nigeria work
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Officials with Royal Dutch Shell said they were invited before the Dutch Parliament to discuss ongoing concerns about activity in the oil-rich Niger...
Ancient squidlike creature's last meal revealed
Millions of years ago, a squidlike creature called an ammonite died with the remains of its last meal wedged between its teeth. Now, high-tech images reveal those remains and shed...
Mystery Bird: Dark-eyed junco, Junco hyemalis oreganus
This North American mystery bird species looks as though it's spent a little too much time in the snow!Leucistic form of the dark-eyed "Oregon" junco, Junco hyemalis oreganus, usually known as the Oregon...
Genes of an 18th century 'giant' could change the lives of 21st century patients
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry have found the underlying genetic change that caused an eighteenth century patient, known at the time as...
Mystery: Thousands of Dead Crabs Litter England's Beaches
About 25,000 of the crabs are piled along the rocky coastline.
Red Rocks of Nevada Smudged by Less Colorful Graffiti
Vandals have found the trails in Nevada and other western states that Indian tribes roamed as far back as the 10th century.
Deaths of birds and fish en masse stir end-times theories
Bizarre reports of washed-up fish and downed birds have many people scratching their heads, and jumping to conclusions. When the term "dead fish" became a top Google search Wednesday, soaring...
Sabre ramps up online travel battle with American
(AP) -- American Airlines was already in a fight with two relatively small online ticket sellers when on Wednesday it found itself in the ring with an 800-pound gorilla.
7,000-year-old timbers found beneath MI6 Thames headquarters
Archaeologists hail oldest wooden structure ever found on river, despite security services' armed response to researchersWhen MI6 set up home on the banks of the Thames one secret escaped its watchful eyes. The...
In Giant’s Story, a New Chapter on DNA
A 7-foot-7 Irishman famous in the 18th century may have had a mutation probably shared by 200-300 people today.
Pictures: "Bodies" Fill Underwater Sculpture Park
A new underwater sculpture garden off Mexico is to help lure tourists away from fragile natural reefs, says the project's creator.
Catfish study reveals multiplicity of species
Peer into any stream in a South American rainforest and you may well see a small shoal of similar-looking miniature catfish. But don't be fooled into thinking that they are...
Oceanic 'garbage patch' not nearly as big as portrayed in media
There is a lot of plastic trash floating in the Pacific Ocean, but claims that the "Great Garbage Patch" between California and Japan is twice the size of Texas are...
Modern dialect linked to ancient Greek
CAMBRIDGE, England, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- U.K. researchers say an endangered Greek dialect is a "linguistic goldmine" because of its closeness to ancient forms of the Greek language.
Facial Bone Structure Reveals Age
Your facial bones change as you age. But don't worry, plastic surgeons have a solution: Skeletal implants.
Genome of extinct Siberian cave-dweller linked to modern-day humans
Researchers have discovered evidence of a distinct group of 'archaic' humans existing outside of Africa more than 30,000 years ago at a time when Neanderthals are thought to have dominated...
Genetics Society of America Announces Travel Award Winners
The Genetics Society of America announces 10 recipients of the 2011 DeLill Nasser Awards for Professional Development in Genetics. Each winner will receive $1,000 (US) toward travel to...
In Brief: Human evolution and big babies
Ancient human ancestors (hominids) may have birthed larger babies and developed intense and shared styles of infant care--characteristics that distinguish humans from the great apes -- prior to the evolution...
New fossil site in China shows long recovery of life from the largest extinction in Earth's history
A major new fossil site in south-west China has filled in a sizeable gap in our understanding of how life on this planet recovered from the greatest mass extinction of...