Latest science news in Paleontology & Archaeology
The physics of Santa's sleigh
A North Carolina team of scholars takes a look at the aerodynamic and thermodynamic challenges of delivering toys, sorting out the naughty/nice list and handling the heat from all those...
DNA tests confirm a previously unknown hominid species
The species probably diverged from the Neanderthal line 350,000 years ago. Researchers believe they ranged widely throughout East Asia and interbred with humans in the South Pacific.After sequencing the DNA...
Chances vary for a white Christmas
Dreaming of a white Christmas? You are in luck, unless you live on either one of Canada's coasts.
Russian isotopes coming to Canada
Canada's first shipment of medical isotopes from Russia has been sent in hopes of making up some of the planned shortfall after next year's planned shutdown of an aging reactor...
Egypt accused on shark killings
The Egyptian authorities lift Red Sea diving restrictions, but environmental groups accuse them of killing sharks.
Video: Heavy Rain Wipes Out Calif. Neighborhoods
Residents of California have started digging out and cleaning up after seven days of pounding rain that wiped out entire neighborhoods and damaged hundreds of homes. Bill Whitaker reports.
Pterygotid sea scorpions: No terror of the ancient seas?
New experiments have generated evidence that questions the common belief that the pterygotid eurypterids ("sea scorpions") were high-level predators in the Paleozoic oceans.
Fossil find shows extinction recovery
LUOPING, China, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- A new fossil site in China is providing clues to how life on Earth recovered from one of the greatest mass extinctions in...
"Chilling" Child Sacrifices Found at Prehistoric Site
Eighty-two child victims of a "chilling" prehistoric bloodletting ritual have been discovered in Peru, a new study says.
Back to the Dead Sea: Climate change study digs into half a million years of history
A new study is digging underneath the Dead Sea to reveal the historical health of the planet through the last 500,000 years -- and to learn more about what climate...
Space Junk Rivals Weapons as a Major Threat
What began as a minor trash problem in space has now developed into a full-blown threat.
3D secrets of sea monster revealed
The UK’s most powerful CT scanner is helping to reveal the innermost secrets of a colossal sea monster skull that was recently unearthed in Dorset.
Gene study shows Neanderthals had eastern cousins
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - DNA from an ancient prehuman girl found in Siberia shows she was likely an eastern relative of Neanderthals and, like them, her species interbred with early modern...
The year in archaeology
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: The year's top developments in archaeology and anthropology range from the discovery of a Maya king's tomb to the decoding of the Neanderthal genome.
Urchin teeth suggest self-sharpening tools
MADISON, Wis., Dec. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say the trick sea urchins use to keep their teeth razor-sharp could lead to tools for humans that never need sharpening...
Firms look to up solar power presence in India
The Elephanta Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site off the coast of India's financial capital Mumbai, draw hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. But when the last of the...
Ancient human group identified by DNA
LEIPZIG, Germany, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Scientists say human fossils in Siberia have been identified as those of an ancient human group dubbed the Denisovans, cousins of the Neanderthals.
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...
Kayakers Recount Deadly Congo Crocodile Attack
Americans Describe how the 15-Foot, 2-Ton Croc that Killed Famed Outdoorsman Hendri Coetzee Seemed to Come Out of Nowhere
Discovery rekindles debate on origins of multi-cellular life
A recent discovery by a University of Florida geologist may lend support to the theory that one of the defining moments of evolution may not have occurred as currently thought.
DNA says new human relative roamed widely in Asia
Scientists have recovered the DNA code of a human relative recently discovered in Siberia, and it delivered a surprise: This relative roamed far from the cave that holds its only...
UK science journal publishes study by 8-year-olds
LONDON (AP) -- It came with wobbly writing and hand-drawn diagrams, but an elementary school science project has made it into a peer-reviewed journal from Britain's...
Save university arts from the bean counters
Scientists must reach across the divide and speak up for campus colleagues in arts and humanities departments, says Gregory Petsko.
New Year's Eve Tip from American Chemical Society Journal: Pour Champagne Down the Side of the Glass
Just in time for New Year's Eve, a study in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry may settle a long-standing disagreement over the best way to...
Learning from leftovers: A history drawn from turkey bones
Brooklynne Fothergill will have a very different view of Christmas dinner from most people, because the doctoral student is researching the history of turkey domestication by examining old turkey bones.
German publisher Springer unveils iPad-only project
The Axel Springer Academy, established by Germany's eponymous publishing group, said Wednesday it would create a magazine designed to be viewed exclusively on the Apple iPad.
Genetic weapon against bee killer
Researchers develop a genetic technique, which could revitalise the fight against the honeybee's worst enemy - the Varroa mite.
How penguins got their cold-weather coats
Those tuxedo-wearing birds that inhabit Earth's coldest continent may have evolved a means of retaining heat when they were still living in warm climates, scientists now suggest.