Latest science news in Paleontology & Archaeology
Disappearing Vowels 'Caught' On Tape In US Midwest
Try to pronounce the words "caught" and "cot." If you're a New Yorker by birth, the two words will sound as different as their spellings. But if you grew up...
First Detailed Documentation Of Tsunami Erosion
For the first time, a group of scientists working in the Kuril Islands off the east coast of Russia has documented the scope of tsunami-caused erosion and found that a...
Why we carve pumpkins, not turnips
Big orange veggies are pretty strange as far as holiday symbols go, but there are actual historical reasons that we carve pumpkins every Halloween.
Canary Islands: Wetter 50,000 years ago
DALLAS, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say fossil land snail shells found on the subtropical eastern Canary Islands suggest that area was much wetter in the past.
Top 10 Mysteries of the First Humans
Humans are unique among life on this planet, and much remains a mystery as to how we evolved.
Charles Darwin really did have advanced ideas about the origin of life
When Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species 150 years ago, he deliberately avoided the subject of the origin of life. This, coupled with the mention of the 'Creator' in...
Fossilised skull of 'sea monster' pliosaur found on Dorset coast
Ferocious prehistoric predator's skull is 2.4 metres and could belong to creature measuring up to 16 metres in length The fossilised skull of a "sea monster", which may be the largest of its type...
Wolves lose their predatory edge in mid-life, new U of Minnesota study shows
Although most wolves in Yellowstone National Park live to be nearly six years old, their ability to kill prey peaks when they are two to three, according to a study...
Ancient 'monster' insect offers Halloween inspiration
Just in time for Halloween, researchers have announced the discovery of a new, real-world 'monster' - what they are calling a 'unicorn' fly that lived about 100 million years ago...
Secrets In A Seed: Clues Into The Evolution Of The First Flowers
Researchers have explored a piece of Darwin's "abominable mystery" -- how flowering plants originated, rapidly diversified, and rose to dominance -- by exploring the microscopic anatomy of seed development in...
Three dino types may be just three dino ages
New study suggests three dinos groups are actually one group at different growth stages
Comets Didn't Wipe out Sabertooths, Early Americans?
A cold snap that killed off much of North America's wildlife and early humans about 13,000 years ago was not caused by a comet impact as previously suggested, scientists say.
Earliest Apelike Human Ancestor Disproved?
Though small enough to fit in your hand, a prehistoric animal has been long been seen as proof that apes and humans arose in Africa. But a new study says the creature...
Mom Likes Me Best: Egg Size Predicts Offspring Survival
While comedian Tommy Smothers always told his brother, "Mom always liked you best," a study by biology researchers at North Dakota State University, Fargo, and Iowa State University, Ames,...
New American Chemical Society podcast: Tiny sea creature and a new medical adhesive
Scientists questing after a long-sought new medical adhesive describe copying the natural glue secreted by a tiny sea creature called the sandcastle worm in the latest episode in the American...
Like a hungry teen, life on Earth had big growth spurts
Twice in the Earth's history, living creatures underwent astonishing growth spurts, and each time, new organisms emerged that were a million times larger than anything that had existed before.
No such thing as a break in a curveball?
The answer to the question of whose curveball breaks harder -- that of the Yankees' A.J. Burnett or the Phillies' Cole Hamels -- may be neither.
Novel Evolutionary Theory For The Explosion Of Life
The Cambrian Explosion is widely regarded as one of the most relevant episodes in the history of life on Earth, when the vast majority of animal phyla first appear in...
Unique Partnership Creates First Research Park in Central Texas
A symbolic shift from 20th century manufacturing to 21st century technology took place today with the announcement of plans to turn a long-shuttered manufacturing plant into a modern research collaborative.
Zink: A Modern Fairy Tale
A magical new technology has arisen from Polaroid's ashes: inkless printing with colorless color.
ARVO Foundation and Pfizer Ophthalmics Honor Carl B. Camras with Translational Research Award
The ARVO Foundation for Eye Research (AFER) and Pfizer Ophthalmics are pleased to announce a series of awards named in honor of Carl B. Camras, MD. Up to three awards...
Western Diet Fuels Spike In Blood Pressure Of Canada's Inuit
A move from a traditional diet to the sodium-laden Western diet is fueling a spike in the blood pressure of the Inuit in Canada's North, researchers have found.
NZ quails came from Australia
A researcher has confirmed that a New Zealand Island dwelling quail came from Australian and is not remnant of an extinct New Zealand species.
At Ur, Ritual Deaths That Were Anything but Serene
Archaeologists said human sacrifices in ancient Mesopotamia might have involved sharp instruments rather than poison.
UCLA historian attempts to revive reputation of Union general, Reconstruction president
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a new book, UCLA historian Joan Waugh argues that Ulysses S. Grant deserves to be remembered with as much reverence and gratitude as Abraham Lincoln.
Volcanoes played pivotal role in ancient ice age, mass extinction
Researchers here have discovered the pivotal role that volcanoes played in a deadly ice age 450 million years ago.
Geologist analyses earliest shell-covered fossil animals
The fossil remains of some of the first animals with shells, ocean-dwelling creatures that measure a few centimetres in length and date to about 520 million years ago, provide a...
Paint 'to thwart chemical attack'
Scientists are planning to develop a paint coating for military vehicles which would soak up a chemical warfare agent and then decontaminate itself.