Newsdesk Archive
Venus and Earth seem like twins who, through dramatically different circumstances and choices, ended up leading dramatically different lives. The research has been published in Nature Geoscience.
Ketamine treatment not only alleviates symptoms of treatment-resistant depression but also enhances social pleasure and empathetic behaviors, according to new research published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Some with terminal cancer have said psilocybin helped them confront death. But how that happens is still unclear
The 700,000-year-old fossilized remains belonged to Homo floresiensis, an extinct species of exceedingly small humans that once inhabited Flores, an island south of mainland Indonesia, according to a study published Tuesday (Aug. 6) in the journal Nature Communications.
Markings on a stone pillar at a 12,000-year-old archaeological site in Turkey likely represent the world's oldest solar calendar, created as a memorial to a devastating comet strike, experts suggest. The research was published in Time and Mind.
But now, in a study published in July in the journal Science, researchers suggest Homo sapiens migrated from the African continent in several waves, interbreeding with Neanderthal populations as early as 250,000 years ago.
Researchers using the Gaia space telescope studied some ancient stars near the sun, revealing that our corner of the Milky Way may be billions of years older than once thought. See their findings in the pre-print arXiv server earlier this year.
A small team of archaeologists in the Republic of Türkiye has identified a woman who was buried approximately 12,000 years ago in a neolithic settlement now called Çemka Höyük as a possible shaman. Their paper has been published in the journal L'Anthropologie.
Researchers from the UAB and the University of Zaragoza who have carried out the first extensive excavation campaign of the Huerto Raso site (Huesca) have made new discoveries that reinforce the hypothesis of its occupation during the ancient Neolithic, more than 7,000 years ago.
Researchers say they've recovered one of the world's oldest known dinosaurs after heavy rains exposed a Herrerasaurid skeleton in southern Brazil.
Every now and again, our planet ponies up a fossil so spectacular that almost all you can do is gape in wonder. The research has been published in Nature.
Archaeologists in Turkey have discovered and deciphered a 3,500-year-old clay tablet, finding that it details a shopping list for a "large amount" of furniture that's not so different from today's inventory.
Indigenous peoples in South America – primarily in Peru, Brazil and other parts of what is considered the Upper Amazon – have been using ayahuasca for medicinal and religious purposes since at least 900 B.C.E. Hieroglyphic paintings depict the use of the sacred brew in a ceremony from the period of 900-250 B.C.E. Western interest in ayahuasca, however, has created some challenges for local Indigenous communities.
Known as the Pyramid of Djoser, the six-tiered, four-sided step pyramid was built around 4,700 years ago on the Saqqara plateau, an archaeological site in northern Egypt, according to research posted to ResearchGate on July 24. The research has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
The "Pyramid of the Moon" at Teotihuacán, the site of an ancient city near modern-day Mexico City, is aligned with the sun on the summer and winter solstices, a research team in Mexico says. However, not all experts agree with the assessment. The team is writing a book that will include the results of their research. Additionally, they have released a documentary on their findings.
Until now, scientists broadly accepted animals first emerged on Earth 635 million years ago. But a team, led by Cardiff University, has discovered evidence of a much earlier ecosystem in the Franceville Basin near Gabon on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa over 1.5 billion years earlier. Their study is presented in Precambrian Research.
Mark Twain wrote that “Man is the only animal that blushes – or needs to”. New research seems to have proved him wrong, however, with the discovery that hens have the capacity to blush and use other forms of facial expression.
Recent studies led by the University of Melbourne have revealed that the Palawa people's ancient land stewardship techniques have profoundly shaped the landscape of western Lutruwita, within the traditional territories located in Tasmania. The research, published in Quaternary Science Reviews...
New research has found that psilocybin reduces alcohol consumption in rats by altering specific brain pathways, particularly in the left nucleus accumbens...The study has been published in the journal Brain.
Chugging quietly away in the dark depths of Earth's ocean floors, a spontaneous chemical reaction is unobtrusively creating oxygen, all without the involvement of life. This unexpected discovery upends the long-standing consensus that it takes photosynthesizing organisms to produce the oxygen we need to breathe. This research was published in Nature Geoscience.
Sites at in the Baza basin in Granada have yielded ancient human remains since at least the 1980s. A new study, published in the Earth-Science Reviews journal, provides evidence that these are the earliest known hominids to have made it to Europe.
So much is still unknown about consciousness, nevermind whether brain organoids will achieve it, explains a leading neuroscientist.
In May 2020, as part of a legally permitted expansion of an iron ore mine, Rio Tinto destroyed an ancient rockshelter at Juukan Gorge in Puutu Kunti Kurrama Country in the Pilbara region of Western Australia...The full results of the excavation are published for the first time in Quaternary Science Reviews.
A study by ANU highlights a 42,000-year-old human settlement in Indonesia’s Tanimbar islands, offering insights into the advanced maritime technology and migration strategies of early humans in Southeast Asia.
Hot enough to melt metal and blanketed by a toxic, crushing atmosphere, Venus ranks among the most hostile locations in the solar system. But astronomers have reported the detection of two gases that could point to the presence of life forms lurking in the Venusian clouds.
The discovery of butchered bones belonging to a glyptodont, a giant relative of the armadillo, suggests that humans were living in Argentina 20,000 years ago. See the study here.
A new study examines fossil teeth of the Taung Child to hone in on its age...In the century since the Taung Child was found and described, a great debate has developed about the geological ages of the Australopithecus fossils found at Sterkfontein as well as those from Taung and a third site, Makapansgat.
In 2029, an asteroid larger than the Eiffel Tower will skim past Earth in an event that until recently scientists had feared could foreshadow a catastrophic collision. Now, researchers hope to scrutinise 99942 Apophis as it makes its close encounter in an effort to bolster our defences against other space rocks
Indigenous leaders denounce a “spiritual extractivism” of the psychedelic plant taking place and warn about the impacts of its exploitation on the forest and traditional knowledge.
The hunt for alien civilisations may be entering a new era, researchers believe. Scientists with Breakthrough Listen, the world’s largest scientific research programme dedicated to finding alien civilisations, say a host of technological developments are about to transform the search for intelligent life in the cosmos.
Archaeologists in Campeche, Mexico, have found an underground structure beneath a Maya ball court, as well as offerings on top of a Maya pyramid at another site.
In a new study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, scientists have used sophisticated imaging techniques to explore the neural underpinnings of these eyes-closed visual experiences, offering new insights into visual perception and imagery.
Archaeologists have uncovered one of the earliest Christian buildings in the Arabian Gulf—the first physical evidence of a long-lost community.
Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia have excavated eight ancient "standing stone circles" that they say were used as homes. About 345 of these structures were identified through aerial surveys across the Harrat 'Uwayrid, a lava field near the city of AlUla in northwestern Saudi Arabia, the team reported July 2 in the journal Levant.
A study led by researchers from the UAB and the CSIC has revealed that the earliest Neolithic groups to settle some 7,000 years ago in the Pyrenean site of Coro Trasito (Tella, Huesca) used species selection strategies to manufacture their tools made out of bone and chose deer for the projectile tips.
Neanderthals and modern humans had a fascinatingly intertwined past. We know, from studies of our own DNA, that when the paths of the two species crossed, things could get more than a little steamy. The research has been published in Science.
This year, the famous festival Hayes Pavilion showcased seaweed bioplastic, proving biomaterials can create functional, sustainable structures for events and inspire eco-conscious design.
A recent study on mice found that administering cannabidiol helped extinguish the preference for cocaine. It also restored gut microbiota diversity disrupted by cocaine. The research was published in Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry.
This, the team says, opens up a new way to explore the properties of time crystals, as well as phenomena such as quantum fluctuations, correlation, and synchronization – an important factor in designing quantum computers.
Utilizing the in-house developed ArchCUT3-D software, which allows a computational analysis of the three dimensional traits of rock engravings, the research showcases an innovative approach that provides new insights into the production processes and cultural significance of engravings found in Timna Park, southern Israel.
Because of the dramatic shifts in the global climate which led to the thawing at the end of the Ice Age, many scientists have argued that climate change must have been the primary driver of the megafauna extinctions...the authors of the new study say that the climatic impacts can’t account for the scope of the megafauna losses.
In a study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, archaeologists from Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Pittsburgh and their colleagues report the largest and most extensively dated archaeobotanical record from interior East Africa.
The temple site, which is located in the Zaña (also spelled Saña) district of northwestern Peru, is part of the Los Paredones de la Otra Banda-Las Ánimas Archaeological Complex, according to a translated statement from the Peruvian Ministry of Culture
According to data from the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes, the origins of the free-flying photons in the early cosmic dawn were small dwarf galaxies that flared to life, clearing the fog of murky hydrogen that filled intergalactic space. A new paper about the research was published in February.
A chance encounter in remote Australia, and years of painstaking analysis has pushed back evidence for the start of complex life on the planet by 750 million years.
T Coronae Borealis, or the Blaze star, was last seen in 1946 and will be visible again some time between now and September.
Scientists have found a surprising connection between dinosaurs and ancient grapes. Fossilised seeds found in Central and South America hint that the mass extinction at the end of the “Age of Dinosaurs” might have created the conditions for ancient grapes to spread. See the study published in the journal Nature Plants.
To date, little has been known about people living in north-western Saudi Arabia during the Neolithic...Now, an Australian-led team has released new research in the journal Levant on monumental buildings we call "standing stone circles."
In a paper published in the journal Mycologia this week, researchers from Stellenbosch University (SU) and citizen mycologists describe the two new species as Psilocybe ingeli and Psilocybe maluti.
Archaeologists have unearthed what may be Europe's largest prehistoric burial mound ahead of excavations beside a highway in the Czech Republic. The structure is thought to be made by the people behind the Neolithic Funnel-Beaker culture.
A giant 280m-year-old salamander-like creature that was an apex predator before the age of the dinosaurs has been discovered by fossil hunters in Namibia.
Gilligan is the lead author on a review paper in Science Advances that argues eyed needles, which emerged in the Palaeolithic era about 40,000 years ago, are a signal that clothing had become about more than just keeping warm
Denisovans survived and thrived on the high-altitude Tibetan plateau for more than 100,000 years, according to a new study that deepens scientific understanding of the enigmatic ancient humans first identified in 2010.
The oldest example of figurative cave art has been discovered in the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi by Australian and Indonesian scientists. The painting of a wild pig and three human-like figures is at least 51,200 years old, more than 5,000 years older than the previous oldest cave art.
It sounds like a scene from a Spielberg film: an injured worker undergoes an emergency amputation, performed by one of her colleagues, allowing her to live another day. But this is not a human story – it is behaviour seen in ants.
Researchers in partnership with the GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) unearthed evidence of rituals dating back 12,000 years ago in caves in southeastern Australia. The archaeological find, published on July 1st in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, is from when the last Ice Age ended.
An archeological team in Venezuela has discovered 20 rock art sites that date back thousands of years in Canaima National Park, in the southeastern part of the country.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow in the UK have now used statistical modeling techniques borrowed from the study of gravitational waves to extrapolate missing details of a critical dial on Antikythera mechanism.The research has been published in The Horological Journal.
Researchers continue to expand the case for the Younger Dryas Impact hypothesis. The idea proposes that a fragmented comet smashed into the Earth's atmosphere 12,800 years ago, causing a widespread climatic shift that, among other things, led to the abrupt reversal of the Earth's warming trend and into an anomalous near-glacial period called the Younger Dryas. See the study here.
Scientists hope wealth of prehistoric material in Wogan Cavern in Wales is well preserved enough to reveal what really happened to our most ancient ancestors
A new study challenges the theory that dinosaur fossils inspired the legend of the mythological creature, the gryphon.
A new study challenges this narrative of ecocide, saying that Rapa Nui's population never spiraled to unsustainable levels. Instead, the settlers found ways to cope with the island's severe limits, and maintained a small, stable population for centuries.
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) can leave a significant and lasting impression on those who go through them, and can also boost feelings of empathy towards others, according to a new survey.
The discovery offers a glimpse into the Earth's history and hints at how extreme climate change could alter the planet, according to their findings, published June 5 in the journal Science Advances.
A modest, open-air pit in central France tells a story of family: a grandmother, her son, and her grandson, as well as four other people, all buried together in the same grave over the course of decades, about 4500 years ago.
Details of an ancient cousin of modern-day mammals are being revealed for the first time. Hi-tech scanning of an ancient fossil, which was captured in sandstone around 252–254 million years ago, is giving experts valuable insight into the animal's anatomy and evolution. The study, published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
A recent study published in the European Journal of Neuroscience provides new insights into how 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy or molly, affects the brain’s processing of emotional stimuli.
The Acropolis of Athens, the rocky hill in the Greek capital that is home to the iconic Parthenon temple, is one of the world's most visited and well-known archaeological sites—but new insights about it are still emerging. A new publication in the American Journal of Archaeology...tells a historical detective story of a lost temple on the site of the Parthenon. It all began with the discovery of ancient graffiti.
A recent study published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging has revealed that psilocybin can induce a state of hyperconnectivity in the brain. This heightened brain connectivity is linked to profound changes in perception and a sense of unity with the universe, which many users describe as mystical experiences.
An international team of scientists has identified the oldest fossil of a sea-going reptile from the Southern Hemisphere—a nothosaur vertebra found on New Zealand's South Island. 246 million years ago, at the beginning of the Age of Dinosaurs, New Zealand was located on the southern polar coast of a vast super-ocean called Panthalassa.
This phenomenon happens roughly every 11 years and marks an important stage in the solar cycle. The shift in polarity indicates the halfway point of solar maximum, the height of solar activity, and the beginning of the shift toward solar minimum.
Older individuals who have used psychedelics tend to exhibit better cognitive functioning and fewer depressive symptoms compared to those who have not, according to new research published in Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine. However, psychedelic usage was not linked to improvements in episodic memory.
Charles Darwin enjoys a near god-like status among scientists for his theory of evolution. But his ideas that animals are conscious in the same way humans are have long been shunned. Until now.
A joint study...yields the first direct proof of the consumption and processing of dairy products in the Pyrenees already at the start of the Neolithic period, approximately 7,500 years ago, as well as the consumption of pig. The results lead to doubts about the belief that these products were first used much later in the Pyrenean mountain range.
A leap in stone tool complexity in the fossil record suggests hominin knowledge underwent a sudden increase around 600,000 years ago, helping explain how modern humans and our ancestors became expecially proficient at adapting to new environments. This research was published in PNAS.
Genetic studies are revealing ever more about the links between modern humans and these long-gone relatives – most recently that a rush of interbreeding between our species occurred in a relatively short burst of time around 47,000 years ago. But one mystery still remains.
Excavation of the layered sediments at Avon Downs reveals a long history of raw stone extraction and tool making. In the short period of our study, we recorded about 1,500 stone artifacts on the surface and under the ground. Details of the findings can be found d here in the newly published research.
Archaeologists in Spain have discovered a unique tablet containing ancient drawings that depict Tartessian battle scenes and an alphabet.
A recent study published in iScience suggests that psilocybin does not impair learning and may enhance exploratory behavior. The study marks the first investigation into how psilocybin influences reinforcement learning, a type of learning based on rewards and cues.
A research team led by Prof. Zhang Xiaoling from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, published a paper entitled "The Earliest Evidence for a Microblade Adaptation in the Remote, High Altitude Regions of the Tibetan Plateau" in Science China Earth Sciences.
According to a new analysis of ancient DNA led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, the chosen victims have something in common.
Astronomers have captured what appears to be a snapshot of a massive collision of giant asteroids in Beta Pictoris, a neighboring star system known for its early age and tumultuous planet-forming activity.
Greece's Culture Ministry said Tuesday that the structure is a "unique and extremely interesting find" from Crete's Minoan civilization, famous for its sumptuous palaces, flamboyant art and enigmatic writing system.
A mysterious Bronze Age wooden circle known as "Seahenge" on England's east coast was built more than 4,000 years ago in an effort to bring back warmer weather during an extreme cold spell, a new study suggests.
Thin dusting of water ice appears to form overnight in summit craters and evaporate after sunrise, scientists say
The universal equation has been shown to accurately predict the flapping frequency of birds, insects and even long-extinct prehistoric creatures like the flying reptiles, pterosaurs. It even translates to the flapping flippers of swimming creatures like whales and penguins. The study is published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.
Mysterious dark matter could slosh over our planet like a wave. If it does, it may produce telltale radio waves in Earth's atmosphere, new theoretical research suggests.
In the East Siberian Arctic (>70 °N), there is not only evidence of significant woolly mammoth populations, but also how humans interacted with them, the focus of new research in Quaternary Science Reviews.
Elephants call out to each other using individual names that they invent for their fellow pachyderms, a study said on Monday.
A new dating technique is used to more accurately estimate time differences between Paleolithic-age hearth fires. In a paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes how their new dating technique works, its accuracy range, and what their findings reveal about Neanderthals living in a river valley in what is now Spain approximately 50,000 years ago.
Psychedelic experiences can lead to a reduction in death anxiety, potentially through altering an individual’s metaphysical beliefs, according to new research published in the journal Death Studies.
Neanderthal genes seen in modern humans may have entered our DNA through an interval of interbreeding starting about 47,000 years ago that lasted nearly 7,000 years, new research finds.
Earth's largest remaining tract of tropical rainforest is kept alive by a complex water cycle that we're only just beginning to understand. Yet our activities are changing it before we can see the full picture, a new report finds.
In a decision that shocked some observers, key advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted that the effectiveness of the party drug MDMA for treating post-traumatic stress disorder is unproven.
Details of the “highly unusual” neutron star’s discovery is published in Nature Astronomy. There have been more than 3,000 radio-emitting neutron stars discovered. The newly found star’s spin is well outside what astrophysicists predict of neutron star behaviour.
New research led by geologists at Western Australia’s Curtin University provides evidence that fresh water emerged on Earth about 4 billion years ago – half a billion years earlier than previously thought. The study is published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Archaeologists have fully mapped a series of ancient rock art in Venezuela and Colombia, including the world's largest monumental engraving, using photography and drone footage. The study was published on Tuesday (June 4) in the journal Antiquity.
Researchers have explored how the River Nile evolved over the past 11,500 years and how changes in its geography could have helped shape the fortunes of ancient Egyptian civilisation. The research is published in Nature Geoscience.
Image by: Marc Ryckaert (MJJR - Wiki Commons)
An uncle and nephew buried in two of the richest burial mounds, along with evidence of first-cousin inbreeding, point strongly toward matrilineal dynasties of elite power, according to the study, which was published Monday (June 3) in the journal Nature Human Behaviour
New research published in the journal Science Advances might explain the Earth-shaking processes that led to the end-Cambrian mass extinction.