Humans news stories

Scientists dive deep into Reddit data to decode the mysterious familiarity experienced in DMT trips
24th September 2023 | psypost.org | Humans, Misc.

A recent study, published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, delves into the mysterious world of DMT (dimethyltryptamine) experiences reported on Reddit. Researchers sought to understand the profound sense of familiarity that some users encounter during DMT-induced experiences and the potential implications of this enigmatic phenomenon.

Bronze Age hexagonal ‘pyramid’ not like anything ‘found before in the Eurasian steppe
24th September 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Archaeologists in Kazakhstan have discovered a 3,800-year-old hexagon-shaped structure that they describe as a “pyramid.” The maze-like structure is not as tall as Egypt’s monuments, but currently stands about 10 feet (3 meters) high and likely served as an elite burial site.

Science paints a new picture of the ancient past, when we mixed and mated with other kinds of humans
24th September 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

In recent years, researchers have gained the power to pull DNA from ancient hominins, including our early ancestors and other relatives who walked on two legs. Ancient DNA technology has revolutionized the way we study human history and has quickly taken off, with a constant stream of studies exploring the genes of long-ago people.

Scientists excited to find ocean of one of Jupiter’s moons contains carbon
22nd September 2023 | theguardian.com | Humans, Space

The vast subterranean ocean of Europa, one of Jupiter’s many moons, contains carbon, one of the crucial ingredients for life, scientists have discovered.

Ancient Amazonians intentionally created fertile ‘dark earth’
21st September 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Earth, Humans

A study led by researchers at MIT, the University of Florida, and in Brazil aims to settle the debate over dark earth’s origins. The team has pieced together results from soil analyses, ethnographic observations, and interviews with modern Indigenous communities, to show that dark earth was intentionally produced by ancient Amazonians as a way to improve the soil and sustain large and complex societies.

Cup crafted from prehistoric human skull discovered in cave in Spain
21st September 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

A new study suggests that Spain’s ancient peoples shared complex beliefs about death and the afterlife. The research has been published in PLOS One

Evidence of a Wooden Structure That Predates Our Species Uncovered
21st September 2023 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans

A pair of interlocking logs that haven’t seen sunlight in half a million years could challenge some fundamental assumptions about the technology and culture of our Stone Age ancestors. See the study here.

Andrew Weil Says There’s No Such Thing as a Good or Bad Drug
19th September 2023 doubleblindmag.com | Humans, Misc.

“From coca to kava, we should be able to access all plant allies—and understand their beneficial properties.”

Ketamine shows potential for rapid and sustained anxiety relief
19th September 2023 | psypost.org | Humans, Misc.

A recent meta-analysis suggests that subanesthetic doses of ketamine can offer rapid and sustained anxiety relief, becoming noticeable within a few hours and lasting up to two weeks. The study has been published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

A catalog of all human cells reveals a mathematical pattern
19th September 2023 | sciencenews.org | Humans, Misc.

The relationship between size and number also shows up in everything from ecosystems to language…After collecting data on all of the major types of cells in the body, researchers have revealed a familiar mathematical pattern in these cells’ relationship. There is an inverse relationship between cell size and number, meaning smaller cells are more numerous than larger cells.

Skepticism about claim human ancestors nearly went extinct
18th September 2023 phys.org | Ancient, Humans, Tech

Could the lives of the eight billion people currently on Earth have depended on the resilience of just 1,280 human ancestors who very nearly went extinct 900,000 years ago?

Scientists Discover Skull of Giant Predator Long Before The Dinosaurs
18th September 2023 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans

Dinosaurs have a reputation for being the most terrifying prehistoric predators, but a newly discovered skull sheds light on a fearsome beast that dominated 40 million years before the first ‘terrible lizards’ walked the Earth. See the research here.

Study: Near-Death Patients Reveal Brain Activity After Heart Stopped
18th September 2023 | sciencealert.com | Humans, Misc.

A follow-up to a major study into the mysterious experiences of death has identified potential flickers of awareness in the minds of cardiac arrest patients as medical staff attempt to resuscitate them. This research was published in Resuscitation.

The firms hoping to take psychedelic drugs mainstream Published
15th September 2023 | bbc.co.uk | Humans, Misc.

This July in Bend, Oregon, Josh Goldstein facilitated one of the first magic mushroom sessions under the state’s new regulatory framework for people to access their active ingredient – psilocybin.

Pacific discoveries reveal region’s ancient connections
15th September 2023 cosmosmagazine.com | Ancient, Humans

When the Lapita people set sail from the Bismarck Archipelago for the vast blue horizon of the Pacific Ocean, they were beginning the most incredible journey the world has ever seen. Now, indigenous archaeologists in Vanuatu are mapping out their ancestors’ histories.

No one ‘expected to find what we did’: 4,000-year-old Canaanite arch in Israel may have been used by cult
15th September 2023 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Archeologists discovered the mysterious arch at the end of a narrow, underground passageway that was sealed with sediment shortly after it was built in the Middle Bronze Age.

News stories covering humans, psychology and health.