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Kepler 78b orbits its parent star in only 8.5 hours (NASA / JPL-Caltech).

Astronomers Discover New Earth-Sized Exoplanet Kepler 78b

Aug 21, 2013 by Sergio Prostak

An international team of astronomers reporting in the Astrophysical Journal (arXiv.org) has discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet called Kepler 78b that...

Three iron beads from Gerzeh, Egypt (© Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology / Gianluca Miniaci).

5,000-Year-Old Egyptian Artifacts Made from Meteoritic Iron, Confirms New Study

Aug 20, 2013 by News Staff

A new analysis of ancient Egyptian iron beads found in 1911 in Gerzeh, northern Egypt, has shown that they were hammered from pieces of meteorites, rather...

Left: Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition hand axes, from top to bottom - cordiform hand axe from Le Moustier, France; triangular hand axe from St. Just en Chaussée, France; hand axe from Lynford, UK (Karen Ruebens). Right: Keilmessergruppen Tradition hand axes, from top to bottom - keilmesser from Sesselfesgrotte, Germany; keilmesser from Abri du Musée, France; faustkeilblatt from Königsaue, Germany (Karen Ruebens).

Stone Tools Point to Two Distinct Neanderthal Cultures

Aug 20, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

A study of 1,300 stone hand axes found at 80 Neanderthal sites in France, Germany, Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands shows that two cultural traditions...

A 2,700-year-old ceramic bowl fragment found in Jerusalem (Clara Amit / Israel Antiquities Authority).

Ancient Hebrew Inscription Dating to 7th Century BC Unearthed in Jerusalem

Aug 19, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquity Authority (IAA) have unearthed thousands of pottery fragments, clay lamps and figurines in the City of David in...

The new study says two genes SENP1 and ANP32D are attractive targets for treatments against chronic mountain sickness and other conditions that involve oxygen deprivation. Photo credit: University of Washington.

Genetic Scientists Identify Two Genes Associated with Chronic Mountain Sickness

Aug 16, 2013 by News Staff

According to a large multinational team of researchers, two genes – the blood cell regulator SENP1 and the cancer-associated gene ANP32D –...

Cooper the chimp was raised by humans and had learned to swim (Renato Bender / Nicole Bender).

Chimpanzees, Orangutans Can Swim and Dive, Biologists Prove

Aug 16, 2013 by Natali Anderson

Two biologists reporting in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology say that they have documented for the first time the swimming and diving behavior...

This diagram shows a slice of the Universe some 11 billion years back in time. On the left of the diagram are the ellipticals, with lenticulars in the middle, and the spirals branching out on the right side (NASA / ESA / M. Kornmesser).

Hubble Zooms in on Galaxies in Early Universe

Aug 16, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have established that mature-looking galaxies existed much earlier than previously known, when the...

The Olinguito, Bassaricyon neblina, in the wild. Photo credit: Mark Gurney.

Olinguito: New Species of Mammal Found in Colombia, Ecuador

Aug 16, 2013 by News Staff

Biologists from the United States, Ecuador and Panama have described a new species of carnivore from the cloud forests of Ecuador and Colombia, and named...

Hieroglyphic and cuneiform texts portray the proximate cause of the collapse of the late Bronze Age civilizations as the invasions of the Sea Peoples. But the new study says the Eastern Mediterranean cultures suffered wars, famine fuelled by climate change. The picture shows Sea Peoples in their ships during the battle with the Egyptians (Drawn by Boudier from a photograph by Beato).

Collapse of Late Bronze Age Civilizations Linked to Climate Change

Aug 15, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

According to a new study reported in the open-access journal PLoS ONE, climate change may have driven the collapse of Eastern Mediterranean civilizations...

This image shows the Penny Black, the first postage stamp in the world.

New Method Checks Authenticity of Rare Postage Stamps

Aug 15, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of researchers reporting in the journal Analytical Chemistry has developed an innovative complex method for verifying the authenticity and rooting...

X-ray data, in purple, show the hot gas has a comet-like appearance, caused by the motion of the dwarf galaxy. Optical data reveal the spiral galaxy NGC 1232 in blue and white (X-ray: NASA / CXC / Huntingdon Inst. for X-ray Astronomy / G. Garmire; optical: ESO / VLT).

Chandra Sees Multimillion-Degree Gas Cloud in NGC 1232

Aug 15, 2013 by News Staff

U.S. astronomer using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has discovered a massive cloud of hot gas likely caused by a collision between a dwarf galaxy...

New research shows Antarctic warming began two - four millennia earlier than previously thought. Credit: DUJS.

West Antarctica Warming Began 2,000 Years Earlier Than Thought, Linked to Changes in Earth Orbit

Aug 15, 2013 by News Staff

According to a large multinational team of researchers, West Antarctica began emerging from the last Ice Age about 20,000 to 22,000 years ago, well before...

This is an artist's impression of the pulsar PSR J1745-2900 (MPIfR / Ralph Eatough).

Pulsar Helps Astronomers Measure Magnetic Field around Milky Way’s Central Black Hole

Aug 15, 2013 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers has used observations of the newly discovered pulsar PSR J1745-2900 to measure the magnetic field emanating from a...

This electron micrograph shows particles of the Phoenix provirus resurrected from human DNA in 2006. Scale bar - 200 nm (Marie Dewannieux et al).

Remnants of Ancient Viruses in Human Genome May Play Role in Cancer

Aug 14, 2013 by News Staff

According to an international team of scientists from the United States, Europe and Russia, non-coding parts of the human genome known as vlincRNAs triggered...

The pig-size Permian anomodont Dicynodon lacerticeps (Marlene Donnelly / Field Museum of Natural History).

Research Sheds Light on Recovery of Anomodonts after end-Permian Mass Extinction

Aug 14, 2013 by News Staff

A new study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, shows how anomodonts – ancient relatives of modern mammals – recovered in...

Winnemucca Petroglyphs: Oldest Rock Art in North America Dates Back Up To 14,800 Years

Aug 14, 2013 by News Staff

A new study reported in the Journal of Archaeological Science shows Winnemucca petroglyphs, the oldest known petroglyphs in North America, date to at least...

This electron micrograph shows particles of the vesicular stomatitis virus. Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Researchers Use Non-Replicating Virus Particles to Kill Leukemia Cells

Aug 13, 2013 by News Staff

Scientists at the University of Ottawa, Canada, have developed rhabdovirus-derived particles that can kill blood cancer (leukemia) cells and eradicate...

Scanning electron micrograph of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, yellow. Credit: NIAID.

Cattle May Be Source of Human MRSA Strain, Scientists Suggest

Aug 13, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

According to a team of scientists led by Dr Ross Fitzgerald from the Roslin Institute and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, cows may be a source...

Lissoir unearthed at the Neanderthal site of Abri Peyrony (Abri Peyrony and Pech-de-l’Azé I Projects)

Neanderthals May Have Invented Tools Still in Use Today, Say Archaeologists

Aug 13, 2013 by News Staff

A team of archaeologists from Germany and the Netherlands has found evidence that Neanderthals were making leather-working bone tools before modern humans. Lissoir...