Latest science news in Paleontology & Archaeology
Ancient DNA from rare fossil reveals that polar bears evolved recently and adapted quickly
A rare, ancient polar bear fossil discovered in Norway in 2004 is yielding a treasure trove of essential information about the age and evolutionary origins of the species whose future...
Ancient DNA reveals caribou history linked to volcanic eruption
DNA recovered from ancient caribou bones reveals a possible link between several small unique caribou herds and a massive volcanic eruption that blanketed much of the Alaskan Yukon territory in...
‘Shell crusher’ shark swam Cretaceous Kansas
Paleontologists have just identified the remains of a gigantic, 88.7-million-year-old shark nicknamed the "shell crusher." The Cretaceous species could pulverize large, shelled animals with its 1,000 teeth, suggests a new...
Genetics and Proposition 8
Human sexual orientation has deep biological roots. ...
South Korean shamans fluidly absorb cultural change
spurred by the world's fastest-growing economy from the 1960s to the 1990s -has rapidly developed, shamans and the rituals they perform have adapted to their new hyper-modern landscape and transformed their work in...
AVICENNA (980-1037)
Abu Ali al-Hussein Ibn Sina famous with the name of Avicenna, was born in Persia in the 980 to Afshana, near Bukhara, Uzbekistan. By the age of eighteen years, possessor of...
Already under fire, crime labs cut to the bone
With crime labs struggling under backlogs that reach back years in many states, budget cuts are threatening to make credible crime scene analysis a lost art, law enforcement officials and...
50 Years Ago: The Reclamation of a Man-Made Desert
Note: This story, originally published in our April 1960 issue of Scientific American, is being made available as a supplement to the April 2010 issue 50, 100, 150 Years Ago...
Flightless females, no biting
First it was just swatting. Then poison. Then sterilizing males. Now it's grounding females. Is there anything people won't try in the war against mosquitoes?
DNA evidence tells 'global story' of human history
In recent years, DNA evidence has added important new tools for scientists studying the human past. Now, a collection of reviews published by Cell Press in a special issue of...
300 get sick aboard Caribbean cruise
About 300 guests got sick with a stomach ailment aboard a cruise to the Caribbean that departed from South Carolina, a cruise line says.
New (Genetic) Front in War on Mosquitoes
No Flight, No Bite: Genetic Researchers Say Wingless Female Mosquitoes Could Curb Fatal Fever
Where did insects come from? New study establishes relationships among all arthropods
Since the dawn of the biological sciences, humankind has struggled to comprehend the relationships among the major groups of "jointed-legged" animals -- the arthropods. Now, a team of researchers has...
Mobile Power Comes of Age
Scientists are developing next-generation technologies to make the power packs smaller, longer-lasting and more compatible with today's mobile lifestyle.
Bid under way to bring back extinct cattle
POZNAN, Poland, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Scientists in Poland say they plan to use DNA samples in an attempt to revive a breed of extinct giant cattle that died...
Egypt to get back ancient coffin smuggled in 1884
CAIRO (Reuters) - A 3,000-year-old painted coffin smuggled out of Egypt more than a century ago will be returned after U.S. customs inspectors intercepted it in transit, Egypt's culture ministry...
In ancient wall, scholar sees proof for Bible
An Israeli archaeologist said Monday that ancient fortifications recently excavated in Jerusalem date back 3,000 years to the time of King Solomon and support the biblical narrative about the era. ...
Facebook study finds emphasis on college rituals
(PhysOrg.com) -- Study by Temple professor finds that college students use Facebook photos to portray an idealized college life.
Cultural history colours thought about bioethics, evolution
Cultural views of evolution can have important ethical implications, says a Duke University expert on theological and biomedical ethics. Because the popular imagination filters science through cultural assumptions about race,...
Island of dwarf dinosaurs: 100-year-old theory confirmed
(PhysOrg.com) -- The idea of dwarf dinosaurs on Haţeg Island, Romania, was proposed 100 years ago by the colourful Baron Franz Nopcsa, whose family owned estates in the area. ...
Flightless birds gave up flying after dinosaurs were wiped out
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have assumed the ancestors of modern flightless birds were also flightless, but results of new research suggests they only became flightless and began to explore the ground...
Funding cuts will ‘damage a generation’ of science
Peter Agre, AAAS president, speaks out about the impact of slashing research budgets
Motion picture academy honors nerds of filmmaking
(AP) -- Forty-five men you've probably never heard of were honored with an Academy Awards ceremony of their own that recognized scientific and technical achievements in moviemaking.
The Brain's Dark Energy (preview)
Imagine you are almost dozing in a lounge chair outside, with a magazine on your lap. Suddenly, a fly lands on your arm. You grab the magazine and swat at...
Tutankhamen's Familial DNA Tells Tale of Boy Pharaoh's Disease and Incest
Despite his brief nine-year reign, Tutankhamen is probably the most famous pharaoh of ancient Egypt. Because his tomb had not been robbed at the time of its discovery in 1922,...
Plugging Highway Vehicles into the Electric Grid
SAN DIEGO -- The white Toyota Scion xB parked in a corner of the vast convention center here doesn't look too unusual, until you notice the fat cable plugged into...
Doubts Raised on Book’s Tale of Atom Bomb
The author of a new book about the destruction of Hiroshima concedes that he was probably duped and says he will rewrite the book for future editions.
How a hobbit is rewriting the history of the human race
The discovery of the bones of tiny primitive people on an Indonesian island six years ago stunned scientists. Now, further research suggests that the little apemen, not Homo erectus, were the first to...