'Ancient' Stone Circle Actually Built in 1990s by Scottish Farmer
Posted on March 14, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 728 words
| Arica Deslauriers
A stone circle in northeast Scotland that archaeologists thought was built thousands of years ago has turned out to be just a few decades old.
Earlier this month, archaeologists from Aberdeenshire Council and the Historic Environment Scotland agency announced that the circle of stones in a remote farm field near Alford, west of Aberdeen, was an ancient example of its kind, between 3,500 and 4,500 years old, Live Science reported on Jan.
[Read More]Air Pollution Linked with Stillbirth Risk
Posted on March 14, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 762 words
| Patria Henriques
Air pollution has been linked to a number of breathing problems, mainly in developing countries, and now a new preliminary study looking at pollution levels in New Jersey has found an increased risk of stillbirths among women exposed to specific pollutants.
"We found that different pollutants are harmful in different trimesters of pregnancy," said Dr. Ambarina Faiz, an instructor at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. For example, exposure to a high level of nitrogen dioxide was particularly harmful during the first trimester, she said.
[Read More]Alien Giant Tortoise Helps Restore Ecosystem
Posted on March 14, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 579 words
| Patria Henriques
Rather than wreaking havoc on a tiny island in the Indian Ocean -- as alien species can sometimes do -- a giant tortoise appears to be helping to restore the native ecosystem.
Wildlife scientists introduced Aldabra giant tortoises -- which can reach up to 661 pounds (300 kilograms) -- to an island, called Ile aux Aigrettes, off the coast of the island nation of Mauritius. By 2009, 19 adult giant tortoises called the island home.
[Read More]Baby mantis shrimp throw knockout punches at 9 days old
Posted on March 14, 2023
| 7 minutes
| 1345 words
| Fernande Dalal
Mantis shrimp wield a spring-loaded appendage that punches through water with explosive force — and their babies can start swinging just nine days after they hatch.
In a new study, published Thursday (April 29) in the Journal of Experimental Biology, scientists studied larval Philippine mantis shrimp (Gonodactylaceus falcatus) originally collected from Oahu, Hawaii. The team also reared some of the same species from eggs, carefully monitoring their development through time and then zooming in on their punching appendage under the microscope.
[Read More]Cousteau Ship Resurrected for His 100th Birthday
Posted on March 14, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 383 words
| Trudie Dory
Francine Cousteau, widow of legendary French explorer and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau, said she remembers a certain day in January 1996 with particular clarity. She and "Captain Cousteau," as she calls him, were in Paris. He was editing his latest film while she made notes for the narration, when an employee opened the door and insisted she step outside.
"He said to me, 'Something terrible has happened. The Calypso has sunk.
[Read More]Decapitated Gladiators Reveal Roman Empire's Genetic Influence
Posted on March 14, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 798 words
| Arica Deslauriers
DNA from seven decapitated skeletons thought to be gladiators is helping researchers unravel the gruesome origins of the ancient remains. The new findings suggest that the Roman Empire's genetic impact on Britain may not have been as large as researchers had thought.
The headless skeletons were excavated between 2004 and 2005 from a Roman burial site in Driffield Terrace in York, England, the archaeologists said. Around the time the bodies were buried, between the second and fourth centuries A.
[Read More]Hidden World of Undersea Volcanoes and Lava Flows Discovered Off Italian Coast
Posted on March 14, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 486 words
| Fernande Dalal
Hidden beneath the waves of the Tyrrhenian Sea near southwestern Italy lies a newfound volcanic mosaic dotted with geothermal chimneys and flat-topped seamounts.
This complex is new to both science and the planet, geologically speaking; it's only about 780,000 years old. Scientists aren't particularly surprised to find volcanism in the region, which is home to active volcanoes like Mount Vesuvius and Mount Etna. But the new complex is unusual because it was created by a rare kind of fault, said study leader Fabrizio Pepe, a geophysicist at the University of Palermo, in Italy.
[Read More]Human and Chimp Genes May Have Split 13 Million Years Ago
Posted on March 14, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 1035 words
| Trudie Dory
The ancestors of humans and chimpanzees may have begun genetically diverging from one another 13 million years ago, more than twice as long ago as had been widely thought, shedding new light on the process of human evolution, researchers say.
Scientists also discovered that male chimps pass on far more genetic mutations to their offspring than male humans do, revealing previously unknown evolutionary differences between the species.
Chimpanzees are the closest living relatives to humans, so studying chimps can help scientists learn more about human evolution.
[Read More]Jackson Pollock Used Physics When Painting, Study Finds
Posted on March 14, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 419 words
| Fernande Dalal
American artist Jackson Pollock was an intuitive master of the flow of fluids, relying on the laws of physics to turn his splashes, drips and drizzles into the iconic abstract creations they came to be.
That's the conclusion of physicists and mathematicians who conducted a careful analysis of the artwork, which is detailed in the latest issue of the journal Physics Today.
The research team looked at Pollock's techniques and the physical aspects of paint on canvas in order to understand the forces at play.
[Read More]New Source of Vitamin B12 Discovered in the Ocean
Posted on March 14, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 482 words
| Fernande Dalal
Just like humans, organisms that live in the oceans need vitamins to stay healthy, but the sources of these underwater vitamins are not always easy for scientists to identify.
Researchers have now shown that B12 vitamins in the ocean are produced by archaea, a group of single-celled organisms, not only by marine bacteria, as was previously thought. The findings may help scientists better understand the growth of tiny photosynthetic creatures called phytoplankton and, consequently, the regulation of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere (because the ocean absorbs some of that carbon dioxide).
[Read More]