Gallery: Amazing Cave Art

 Posted on January 7, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  260 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

El Castillo HandsThe Panel of Hands at El Castillo Cave in Spain. Researchers have now dated one of these hand stencils back to 37,300 years ago. Ancient Hand StencilsA red pigment disk in the El Castillo Cave is older than 40,800 years. Some researchers suspect this primitive art may have been done by Neanderthals. Hands, El CastilloTo make these hand stencils, the artist blew or spit red pigment over his or her hand against the cave wall, leaving a handprint shape. [Read More]

How Do You ... Predict Future Weather? (Op-Ed)

 Posted on January 7, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  295 words  |  Patria Henriques

Sonia Aggarwal, director of strategy, and Hallie Kennan, research assistant, both at Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology, contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Weather forecasts are produced by models of temperature, wind speed and precipitation. Using those models, meteorologists can offer short-term predictions about whether to expect rain or sun, clouds or bright skies. But, weather forecasts are notoriously unreliable more than ten days out. To understand the long-term behavior of the atmosphere, climate scientists look at weather patterns over many decades or even centuries. [Read More]

Magic Mushrooms Trip Up Brain Activity

 Posted on January 7, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  626 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

The active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms decreases brain activity, possibly explaining the vivid, mind-bending effects of the drug, a new study finds. The decreases were focused in regions that serve as crossroads for information in the brain, meaning that information may flow more freely in a brain on mushrooms. The findings could be useful in developing hallucinogenic treatments for some mental disorders. "There is increasing evidence that the regions affected are responsible for giving us our sense of self," [Read More]

River of Ice: Alaska's Susitna Glacier

 Posted on January 7, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  281 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Like liquid water, glaciers flow downhill, forming tributaries and larger rivers, but while water rushes, ice crawls. As a result, glaciers gather dust and dirt, and bear long-lasting evidence of past movements. This becomes very clear in this false-color image of Alaska's Susitna Glacier taken by NASA's Terra satellite as it passed overhead on Aug. 27, 2009. The image combines infrared, red, and green wavelengths to form a false-color image. Vegetation is red and the glacier's surface is marbled with dirt-free blue ice and dirt-coated brown ice. [Read More]

The Science of Weight Loss

 Posted on January 7, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  529 words  |  Patria Henriques

Many people want to lose weight, but what are the best ways to do it? There's a lot of advice out there, telling you to eat less (and what not to eat), and to exercise more (but don't overdo it). But what does the science say? To get the lowdown on weight loss, Live Science is digging deep — into the science. We're on a mission to bring you the best, most up-to-date information on what experts say and research shows about dieting, exercising, losing weight and maintaining weight loss. [Read More]

Thief Steals 'Cursed' Medieval Bell from 'Harry Potter' Island in Scotland

 Posted on January 7, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  691 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

An early medieval bell on a remote island in a Scottish loch puts a 200-year-old curse on anyone who removes it, according to legend. Locals hope the curse will now fall on the thief who stole the relic. The bronze hand bell, which may be more than 1,000 years old, was reported stolen late last month. It was taken from a ruined stone chapel on St. Finan's Isle, on Loch Shiel in the Lochaber district of the Scottish Highlands, a location that appeared in the " [Read More]

Walk on Water: Photos of Ancient Jesus Lizard Relative

 Posted on January 7, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  433 words  |  Patria Henriques

The 48-million-year-old skull of an ancient Jesus lizard relative found in Wyoming may shed light on the evolutionary history of lizards, iguanas and chameleons, a new study finds. Jesus lizards, named for their ability to scamper across water, typically live in the tropical environments of central Mexico and northern South America. But during the Eocene period, Wyoming was about 16 degrees Fahrenheit (9 degrees Celsius) warmer than now, making it an ideal environment for the lizards, the researchers said. [Read More]

What Is an Herbivore?

 Posted on January 7, 2023  |  1 minutes  |  145 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Herbivorous animals are vegetarians. They only eat plants. Herbivores can be very picky eaters. Scientists group these creatures by the parts of plants the herbivore eats. Frugivores only eat fruit. Folivorous birds feed on leaves. Nectivorous bats suck on nectar. Granivorous insects munch on seeds whereas polynivorous ones prefer pollen. When the weather changes, however, herbivores often have to alter their diets to feed on whatever plant food is in season. [Read More]

What Is Ketosis?

 Posted on January 7, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  360 words  |  Patria Henriques

Ketosis is a temporary physical condition marked by elevated levels of compounds known as ketone bodies in the body's tissues and fluids. The term "ketone bodies" refers to three different biochemicals: acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetone. The first two molecules transfer energy produced in the liver to the tissues throughout the body; acetone is a breakdown product of acetoacetate, and is responsible for the sweet odor on the breath of people undergoing ketosis. [Read More]

'For Allah' Inscription Found on Viking Era Ring

 Posted on January 6, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  601 words  |  Trudie Dory

Ancient tales about Viking expeditions to Islamic countries had some elements of truth, according to recent analysis of a ring recovered from a 9th century Swedish grave. Featuring a pink-violet colored stone with an inscription that reads “for Allah” or “to Allah,” the silver ring was found during the 1872-1895 excavations of grave fields at the Viking age trading center of Birka, some 15.5 miles west of Stockholm. It was recovered from a rectangular wooden coffin along with jewelry, brooches and remains of clothes. [Read More]