World's oldest animal fossil actually came from rotting algae
Posted on November 12, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 817 words
| Fernande Dalal
Hundreds of millions of years ago, one of the very first animals on Earth died at the bottom of an ancient ocean. In life, it was a humble sea sponge; in death, it had no bones, nor teeth, nor shell to leave behind as evidence of its brief, bottom-dwelling existence. But it did have fat molecules — or so it seemed.
In 2009, a group of much later animals (human scientists) were studying a slab of ancient sea sediment when they discovered the fossilized remnants of what appeared to be those same sponge fat molecules, trapped among the rocks.
[Read More]11 Technologies in Danger of Going Extinct
Posted on November 11, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 835 words
| Trudie Dory
It’s a common story: The hottest technologies on the market are often upstaged by the next big thing. As new advancements are made, products that once changed our lives are left in the dust and swapped for the new, the shiny and the updated. Here are 11 devices — some you'd expect and some you might not — that are still roaming the streets but facing rapid extinction.
Fax Machines
[Read More]After Mayan Apocalypse Failure, Believers May Suffer
Posted on November 11, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 670 words
| Trudie Dory
You might expect the world not ending to be a cause for celebration. But for believers in doomsdays like yesterday's supposed Mayan apocalypse, the continued existence of the planet can be quite traumatic.
Yesterday (Dec. 21) was widely rumored online to be the end of the world, a misunderstanding of a calendar used by the ancient Maya people. Although the Maya made no doomsday predictions, some modern individuals and groups claimed they had foretold the end on Dec.
[Read More]Ancient Ale: Oldest Beer in Greece Dates to Bronze Age
Posted on November 11, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 715 words
| Trudie Dory
The ancient Greeks may have liberally indulged in wine, but that's not the only alcoholic beverage they imbibed, according to a new study that describes the discovery of two potential Bronze Age breweries.
The "stout" discoveries mark what may be the oldest beer-making facilities in Greece and upend the notion that the region's ancient go-to drink was only wine, the researchers said.
"It is an unexpected find for Greece, because until now all evidence pointed to wine,"
[Read More]Ancient Hindu Text Preserved by Modern Technology
Posted on November 11, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 500 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Hidden in a wooden chest in the heart of a monastery in Udupi, India, an ancient Hindu manuscript has been deteriorating bit by bit over the last 700 years. Now with the help of modern imaging technologies, scientists are illuminating the seemingly invisible Sanskrit.
Once they have brought to light the holy words, the researchers will close the book forever.
The project is led by P.R. Mukund and Roger Easton, both of Rochester Institute of Technology.
[Read More]Ancient Horse and Stable Found Under Pompeii Ash
Posted on November 11, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 405 words
| Fernande Dalal
The horse likely swiveled its ears when it heard the deafening roar from Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. That was one of the last things the animal ever did: After that, it died, buried in the massive amounts of ash that killed about 30,000 people and destroyed Pompeii.
Now, archaeologists have found the remains of that horse and the stable where it perished, just outside of Pompeii's city walls. Amazingly, the ash-covered cavity carved out by the horse's body was so well-preserved that researchers were able to inject liquid plaster into it.
[Read More]Belly Up: Why Ankylosaurs Are Always Found Upside Down
Posted on November 11, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 658 words
| Patria Henriques
Like any homicide detective, dinosaur hunters search for clues hinting at how these ancient beasts died. One of these clues morphed into a mystery that researchers have just solved: Why is the armored, tank-like ankylosaurus almost always found on its back?
Paleontologists have puzzled over this belly-up death pose since 1933, and a new analysis shows that these observances weren't just coincidence: Out of 37 fossil ankylosaurs discovered in Alberta, Canada, 26 (70 percent) were found upside down, the researchers of a new study found.
[Read More]California's Killer Bees Are Spreading North
Posted on November 11, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 851 words
| Patria Henriques
Bad news for apiphobes: "Killer" bees are on the move in the United States.
Scientists from the University of California, San Diego recently collected hundreds of bees around the Golden State to determine how far north hybrid honeybees, or Africanized bees, have spread since they first arrived in the state in 1994.
They found that Africanized bees — which possess genes from both European and African honeybees — now live as far north as California's delta region (about 25 miles, or 40 kilometers, south of Sacramento).
[Read More]Dumpster Rats! A Pile of Pests Swarm in a Paris Bin
Posted on November 11, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 483 words
| Patria Henriques
If you suffer from musophobia, a fear of rodents, this would be a scene out of your worst nightmare.
A Parisian trash collector recently lifted the lid on a dumpster near the river Seine and unexpectedly uncovered a heaving pile of rats. Scores of the urban pests were climbing all over each other inside the plastic bin and leaping up the container's slick sides as they attempted escape.
The worker, a city employee identified with the pseudonym "
[Read More]Gamer's Thrombosis: How Playing Too Long Could Be Deadly
Posted on November 11, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 600 words
| Trudie Dory
A young man in New Zealand developed life-threatening blood clots in his leg after four days of playing PlayStation games, according to a report of his case. Perhaps playing video games, which involves sitting still for long periods of time, should be added to the list of ways people may increase their risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), the doctors who treated the man said.
DVT is a dangerous and sometimes deadly condition, because blood clots that sometimes develop within leg veins can break off, travel through the bloodstream and block an artery bringing blood to a lung, a condition called pulmonary embolism.
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