Woman Survives 'Internal Decapitation'

 Posted on November 5, 2022  |  2 minutes  |  255 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

DENVER — Even her surgeon calls her a miracle. Shannon Malloy was critically injured Jan. 25 when a car crash slammed her into the dashboard. Her skull separated from her spine, although her skin, spinal cord and other internal organs remained intact. The rare condition is known as clinically as internal decapitation, and it left her with no control over her head. Her injuries left Malloy with nerve damage that made her eyes cross, and she has difficulty swallowing. [Read More]

X-Rays Reveal Ghostly Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots

 Posted on November 5, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  612 words  |  Trudie Dory

The ghostly, unfinished portrait of a woman believed to be Mary, Queen of Scots has been found underneath the 16th-century portrait of a man dressed in a black doublet, according to new research. Art conservators discovered and identified Mary's hidden portrait by using X-ray photography. The black-and-white X-ray images revealed a woman with similarities to other near-contemporary portraits of the queen, said Caroline Rae, a research fellow at the Courtauld Institute of Art, in London, England, who is doing the research in conjunction with the National Galleries of Scotland. [Read More]

Another Reason Not to Sit for Too Long: Liver Disease

 Posted on November 4, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  589 words  |  Trudie Dory

Sitting for long periods has been linked to obesity, diabetes and heart disease — and now there's new evidence that it may also increase the risk of liver disease, according to a new study from South Korea. In the study, researchers found that people who sat for 10 or more hours daily had a 9 percent greater risk of developing a condition called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) than those who spent less than five hours a day sitting. [Read More]

Bloody, Defeated Gladiator Drips Gore in Gruesome Fresco Uncovered at Pompeii

 Posted on November 4, 2022  |  2 minutes  |  382 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Rich, vibrant hues in a fresco recently uncovered at Pompeii illustrate the brutal finale of a violent battle between two gladiators.  The unknown artist was generous with the color red; the upright victor is bleeding from several gashes, and the losing fighter's body is striped with gore as bloody drops spray from multiple wounds on his arm and upper body. Officials with the Archaeological Park of Pompeii announced the find Oct. [Read More]

Cave Near Chicago Full of Ancient Wonders

 Posted on November 4, 2022  |  2 minutes  |  382 words  |  Trudie Dory

North America's oldest conifer tree and some ancient scorpion parts are among the fossil treasures found in a newly discovered cave in Illinois. The new discovery also unearthed fossils of plants that may be new to science and revealed evidence of prehistoric forest fires. Scientists date the specimens to nearly 315 million years ago, according to initial findings presented last month at the regional meeting of the Geological Society of America in Lawrence, Kan. [Read More]

Dead Sea Not So Dead, Divers Discover

 Posted on November 4, 2022  |  2 minutes  |  406 words  |  Fernande Dalal

For the first time, researchers have sent a diving expedition into the Dead Sea, where they uncovered freshwater springs issuing from massive craters in the seafloor, along with a menagerie of microbes. Both finds were a first for the world's saltiest body of water, which is also the lowest spot on the planet. [See a video of the Dead Sea dive.] The Dead Sea lies between Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian West Bank. [Read More]

Deepest Life on Earth May Be Lurking 6 Miles Beneath Ocean Floor

 Posted on November 4, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  634 words  |  Trudie Dory

A host of hardy microbes may be living miles beneath the ocean floor, new research suggests. Complex chemical compounds found in the rocks spewed from oceanic mud volcanoes suggest microbial life-forms may be dwelling some 32,800 feet (10,000 meters) beneath the seafloor. Though scientists have not yet found a smoking gun proving that life exists in these subterranean depths, similar chemical compounds have been found in other places where hardy microbes cling to life. [Read More]

Digital Spell-Checking May Be Killing Off Words

 Posted on November 4, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  593 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

The death rate of words has apparently increased recently while new entries into languages are becoming less common, both perhaps because of digital spell-checking, according to a Google-aided analysis of more than 10 million words. More than 4 percent of the world's books have now been digitized, a trove that includes seven languages and dates back to the 16th century. All of this text offers new opportunities to study how language evolves. [Read More]

Head Games: This Male Spider Is an Oral Sex Champ

 Posted on November 4, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  693 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

When it comes to sex with a much bigger mate, one type of spider has the problem licked. Males of the Madagascar spider species Darwin's bark spider (Caerostris darwini) address sex head-first, performing highly conscientious oral stimulation to the female's genitals, according to a new study. And they don't skimp on it, either. The oral attention — which the researchers described as "obligatory," and which they observed before, during and after mating — could occur " [Read More]

Massive Anglo-Saxon cemetery and treasure unearthed in England

 Posted on November 4, 2022  |  2 minutes  |  388 words  |  Trudie Dory

 A massive Anglo-Saxon burial site has been uncovered in Northamptonshire in the U.K. Nearby, archaeologists also discovered a 4,000-year-old Bronze Age burial site.  The archaeologists uncovered a total of 154 Anglo-Saxon burials, dating back around 1,500 years, holding nearly 3,000 objects, from weapons to jewelry.   A nearby Anglo-Saxon settlement also held 42 structures that were approximately 1,500 years old. The Anglo-Saxon period lasted for about 600 years from about 410 to 1066, when migrants settled in England, so the new discovery would have dated to the early part of that period. [Read More]