Medieval gold coin hoards and skull ring discovered in Wales
Posted on May 20, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 723 words
| Fernande Dalal
Metal detectorists in Wales have unearthed nine priceless valuables dating to the medieval and post-medieval periods, including a gold ring decorated with a spooky-looking skull crafted from white enamel.
After analyzing the curios, Graeme David Hughes, the senior coroner for South Wales Central in the United Kingdom, officially declared them to be "treasures," a term that refers to bonafide, often metal artifacts that meet a specific archaeological criteria, according to the U.
[Read More]New CDC guidelines say coronavirus spreads through air. Then CDC deletes them.
Posted on May 20, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 476 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Once again, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided guidance on COVID-19, only to contradict itself later. The CDC acknowledged what many scientists have been saying for months: that the novel coronavirus can spread through small airborne particles that can linger in poorly ventilated areas. Then a few days later, the agency walked it back.
The CDC updated their guidance on Friday (Sept. 18) to say that the virus can be spread through aerosols, or small particles that can linger in the air, according to CNN.
[Read More]Painful Confusion: Americans Don't Know What's in Popular Painkillers
Posted on May 20, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 436 words
| Arica Deslauriers
The American public is confused about what's in popular over-the-counter painkillers, according to a small new study. That fact could put people at risk for taking too much medication or taking potentially dangerous combinations.
Only 31 percent of people in the study knew that Tylenol contains acetaminophen, while 75 percent of people knew that Bayer contained aspirin and 47 percent of people knew that Motrin contains ibuprofen, the study said.
[Read More]Speedy TB Treatment Could Combat Drug Resistance
Posted on May 20, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 776 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Tuberculosis in mice can be cured much faster than normal by simply tweaking the standard regimen of antibiotics, new research shows.
Scientists reduced treatment time in mice by up to 75 percent; they did so by optimizing the combinations and doses of the standard drugs. The finding may lead to a markedly shorter course of treatment for tuberculosis in humans and may reduce the risk of the infection becoming resistant to the antibiotics.
[Read More]Tech from Nature: Ceramics Mimic Mother-of-Pearl
Posted on May 20, 2023
| 1 minutes
| 107 words
| Patria Henriques
Abalone NacreA close look at nacre, or mother-of-pearl, in an abalone shell, a type of marine mollusk. [Read More: Mother-of-Pearl Inspires New Ceramics]
Stacked NacreThe stacked arrangement of nacre makes it incredibly strong, because cracks cannot travel in a straight line through the material.
Abalone Nacre CloseNacre is made of calcium carbonate mortared together with organic proteins.
Real and Synthetic NacreA comparison of real nacre (top) and a ceramic made to mimic natural mother-of-pearl.
[Read More]This Parrot Stood 3 Feet Tall and Ruled the Roost in New Zealand Forests 19 Million Years Ago
Posted on May 20, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 519 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Imagine a parrot standing 3 feet (1 meter) tall, about the height of a 2-year-old child. This giant bird lived in New Zealand around 19 million years ago; it was the largest parrot that ever lived, and is the only known giant parrot in the world.
Paleontologists recently described the gargantuan bird from a pair of fossilized leg bones found at a fossil-rich site in St. Bathans, New Zealand. The bones were "
[Read More]TV Causes Learning Lag in Infants
Posted on May 20, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 488 words
| Fernande Dalal
Even infants zone out in front of the television, and it turns out this translates into less time interacting with parents and possible lags in language development, a new study finds.
"We've known that television exposure during infancy is associated with language delays and attentional problems, but so far it has remained unclear why," said lead researcher Dimitri Christakis, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children's Research Institute and professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
[Read More]Was Chilean Poet Pablo Neruda Murdered?
Posted on May 20, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 475 words
| Fernande Dalal
The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda did not die of prostate cancer, as listed on his official death certificate, a panel of forensic investigators has concluded.
Their findings might fuel speculations that Neruda was assassinated.
Neruda died in a hospital in Santiago at age 69 in September 1973, just days after the military coup that brought dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet to power in Chile. Neruda, who was also a politician and a diplomat, had been a supporter of the deposed leftist president Salvador Allende.
[Read More]130-Million-Year Old Proteins Still Present in Dinosaur-Age Fossil
Posted on May 19, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 597 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Microscopic pigment structures and proteins that graced the feathers of a Cretaceous-age bird are still present in its 130-million-year-old fossil, a new study finds.
The results, which confirm the oldest evidence of the structural protein beta-keratin, show that molecules can survive in their original state for hundreds of millions of years without fossilizing, and that researchers can use modern techniques to identify them, the researchers said. [In Photos: Wacky Fossil Animals from Jurassic China]
[Read More]2 Missing WWII B-25 Bombers Found in the Pacific Ocean
Posted on May 19, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 505 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
By documenting the wreckage of the B-25 and surveying the final resting place of another aircraft, the team hopes to help the U.S. Department of Defense repatriate the remains of American service members missing in action.
Historical records indicate that both planes were shot down amid fierce combat more than 70 years ago, the researchers said. One B-25 was carrying six crewmembers who have long been unaccounted for. The second bomber also had six crewmembers, five of whom survived and were taken prisoner by the Japanese, while one went down with the plane.
[Read More]