Showing 20 articles starting at article 121
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Archaeology: General, Energy: Technology
Published Pagan-Christian trade networks supplied horses from overseas for the last horse sacrifices in Europe



Horses crossed the Baltic Sea in ships during the Late Viking Age and were sacrificed for funeral rituals. Studies on the remains of horses found at ancient burial sites in Russia and Lithuania show that they were brought overseas from Scandinavia utilizing expansive trade networks connecting the Viking world with the Byzantine and Arab Empires. Up to now, researchers had believed sacrificial horses were always locally-sourced stallions. But these results reveal horses from modern Sweden or Finland traveled up to 1,500 km across the Baltic Sea. The findings also show that the sex of the horse was not necessarily a factor in them being chosen for sacrifice, with genetic analysis showing one in three were mares.
Published Magnetic imprint on deconfined nuclear matter



Scientists have the first direct evidence that the powerful magnetic fields created in off-center collisions of atomic nuclei induce an electric current in 'deconfined' nuclear matter. The study used measurements of how charged particles are deflected when they emerge from the collisions. The study provides proof that the magnetic fields exist and offers a new way to measure electrical conductivity in quark-gluon plasma.
Published Early arrival and expansion of palaeolithic people on Cyprus



The patterns of dispersal of early humans across continents and islands are hotly debated, but researchers have found that Pleistocene hunter-gatherers settled in Cyprus thousands of years earlier than previously thought. In examining the timing of the first human occupation of Cyprus, research found that large islands in the Mediterranean Sea were attractive and favorable destinations for palaeolithic peoples. These findings refute previous studies that suggested Mediterranean islands would have been unreachable and inhospitable for Pleistocene hunter-gatherer societies.
Published More efficient bioethanol production might be possible using persimmon tannin to help yeast thrive



Researchers have found that persimmon tannin, known for its antioxidant properties, improves the growth of yeast in the presence of ethanol.
Published Wind farms can offset their emissions within two years



After spinning for under two years, a wind farm can offset the carbon emissions generated across its entire 30-year lifespan, when compared to thermal power plants.
Published Copper can't be mined fast enough to electrify the US



Copper cannot be mined quickly enough to keep up with current U.S. policy guidelines to transition the country's electricity and vehicle infrastructure to renewable energy, according to a new study.
Published Using AI to improve building energy use and comfort



Researchers have developed a new method that can lead to significant energy savings in buildings. The team identified 28 major heat loss regions in a multi-unit residential building with the most severe ones being at wall intersections and around windows. A potential energy savings of 25 per cent is expected if 70 per cent of the discovered regions are fixed.
Published Metalens expands Its reach from light to sound



Engineers achieve a wide field-of-hearing acoustic metalens free from aberrations.
Published Exceptionally large transverse thermoelectric effect produced by combining thermoelectric and magnetic materials



A research team has demonstrated that a simple stack of thermoelectric and magnetic material layers can exhibit a substantially larger transverse thermoelectric effect -- energy conversion between electric and heat currents that flow orthogonally to each other within it -- than existing magnetic materials capable of exhibiting the anomalous Nernst effect. This mechanism may be used to develop new types of thermoelectric devices useful in energy harvesting and heat flux sensing.
Published Hide and seek between atoms: Find the dopant



Collaborative efforts decode the mechanism behind stabilizing cathode doping in electric vehicle batteries.
Published Transforming common soft magnets into a next-generation thermoelectric conversion materials by 3 minutes heat treatment



A research team has demonstrated that an iron-based amorphous alloy, widely used as a soft magnetic material in transformers and motors, can be transformed into a 'transverse' thermoelectric conversion material that converts electric and thermal currents in orthogonal directions, with just a short period of heat treatment. This is the first example that highlights the importance of microstructure engineering in the development of transverse thermoelectric conversion materials, and provides new design guidelines for materials development to realize environmentally friendly power generation and thermal management technologies using magnetic materials.
Published Efficacy of solar panels boosted



Solar energy is a crucial asset in the fight against climate change, and researchers have now devised a smart approach to optimize its effectiveness. Their innovative method includes incorporating artificial ground reflectors, a simple yet powerful enhancement.
Published Origin of Roman lead



Three ingots from the site of Los Escoriales de Do a Rama (Belmez) and dating from the Roman era demonstrate the importance of lead production and exportation in northern Cordoba.
Published In medieval England, leprosy spread between red squirrels and people, genome evidence shows



Evidence from archaeological sites in the medieval English city of Winchester shows that English red squirrels once served as an important host for Mycobacterium leprae strains that caused leprosy in people, researchers report.
Published Cost-effective, high-capacity, and cyclable lithium-ion battery cathodes



Charge-recharge cycling of lithium-superrich iron oxide, a cost-effective and high-capacity cathode for new-generation lithium-ion batteries, can be greatly improved by doping with readily available mineral elements.
Published 75,000-year-old female Neanderthal from cave where species buried their dead



A new documentary has recreated the face of a 75,000-year-old female Neanderthal whose flattened skull was discovered and rebuilt from hundreds of bone fragments by a team of archaeologists and conservators.
Published Revised dating of the Liujiang skeleton renews understanding of human occupation of China



Researchers have provided new age estimates and revised provenance information for the Liujiang human fossils, shedding light on the presence of Homo sapiens in the region. Using advanced dating techniques including U-series dating on human fossils, and radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating on fossil-bearing sediments, the study revealed new ages ranging from approximately 33,000 to 23,000 years ago. Previously, studies had reported ages of up to 227,000 years of age for the skeleton.
Published Innovation promises to prevent power pole-top fires



Engineers in Australia have found a new way to make power-pole insulators resistant to fire and electrical sparking, promising to prevent dangerous pole-top fires and reduce blackouts. Pole-top fires pose significant challenges to power providers and communities worldwide. In March, pole-top fires cut power from 40,000 homes and businesses in Perth, Australia. The 2020 Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements found that power outages experienced by 280,000 customers from various energy providers during Black Summer fires in Australia were mainly triggered by events involving insulators and poles.
Published How evolving landscapes impacted First Peoples' early migration patterns into Australia



Scientists have applied a dynamic model of the landscape to patterns of human migration into Sahul, the combined continent of Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea.
Published More plants on the menu of ancient hunter-gatherers



It has long been thought that meat played an important role in the diet of hunter-gatherers before the Neolithic transition. However, due to the scarcity of well-preserved human remains from Paleolithic sites, little information exists about the dietary habits of pre-agricultural human groups. A new study challenges this notion by presenting compelling isotopic evidence of a strong preference for plants among 15,000-year-old hunter-gatherers from Morocco. This is the first time a significant amount of plant consumption has been measured for a pre-agricultural population, shedding new light on the dietary practices of ancient human societies.