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Categories: Anthropology: General, Physics: Optics
Published 'Time-traveling' pathogens in melting permafrost pose likely risk to environment



Ancient pathogens that escape from melting permafrost have real potential to damage microbial communities and might potentially threaten human health, according to a new study.
Published New insights into the origin of the Indo-European languages



An international team of linguists and geneticists has achieved a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the origins of Indo-European, a family of languages spoken by nearly half of the world's population.
Published Family trees from the European Neolithic



The Neolithic burial site of Gurgy 'les Noisats' in France revealed two unprecedentedly large family trees which allowed a Franco-German team to explore the social organization of the 6,700-year-old community. Based on multiple lines of evidence, the team describes a close kin group which practiced monogamy and female exogamy, and experienced generally stable times.
Published Butterflies and moths share ancient 'blocks' of DNA



Butterflies and moths share 'blocks' of DNA dating back more than 200 million years, new research shows.
Published Giant stone artefacts found on rare Ice Age site in Kent, UK



Researchers have discovered some of the largest early prehistoric stone tools in Britain.
Published Humans' evolutionary relatives butchered one another 1.45 million years ago



Researchers have identified the oldest decisive evidence of humans' close evolutionary relatives butchering and likely eating one another.
Published Lessons in sustainability, evolution and human adaptation -- courtesy of the Holocene



The El Gigante rockshelter in western Honduras is among only a handful of archaeological sites in the Americas that contain well-preserved botanical remains spanning the last 11,000 years. Considered one of the most important archaeological sites discovered in Central America in the last 40 years, El Gigante was recently nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Published Nanophotonics: Coupling light and matter



Researchers have developed a metasurface that enables strong coupling effects between light and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs).
Published 'We're all Asgardians': New clues about the origin of complex life



According to a new study, eukaryotes -- complex life forms with nuclei in their cells, including all the world's plants, animals, insects and fungi -- trace their roots to a common Asgard archaean ancestor. That means eukaryotes are, in the parlance of evolutionary biologists, a 'well-nested clade' within Asgard archaea, similar to how birds are one of several groups within a larger group called dinosaurs, sharing a common ancestor.
Published Cave excavation pushes back the clock on early human migration to Laos



Fifteen years of archaeological work in the Tam Pa Ling cave in northeastern Laos has yielded a reliable chronology of early human occupation of the site. The team's excavations through the layers of sediments and bones that gradually washed into the cave and were left untouched for tens of thousands of years reveals that humans lived in the area for at least 70,000 years -- and likely even longer.
Published New microcomb device advances photonic technology



Researchers have outlined a new high-speed tunable microcomb that could help propel advances in wireless communication, imaging, atomic clocks, and more.
Published Groundwork for future ultra-precise timing links to geosynchronous satellites



Scientists have demonstrated a capability long sought by physicists: transmitting extremely precise time signals through the air between far-flung locations at powers that are compatible with future space-based missions. The results could enable time transfer from the ground to satellites in geosynchronous orbit with femtosecond precision -- 10,000 times better than the existing state-of-the-art satellite approaches. It also would allow for successful synchronization using the bare minimum timing signal strength, which would make the system highly robust in the face of atmospheric disturbances.
Published Focus on function helps identify the changes that made us human



Research sheds light on human evolution, and demonstrates an approach for identifying significant differences in how genes are used between closely-related species.
Published Face of Anglo-Saxon teen VIP revealed with new evidence about her life



The face of a 16-year-old woman buried near Cambridge (UK) in the 7th century with an incredibly rare gold and garnet cross (the 'Trumpington Cross') has been reconstructed following analysis of her skull. The striking image is going on public display for the first time on 21st June, with new scientific evidence showing that she moved to England from Central Europe as a young girl, leading to an intriguing change in her diet.
Published Study shows ancient Alaskans were freshwater fishers



A scientific team has discovered the earliest-known evidence of freshwater fishing by ancient people in the Americas. The research offers a glimpse at how early humans used a changing landscape and could offer insight for modern people facing similar changes.
Published Fossil study sheds light on famous spirals found in nature



A 3D model of a 407-million-year-old plant fossil has overturned thinking on the evolution of leaves. The research has also led to fresh insights about spectacular patterns found in plants.
Published Terahertz-to-visible light conversion for future telecommunications



A study demonstrates that graphene-based materials can be used to efficiently convert high-frequency signals into visible light, and that this mechanism is ultrafast and tunable. These outcomes open the path to exciting applications in near-future information and communication technologies.
Published Nanomaterials: 3D printing of glass without sintering



A new process enables printing of nanometer-scale quartz glass structures directly onto semiconductor chips. A hybrid organic-inorganic polymer resin is used as feedstock material for 3D printing of silicon dioxide. Since the process works without sintering, the required temperatures are significantly lower. Simultaneously, increased resolution enables visible-light nanophotonics.
Published First hominin muscle reconstruction shows 3.2 million-year-old 'Lucy' could stand as erect as we can



Digital modelling of legendary fossil's soft tissue suggests Australopithecus afarensis had powerful leg and pelvic muscles suited to tree dwelling, but knee muscles that allowed fully erect walking.
Published Photosynthesis, key to life on Earth, starts with a single photon



A cutting-edge experiment has revealed the quantum dynamics of one of nature's most crucial processes.