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Categories: Archaeology: General, Space: Cosmology
Published New type of star gives clues to mysterious origin of magnetars



Magnetars are the strongest magnets in the Universe. These super-dense dead stars with ultra-strong magnetic fields can be found all over our galaxy but astronomers don't know exactly how they form. Now, using multiple telescopes around the world, researchers have uncovered a living star that is likely to become a magnetar. This finding marks the discovery of a new type of astronomical object -- massive magnetic helium stars -- and sheds light on the origin of magnetars.
Published Unveiling Japan's ancient practice of cranial modification: The case of the Hirota people in Tanegashima



Cranial modification is a form of body alteration where the head is pressed or bound to permanently deform the skull. The practice has been reported across various cultures throughout history. Researchers report that the Hirota people -- who lived on the southern Japanese island of Tanegashima between the 3rd to 7th century CE -- also conducted cranial modification, with indication that both males and females performed the practice.
Published Sea sequin 'bling' links Indonesian islands' ancient communities



Microscopic analysis has revealed that trends in body ornamentation were shared across Indonesian islands.
Published Using supernovae to study neutrinos' strange properties


In a new study, researchers have taken an important step toward understanding how exploding stars can help reveal how neutrinos, mysterious subatomic particles, secretly interact with themselves.
Published China's oldest water pipes were a communal effort



A system of ancient ceramic water pipes, the oldest ever unearthed in China, shows that neolithic people were capable of complex engineering feats without the need for a centralized state authority, finds a new study.
Published Fossil feces infested with parasites from over 200 million years ago



Fossilized feces preserve evidence of ancient parasites that infected an aquatic predator over 200 million years ago, according to a new study.
Published Webb reveals colors of Earendel, most distant star ever detected


NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has followed up on observations by the Hubble Space Telescope of the farthest star ever detected in the very distant universe, within the first billion years after the big bang. Webb's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument reveals the star to be a massive B-type star more than twice as hot as our Sun, and about a million times more luminous.
Published Roman road network spanning the South West identified in new research



New research has found evidence that a Roman road network spanned Devon and Cornwall and connected significant settlements with military forts across the two counties as well as wider Britannia.
Published Gravitational arcs in 'El Gordo' galaxy cluster


A new image of the galaxy cluster known as 'El Gordo' is revealing distant and dusty objects never seen before, and providing a bounty of fresh science. The infrared image displays a variety of unusual, distorted background galaxies that were only hinted at in previous Hubble Space Telescope images.
Published Using gemstones' unique characteristics to uncover ancient trade routes



Gems' unique elemental composition and atomic orientation act as a fingerprint, enabling researchers to uncover the stones' past, and with it, historical trade routes. Scientists now employ three modern spectroscopic techniques to rapidly analyze gems found in the Arabian-Nubian Shield and compare them with similar gems from around the world. They have identified elements that influence gems' color, differentiated stones found within and outside the region, and distinguished natural from synthetic.
Published New clues on the source of the universe's magnetic fields


Researchers offer insight into the source of cosmic magnetic fields. The research team used models to show that magnetic fields may spontaneously arise in turbulent plasma. Their simulations showed that, in addition to generating new magnetic fields, the turbulence of those plasmas can also amplify magnetic fields once they've been generated, which helps explain how magnetic fields that originate on small scales can sometimes eventually reach to stretch across vast distances.
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 Ancient DNA reveals diverse community in 'Lost City of the Incas'



DNA analysis of 34 individuals buried at Machu Picchu revealed that many traveled alone from throughout the Inca Empire.
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 Missing island explains how endemic species on the Miyako Islands emerged



Miyako Islands are home to various native species of snake and lizards. How these species came to call these islands home has long puzzled scientists. A group of researchers have compiled the latest geological and biological data, proposing that an island once facilitated migration between Okinawa and Miyako Islands.
Published Galaxy J1135 reveals its water map


Researchers look at water in galaxies, its distribution and in particular its changes of state from ice to vapor, as important markers indicating areas of increased energy, in which black holes and stars are formed. A new study has now revealed the distribution of water within the J1135 galaxy, which is 12 billion light years away and formed when the Universe was a 'teenager', 1.8 billion years after the Big Bang . This water map, with unprecedented resolution, is the first ever to be obtained for such a remote galaxy. The map can help scientists to understand the physical processes taking place within J1135 and shed light on the dynamics, still partially unclear, surrounding the formation of stars, black holes and galaxies themselves.
Published The puzzle of the galaxy with no dark matter


New research has found the first evidence of a massive galaxy with no dark matter. The result is a challenge to the current standard model of cosmology.
Published Picky green sea turtle has travelled to the same place to eat for generations



For approximately 3,000 years, generations of green sea turtles have returned to the same seagrass meadows to eat. The fact that this stretches over many generations highlights the importance of protecting seagrass meadows along the coasts of North Africa.
Published Giant swirling waves at edge of Jupiter's magnetosphere


A team has found that NASA's Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter frequently encounters giant swirling waves at the boundary between the solar wind and Jupiter's magnetosphere. The waves are an important process for transferring energy and mass from the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emitted by the Sun, to planetary space environments.