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Categories: Anthropology: Cultures, Geoscience: Earthquakes
Published Chimpanzee stone tool diversity


Archaeologists and primatologists have shown that stone tool using chimpanzees in West Africa have distinct and recognizable material cultures.
Published Earth's newest secret: How volcanoes really work


It isn't every day that we learn something that fundamentally changes how we understand our world. But for volcanologists across the globe, such a revelation has occurred.
Published What ancient dung reveals about Epipaleolithic animal tending


Tiny crystals in ancient animal dung serve as key evidence in a new analysis suggesting the possibility that hunter-gatherers at Abu Hureyra, Syria, may have tended small numbers of animals just outside their dwellings between 12,800 and 12,300 years ago.
Published Modern humans generate more brain neurons than Neanderthals


The question of what makes modern humans unique has long been a driving force for researchers. Comparisons with our closest relatives, the Neanderthals, therefore provide fascinating insights. The increase in brain size, and in neuron production during brain development, are considered to be major factors for the increased cognitive abilities that occurred during human evolution. However, while both Neanderthals and modern humans develop brains of similar size, very little is known about whether modern human and Neanderthal brains may have differed in terms of their neuron production during development. Researchers now show that the modern human variant of the protein TKTL1, which differs by only a single amino acid from the Neanderthal variant, increases one type of brain progenitor cells, called basal radial glia, in the modern human brain.
Published Diamonds and rust at Earth's core-mantle boundary


Scientists discover that a potential 'diamond factory' may have existed at Earth's core-mantle boundary for billions of years.
Published Hidden microearthquakes illuminate large earthquake-hosting faults in Oklahoma and Kansas


Using machine learning to sift through a decade's worth of seismic data, researchers have identified hundreds of thousands of microearthquakes along some previously unknown fault structures in Oklahoma and Kansas.
Published The Southern Arc and its lively genetic history


A vast paleogenetic study reveals insights on migration patterns, the expansion of farming and language development from the Caucasus over western Asia and Southern Europe from the early Copper Age until the late middle ages.
Published Analysis of everyday tools challenges long-held ideas about what drove major changes in ancient Greek society


A modern scientific analysis of ancient stone tools is challenging long-held beliefs about what caused radical change on the island of Crete, where the first European state flourished during the Bronze Age: the 'Minoan civilization.'
Published Study of ancient skulls sheds light on human interbreeding with Neanderthals


Research has established that there are traces of Neandertal DNA in the genome of modern humans. Now an exploratory study that assessed the facial structure of prehistoric skulls is offering new insights, and supports the hypothesis that much of this interbreeding took place in the Near East -- the region ranging from North Africa to Iraq.
Published Wave created by Tonga volcano eruption reached 90 meters -- nine times taller than 2011 Japan tsunami


New research reveals more about the magnitude of January eruption, as researchers call for better preparedness The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano in January created an initial wave 90 meters high -- almost the height of the Statue of Liberty (93m). Tsunami expert calls for better warning systems to detect volcanic eruptions, saying systems are '30 years behind' comparable earthquake detection tools.
Published Geological carbon sequestration in mantle rocks prevents large earthquakes in parts of the San Andreas Fault


Researchers say ubiquitous evidence for ongoing geological carbon sequestration in mantle rocks in the creeping sections of the San Andreas Fault is one underlying cause of aseismic creep along a roughly 150 kilometer-long SAF segment between San Juan Bautista and Parkfield, California, and along several other fault segments.
Published Assessing the effect of hydraulic fracturing on microearthquakes


A new article assesses the impact of hydraulic fracturing on seismic hazards like micro-earthquakes, an important issue for the safety of workers and the continuation of mining operations.
Published Wood sharpens stone: Boomerangs used to retouch lithic tools


A new study into the multipurpose uses of boomerangs has highlighted the hardwood objects were used to shape the edges of stone tools used by Australian Indigenous communities. The research demonstrated how boomerangs could function as lithic (or stone) tool retouchers by investigating the use-wear generated on the boomerangs' surfaces during retouching activities. It was found that these use-wear impacts on boomerangs comparable to those observed on Paleolithic bone retouching tools, which date back to more than 200,000 years ago.
Published Nanoscale observations simplify how scientists describe earthquake movement


Using single calcite crystals with varying surface roughness allows engineers to simplify the complex physics that describes fault movement. Researchers now show how this simplification may lead to better earthquake prediction.
Published Taking your time makes a difference


Researchers find that stem cells in the developing brain of modern humans take longer to divide and make fewer errors when distributing their chromosomes to their daughter cells, compared to those of Neanderthals.
Published High-status Danish Vikings wore exotic beaver furs


Beaver fur was a symbol of wealth and an important trade item in 10th Century Denmark, according to a new study.
Published Global supply chains remain resilient in the wake of natural disasters


While many U.S. policy makers are calling for reshoring and nearshoring to combat trade disruptions caused by COVID-19, new research suggests retrenchment of global supply chains is unlikely to happen in the post-pandemic context.
Published DNA from ancient population in Southern China suggests Native Americans' East Asian roots


For the first time, researchers successfully sequenced the genome of ancient human fossils from the Late Pleistocene in southern China. The data suggests that the mysterious hominin belonged to an extinct maternal branch of modern humans that might have contributed to the origin of Native Americans.
Published Novel model of fluid distribution in the Cascadia Subduction Zone aids understanding of seismic activity


A novel three-dimensional model of the fluid stored deep in Earth's crust along the Cascadia Subduction Zone provides new insight into how the accumulation and release of those fluids may influence seismic activity in the region.
Published Shockwave caused by Tonga underwater eruption may help scientists predict future tsunami


Using data from the eruption of the underwater volcano near Tonga in 2022, researchers used disturbances in Earth's upper atmosphere to track the airwaves that cause tsunami. Their findings may lead to speedier predictions of these giant waves.