Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General
Published

First case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals documented in new study      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study documents the first case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals and reveals that they were capable of providing altruistic care and support for a vulnerable member of their social group.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

For many urban residents, it's even hotter than their weather app says      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There's a strong chance that last week's scorching temperatures were even hotter than reported for those living in underserved urban areas. New research from environmental engineers has shown that citizen science tools used to gauge heat in these urban areas likely understate the problem of heat islands due to a lack of weather stations. The researchers also suggest a statistical method to improve estimates of urban heat.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Restoring the Great Salt Lake would have environmental justice as well as ecological benefits      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Inland seas around the world are drying up due to increasing human water use and accelerating climate change, and their desiccation is releasing harmful dust that pollutes the surrounding areas during acute dust storms. Using the Great Salt Lake in Utah as a case study, researchers show that dust exposure was highest among Pacific Islanders and Hispanic people and lower in white people compared to all other racial/ethnic groups, and higher for individuals without a high school diploma. Restoring the lake would benefit everyone in the vicinity by reducing dust exposure, and it would also decrease the disparities in exposure between different racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Nature Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Hurricane changed 'rules of the game' in monkey society      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A devastating hurricane transformed a monkey society by changing the pros and cons of interacting with others, new research shows.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General
Published

Origins of cumulative culture in human evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Cumulative culture -- the accumulation of technological modifications and improvements over generations -- allowed humans to adapt to a diversity of environments and challenges. But, it is unclear when cumulative culture first developed during hominin evolution. A new study concludes that humans began to rapidly accumulate technological knowledge through social learning around 600,000 years ago.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Effective hurricane risk messaging      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Forecasters can use images in social media to better communicate weather related hazards of hurricanes, according to a pair of new studies.

Biology: Biochemistry Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Understanding the Green Sahara's collapse      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Abrupt shifts within complex systems such as the Earth's climate system are extremely hard to predict. Researchers have now succeeded in developing a new method to anticipate such tipping points in advance. They successfully tested the reliability of their method using one of the most severe abrupt climate changes of the past: the shift of the once-green Sahara into a desert.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General
Published

New research finds biases encoded in language across cultures and history      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers share evidence that people's attitudes are deeply woven into language and culture across the globe and centuries.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Video analysis of Iceland 2010 eruption could improve volcanic ash forecasts for aviation safety      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Video footage of Iceland's 2010 Eyjafjallaj kull eruption is providing researchers with rare, up-close observations of volcanic ash clouds -- information that could help better forecast how far explosive eruptions disperse their hazardous ash particles.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Public more confident connecting increasing heat, wildfires with climate change than other extreme weather events, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers found that U.S. adults are fairly confident in linking wildfires and heat to climate change, but less confident when it comes to other extreme weather events like hurricanes, flooding or tornadoes.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Severe Weather Mathematics: Modeling Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Quantum data assimilation: A quantum leap in weather prediction      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Data assimilation is an important mathematical discipline in earth sciences, particularly in numerical weather prediction (NWP). However, conventional data assimilation methods require significant computational resources. To address this, researchers developed a novel method to solve data assimilation on quantum computers, significantly reducing the computation time. The findings of the study have the potential to advance NWP systems and will inspire practical applications of quantum computers for advancing data assimilation.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Botany Biology: Zoology
Published

Ancient Syrian diets resembled the modern 'Mediterranean diet'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Thousands of years ago, people in ancient Syria likely ate mostly grains, grapes, olives and a small amount of dairy and meat -- similar to today's 'Mediterranean diet,' according to a new study.

Anthropology: Cultures Archaeology: General
Published

Greek Island was home to Bronze Age purple dye workshop      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Greek island of Aegina was home to a Late Bronze Age purple dye workshop, according to a new study.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Ritual sacrifice at Chichén Itzá      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Rising to power in the wake of the Classic Maya collapse, Chichen Itz was among the largest and most influential cities of the ancient Maya, but much about its political connections and ritual life remain poorly understood. Close kin relationships, including two pairs of identical twins, suggests a connection to the Maya origin myths of the Popol Vuh.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Researchers use 3D visualization to predict, prevent hurricane damage      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The researchers say 3D visualization of hurricanes and storm surges allows them to understand how flooding will impact coastal communities by allowing them to vividly see how each building and road might be impacted by a given flood.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Earth and space share the same turbulence      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered that the turbulence found in the thermosphere -- known as the gateway to space -- and turbulence in the troposphere, here closer to sea level, follow the same physical laws despite having drastically different atmospheric compositions and dynamics.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Crucial shift in River Nile's evolution during ancient Egypt discovered      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have explored how the River Nile evolved over the past 11,500 years and how changes in its geography could have helped shape the fortunes of ancient Egyptian civilization. Research reveals a major shift in the Nile around four thousand years ago, after which the floodplain in the Nile Valley around Luxor greatly expanded.