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Categories: Anthropology: Early Humans, Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published Study reveals average age at conception for men versus women over past 250,000 years
(via sciencedaily.com) Using a new method based upon comparing DNA mutation rates between parents and offspring, evolutionary biologists have revealed the average age of mothers versus fathers over the past 250,000 years, including the discovery that the age gap is shrinking, with women's average age at conception increasing from 23.2 years to 26.4 years, on average, in the past 5,000 years.
Published Archaeologists uncover oldest known projectile points in the Americas
(via sciencedaily.com) Archaeologists have uncovered projectile points in Idaho that are thousands of years older than any previously found in the Americas, helping to fill in the history of how early humans crafted and used stone weapons.
Published Predicting lava flow
(via sciencedaily.com) A team is collecting data that will be used to create models that can help improve lava flow forecasting tools that are useful in determining how hazards impact populations. One such tool, known as MOLASSES, is a simulation engine that forecasts inundation areas of lava flow.
Published Using drones to monitor volcanoes: Researchers analyze volcanic gases with the help of ultra-lightweight sensor systems
(via sciencedaily.com) The main gases released by volcanoes are water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Analyzing these gases is one of the best ways of obtaining information on volcanic systems and the magmatic processes that are underway. The ratio of carbon dioxide levels to those of sulfur dioxide can even reveal the likelihood of an impending eruption. Drones are employed to carry the necessary analytical systems to the site of activity.
Published Early humans may have first walked upright in the trees
(via sciencedaily.com) Human bipedalism -- walking upright on two legs -- may have evolved in trees, and not on the ground as previously thought, according to a new study.
Published Signals from the ionosphere could improve tsunami forecasts
(via sciencedaily.com) The powerful volcanic eruption in January 2022 created ripple effects throughout the world's atmosphere and oceans. Analysis of the Hunga Tonga eruption shows how signals from the ionosphere could help monitor future volcanoes and tsunamis.
Published Immune system of modern Papuans shaped by DNA from ancient Denisovans, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Modern Papuans' immune system likely evolved with a little help from the Denisovans, a mysterious human ancestor who interbred with ancient humans, according to a new study.
Published How intensive agriculture turned a wild plant into a pervasive weed
(via sciencedaily.com) Agriculture is driving rapid evolutionary change, not just on farms but also in wild species in surrounding landscapes, new research has found.
Published Jawbone may represent earliest presence of humans in Europe
(via sciencedaily.com) For over a century, one of the earliest human fossils ever discovered in Spain has been long considered a Neanderthal. However, new analysis from an international research team dismantles this century-long interpretation, demonstrating that this fossil is not a Neanderthal; rather, it may actually represent the earliest presence of Homo sapiens ever documented in Europe.
Published DNA sequence enhances understanding origins of jaws
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have discovered and characterized a DNA sequence found in jawed vertebrates, such as sharks and humans, but absent in jawless vertebrates, such as lampreys. This DNA is important for the shaping of the joint surfaces during embryo development.
Published Human evolution wasn't just the sheet music, but how it was played
(via sciencedaily.com) A team of researchers has identified a group of human DNA sequences driving changes in brain development, digestion and immunity that seem to have evolved rapidly after our family line split from that of the chimpanzees, but before we split with the Neanderthals.
Published Monitoring 'frothy' magma gases could help evade disaster
(via sciencedaily.com) Volcanic eruptions are dangerous and difficult to predict. A team has found that the ratio of atoms in specific gases released from volcanic fumaroles (gaps in the Earth's surface) can provide an indicator of what is happening to the magma deep below -- similar to taking a blood test to check your health. This can indicate when things might be 'heating up.' Specifically, changes in the ratio of argon-40 and helium-3 can indicate how frothy the magma is, which signals the risk of different types of eruption. Understanding which ratios of which gases indicate a certain type of magma activity is a big step. Next, the team hopes to develop portable equipment which can provide on-site, real-time measurements for a 24/7 volcanic activity monitoring and early warning system.
Published Footprints claimed as evidence of ice age humans in North America need better dating, new research shows
(via sciencedaily.com) The preserved footprints found in New Mexico's Lake Otero Basin would upend scientific understanding of how, and when, humans first arrived in North America, if they are accurately dated. A new study brings the age claim into question.
Published Oldest evidence of the controlled use of fire to cook food, researchers report
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The remains of a huge carp fish mark the earliest signs of cooking by prehistoric human to 780,000 years ago, predating the available data by some 600,000 years, according to researchers.
Published Tonga volcano had highest plume ever recorded
(via sciencedaily.com) Using images captured by satellites, researchers have confirmed that the January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano produced the highest-ever recorded plume. The colossal eruption is also the first to have been directly observed to have broken through to the mesosphere layer of the atmosphere.
Published Volcanic activity and low ocean oxygen events linked to climate warming and rapid ice melt during last ice age, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) A chemical analysis of sediment cores from the North Pacific Ocean show a consistent pairing of volcanic ash and hypoxia, a low ocean oxygen interval spanning thousands of years, during times of rapid climate warming at the end of the last ice age, new research shows.
Published Ancient DNA analysis sheds light on the early peopling of South America
(via sciencedaily.com) Using DNA from two ancient humans unearthed in two different archaeological sites in northeast Brazil, researchers have unraveled the deep demographic history of South America at the regional level with some surprising results. Not only do they provide new genetic evidence supporting existing archaeological data of the north-to-south migration toward South America, they also have discovered migrations in the opposite direction along the Atlantic coast -- for the first time. Among the key findings, they also have discovered evidence of Neanderthal ancestry within the genomes of ancient individuals from South America.
Published Ancient genomes reveal hidden history of human adaptation
(via sciencedaily.com) The use of ancient DNA, including samples of human remains around 45,000 years old, has shed light on a previously unknown aspect of human evolution.
Published UK's oldest human DNA obtained, revealing two distinct Palaeolithic populations
(via sciencedaily.com) The first genetic data from Palaeolithic human individuals in the UK -- the oldest human DNA obtained from the British Isles so far -- indicates the presence of two distinct groups that migrated to Britain at the end of the last ice age, according to new research. Published today in Nature Ecology and Evolution, the new study by UCL Institute of Archaeology, the Natural History Museum and the Francis Crick Institute researchers reveals for the first time that the recolonisation of Britain consisted of at least two groups with distinct origins and cultures.
Published Research reveals magma activity beneath Mount Edgecumbe
(via sciencedaily.com) Magma beneath long-dormant Mount Edgecumbe volcano in Southeast Alaska has been moving upward through Earth's crust, according to research the Alaska Volcano Observatory rapidly produced using a new method.