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Categories: Archaeology: General, Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published Mini-robots modeled on insects may be smallest, lightest, fastest ever developed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Two insect-like robots, a mini-bug and a water strider may be the smallest, lightest and fastest fully functional micro-robots ever known to be created. Such miniature robots could someday be used for work in areas such as artificial pollination, search and rescue, environmental monitoring, micro-fabrication or robotic-assisted surgery. Reporting on their work in the proceedings of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society's International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, the mini-bug weighs in at eight milligrams while the water strider weighs 55 milligrams. Both can move at about six millimeters a second.
Published Despite intensive scientific analyses, this centaur head remains a mystery
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For almost 200 years, archaeologists have been puzzled by a mysterious brown stain on the ancient Greek Parthenon temple in Greece. Now, researchers have conducted new scientific analyses, and their verdict is clear: The mystery remains.
Published Stalagmites as climate archive
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When combined with data from tree-ring records, stalagmites can open up a unique archive to study natural climate fluctuations, a research team has demonstrated. The researchers analyzed the isotopic composition of oxygen in a stalagmite formed from calcareous water in a cave in southern Germany. In conjunction with the data acquired from tree rings, they were able to reconstruct short-term climate fluctuations over centuries and correlate them with historically documented environmental events.
Published Woolly mammoth movements tied to earliest Alaska hunting camps
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have linked the travels of a 14,000-year-old woolly mammoth with the oldest known human settlements in Alaska, providing clues about the relationship between the iconic species and some of the earliest people to travel across the Bering Land Bridge. Isotopic data, along with DNA from other mammoths at the site and archaeological evidence, indicates that early Alaskans likely structured their settlements to overlap with areas where mammoths congregated. Those findings, highlighted in the new issue of the journal Science Advances, provide evidence that mammoths and early hunter-gatherers shared habitat in the region. The long-term predictable presence of woolly mammoths would have attracted humans to the area.
Published Experiment could test quantum nature of large masses for the first time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new experiment could in principle test the quantumness of an object regardless of its mass or energy.
Published Key moment in the evolution of life on Earth captured in fossils
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has precisely dated some of the oldest fossils of complex multicellular life in the world, helping to track a pivotal moment in the history of Earth when the seas began teeming with new lifeforms -- after four billion years of containing only single-celled microbes.
Published Solid-state qubits: Forget about being clean, embrace mess
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New findings debunk previous wisdom that solid-state qubits need to be super dilute in an ultra-clean material to achieve long lifetimes. Instead, cram lots of rare-earth ions into a crystal and some will form pairs that act as highly coherent qubits, a new paper shows.
Published Oldest known fossilized skin is 21 million years older than previous examples
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have identified a 3D fragment of fossilized skin that is at least 21 million years than previously described skin fossils. The skin, which belonged to an early species of Paleozoic reptile, has a pebbled surface and most closely resembles crocodile skin. It's the oldest example of preserved epidermis, the outermost layer of skin in terrestrial reptiles, birds, and mammals, which was an important evolutionary adaptation in the transition to life on land.
Published Ancient cities provide key datasets for urban planning, policy and predictions in the Anthropocene
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study shows how state-of-the-art methods and perspectives from archaeology, history, and palaeoecology are shedding new light on 5,500 years of urban life.
Published Prehistoric person with Turner syndrome identified from ancient DNA
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a new technique to measure the number of chromosomes in ancient genomes more precisely, using it to identify the first prehistoric person with mosaic Turner syndrome (characterized by one X chromosome instead of two [XX]), who lived about 2500 years ago.
Published New study pinpoints the weaknesses in AI
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source ChatGPT and other solutions built on Machine Learning are surging. But even the most successful algorithms have limitations. Researchers have now proven mathematically that apart from simple problems it is not possible to create algorithms for AI that will always be stable. The study may lead to guidelines on how to better test algorithms and reminds us that machines do not have human intelligence after all.
Published Integrating dimensions to get more out of Moore's Law and advance electronics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers suggest a way to fit more transistors on a chip by seamlessly implementing 3D integration with 2D materials.
Published Discovery of immense fortifications dating back 4,000 years in north-western Arabia
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The North Arabian Desert oases were inhabited by sedentary populations in the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE. A fortification enclosing the Khaybar Oasis -- one of the longest known going back to this period -- was just revealed by a team of scientists. This new walled oasis is, along with that of Tayma, one of the two largest in Saudi Arabia.
Published AI discovers that not every fingerprint is unique
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have built a new AI that shatters a long-held belief in forensics -- that fingerprints from different fingers of the same person are unique. It turns out they are similar, only we've been comparing fingerprints the wrong way!
Published The extinction of the giant ape: Long-standing mystery solved
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The largest ever primate Gigantopithecus blacki went extinct when other Asian great apes were thriving, and its demise has long been a mystery. A massive regional study of 22 caves in southern China explores a species on the brink of extinction between 295,000 and 215,000 years ago. As the environment became more seasonal, forest plant communities changed Primates such as orangutans adapted their eating habits and behaviors in response but G. blacki showed signs of stress, struggled to adapt and their numbers dwindled.
Published New study uses machine learning to bridge the reality gap in quantum devices
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study has used the power of machine learning to overcome a key challenge affecting quantum devices. For the first time, the findings reveal a way to close the 'reality gap': the difference between predicted and observed behavior from quantum devices.
Published Nine new snail species discovered in Papua New Guinea, a biodiversity hot spot at risk
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study describes nine new species of carnivorous land snails, all of which are so small they could fit together on a U.S. nickel. They present a rare opportunity to study a group that in many other places is disappearing fast. Worldwide, mollusks account for more than 50% of all recorded extinctions since the year 1500, and many of these were land snails from Pacific islands.
Published New soft robots roll like tires, spin like tops and orbit like moons
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a new soft robot design that engages in three simultaneous behaviors: rolling forward, spinning like a record, and following a path that orbits around a central point. The device, which operates without human or computer control, holds promise for developing soft robotic devices that can be used to navigate and map unknown environments.
Published Cult mentality: Monumental discovery in Italy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered an ancient Roman temple that adds significant insights into the social change from pagan gods to Christianity within the Roman Empire.
Published Researchers rely on Earth's magnetic field to verify an event mentioned in the Old Testament
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study scientifically corroborates an event described in the Second Book of Kings -- the conquest of the Philistine city of Gath by Hazael King of Aram. The method is based on measuring the magnetic field recorded in burnt bricks. The researchers say that the findings are important for determining the intensity of the fire and the scope of destruction in Gath, and also for understanding construction practices in the region.