Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral was historical first in using iron reinforcements in the 12th century      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The Notre-Dame de Paris is the first known cathedral of Gothic-style architecture to be initially constructed with extensive use of iron to bind stones together. The 2019 fire that significantly damaged the cathedral enabled analyses leading to this discovery.

Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: General
Published

Dinosaur claws used for digging and display      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Dinosaur claws had many functions, but now a team has shown some predatory dinosaurs used their claws for digging or even for display.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Archaeologists uncover early evidence of brain surgery in Ancient Near East      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A recent excavation in Megiddo, Israel, unearthed the earliest example of a particular type of cranial surgery in the Ancient Near East -- and potentially one of the oldest examples of leprosy in the world.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Gene variations for immune and metabolic conditions have persisted in humans for more than 700,000 years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study explores 'balancing selection' by analyzing thousands of modern human genomes alongside ancient hominin groups, such as Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes. The research has 'implications for understanding human diversity, the origin of diseases, and biological trade-offs that may have shaped our evolution,' says evolutionary biologists.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Scientists find world's oldest European hedgehog      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The world's oldest scientifically-confirmed European hedgehog has been found in Denmark by a citizen science project involving hundreds of volunteers. The hedgehog lived for 16 years, 7 years longer than the previous record holder.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: General
Published

Oldest spinosaur brains revealed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have reconstructed the brains and inner ears of two British spinosaurs, helping uncover how these large predatory dinosaurs interacted with their environment.

Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Scientists develop new index based on functional morphology to understand how ancestors of modern birds used their wings      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have compared the relationship among the strength of flight bones, body mass, and the way modern birds fly to better understand the evolution of flight in birds and extinct animals, such as the Pteranodon.

Archaeology: General Biology: Marine Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Caribou have been using same Arctic calving grounds for 3,000 years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Caribou have been using the same Arctic calving grounds for more than 3,000 years. Female caribou shed their antlers within days of giving birth, leaving behind a record of their annual travels across Alaska and Canada's Yukon that persists on the cold tundra for hundreds or even thousands of years. Researchers recovered antlers that have sat undisturbed on the arctic tundra since the Bronze Age.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Codebreakers crack secrets of Mary Queen of Scots' lost letters      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Secret, coded letters penned by Mary Queen of Scots while she was imprisoned in England by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I have been uncovered by a multidisciplinary team of international codebreakers. Launched on the anniversary of Mary's execution, study reveals 50 new letters in cipher -- with some still believed missing -- shedding new light on her captivity.

Biology: Evolutionary Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

319-million-year-old fish preserves the earliest fossilized brain of a backboned animal      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The CT-scanned skull of a 319-million-year-old fossilized fish, pulled from a coal mine in England more than a century ago, has revealed the oldest example of a well-preserved vertebrate brain.

Biology: Evolutionary Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

What crocodile DNA reveals about the Ice Age      (via sciencedaily.com) 

What drives crocodile evolution? Is climate a major factor or changes in sea levels? Determined to find answers to these questions, researchers discovered that while changing temperatures and rainfall had little impact on the crocodiles' gene flow over the past three million years, changes to sea levels during the Ice Age had a different effect.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Researchers uncover 92 fossil nests belonging to some of India's largest dinosaurs      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The discovery of more than 250 fossilized eggs reveals intimate details about the lives of titanosaurs in the Indian subcontinent, according to a new study.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Mummified crocodiles provide insights into mummy-making over time      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Crocodiles were mummified in a unique way at the Egyptian site of Qubbat al-Hawa during the 5th Century BC, according to a new study.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Geoscience: Severe Weather Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

When migrating birds go astray, disturbances in magnetic field may be partly to blame      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Disturbances to Earth's magnetic field can lead birds astray -- a phenomenon scientists call 'vagrancy' -- even in perfect weather, and especially during fall migration. While other factors such as weather likely play bigger roles in causing vagrancy, researchers found a strong correlation between birds that were captured far outside of their expected range and the geomagnetic disturbances that occurred during both fall and spring migrations.

Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossils reveal dinosaurs of prehistoric Patagonia      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study is providing a glimpse into dinosaur and bird diversity in Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous, just before the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. The fossils represent the first record of theropods -- a dinosaur group that includes both modern birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur relatives -- from the Chilean portion of Patagonia. The researchers' finds include giant megaraptors with large sickle-like claws and birds similar to todays ducks and geese.

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

Ancient Siberian genomes reveal genetic backflow from North America across the Bering Sea      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The movement of people across the Bering Sea from North Asia to North America is a well-known phenomenon in early human history. Nevertheless, the genetic makeup of the  people who lived in North Asia during this time has remained mysterious due to a limited number of ancient genomes analyzed from this region. Now, researchers describe genomes from ten individuals up to 7,500 years old that help to fill the gap and show geneflow from people moving in the opposite direction from North America to North Asia.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Origins of the building blocks of life      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study posits that interstellar cloud conditions may have played a significant role on the presence of key building blocks of life in the solar system.

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

DNA from archaeological remains shows that immigration to Scandinavia was exceptional during the Viking period      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study based on 297 ancient Scandinavian genomes analysed together with the genomic data of 16,638 present day Scandinavians resolve the complex relations between geography, ancestry, and gene flow in Scandinavia -- encompassing the Roman Age, the Viking Age and later periods. A surprising increase of variation during the Viking period indicates that gene flow into Scandinavia was especially intense during this period.