Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Ancient grammatical puzzle solved after 2,500 years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A grammatical problem which has defeated Sanskrit scholars since the 5th Century BC has finally been solved by a PhD student.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
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.

Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossil site reveals giant arthropods dominated the seas 470 million years ago      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Discoveries at a major new fossil site in Morocco suggest giant arthropods -- relatives of modern creatures including shrimps, insects and spiders -- dominated the seas 470 million years ago.

Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Precise solar observations fed millions in ancient Mexico      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Without clocks or modern tools, ancient Mexicans watched the sun to maintain a farming calendar that precisely tracked seasons and even adjusted for leap years.

Archaeology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

True giant wombat gives Diprotodon podium a wobble      (via sciencedaily.com) 

While the Diprotodon -- the extinct megafauna species that is distantly related to wombats but was the size of a small car -- is commonly (but incorrectly) thought of as Australia's 'giant wombat', researchers have shed light on a large species that does belong in the modern-day wombat family. The complete skull of this true fossil giant wombat, found in a Rockhampton cave in Queensland, Australia and estimated to be around 80,000 years old, has been described for the first time.

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

Dinosaur teeth reveal what they didn't eat      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scratches on dinosaur teeth could reveal what they really ate. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) has now been used to infer the feeding habits of large theropods, including Allosaurus and T. rex. By taking 3D images of individual teeth and analyzing the pattern of marks scratched into them, researchers could reason which dinosaurs may have frequently crunched on hard bone and which may have regularly eaten softer foods and prey. This technique opens up a new avenue of research for paleontology, helping us to better understand not only dinosaurs themselves but also the environment and communities in which they lived.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Smilodon's sabre teeth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have tested the biting efficiency of Smilodon, an extinct species of carnivore close to the extant felines. Using high-precision 3D scans and simulation methods, the team has just revealed how these animals managed to bite despite the impressive length of their teeth.

Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Discovery of world's oldest DNA breaks record by one million years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Two-million-year-old DNA has been identified -- opening a 'game-changing' new chapter in the history of evolution. Microscopic fragments of environmental DNA were found in Ice Age sediment in northern Greenland. Using cutting-edge technology, researchers discovered the fragments are one million years older than the previous record for DNA sampled from a Siberian mammoth bone. The ancient DNA has been used to map a two-million-year-old ecosystem which weathered extreme climate change.

Ecology: Trees Paleontology: Fossils
Published

New branch on tree of life includes 'lions of the microbial world'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There's a new branch on the tree of life and it's made up of predators that nibble their prey to death. These microbial predators fall into two groups, one of which researchers have dubbed 'nibblerids' because they, well, nibble chunks off their prey using tooth-like structures. The other group, nebulids, eat their prey whole. And both comprise a new ancient branch on the tree of life called 'Provora,' according to a new article.

Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Dinosaurs were on the up before asteroid downfall      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Dinosaurs dominated the world right up until a deadly asteroid hit the earth, leading to their mass extinction, some 66 million years ago, a landmark study reveals. Fresh insights into dinosaurs' ecosystems -- the habitats and food types that supported their lives -- suggests that their environments were robust and thriving, right up until that fateful day, at the end of the Cretaceous period.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Space: Cosmology Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Meteorites plus gamma rays could have given Earth the building blocks for life      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Even as detailed images of distant galaxies from the James Webb Space Telescope show us more of the greater universe, scientists still disagree about how life began here on Earth. One hypothesis is that meteorites delivered amino acids -- life's building blocks -- to our planet. Now, researchers have experimentally shown that amino acids could have formed in these early meteorites from reactions driven by gamma rays produced inside the space rocks.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Ancient amphibians had their bones cooked      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have solved a decades-long mystery as to why ancient tetrapods -- amphibian-like creatures that lived over 300 million years ago -- preserved in one of Ireland's most important fossil sites seemingly had their bones cooked after they died.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs
Published

Ankylosaurs battled each other as much as they fought off T. rex      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have found new evidence for how armored dinosaurs used their iconic tail clubs. The exceptional fossil of the ankylosaur Zuul crurivastator has spikes along its flanks that were broken and re-healed while the dinosaur was alive -- injuries that the scientists think were caused from a strike by another Zuul's massive tail club. This suggests ankylosaurs had complex behavior, possibly battling for social and territorial dominance or even engaging in a 'rutting' season for mates.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Megadrought: How the current Southwestern North American megadrought is affecting Earth's upper atmosphere      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research, based on two decades' worth of data, shows that in the ten years after its onset in 2000, the Southwestern North American (SWNA) megadrought caused a 30% change in gravity wave activity in Earth's upper atmosphere.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Paleontology: Fossils
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.

Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Fossil discovery in storeroom cupboard shifts origin of modern lizard back 35 million years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A specimen retrieved from a cupboard of the Natural History Museum in London has shown that modern lizards originated in the Late Triassic and not the Middle Jurassic as previously thought.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Lost medieval chapel sheds light on royal burials at Westminster Abbey, finds new study featuring 15th-century reconstruction      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New evidence, helping to form a 15th-century reconstruction of part of Westminster Abbey, demonstrates how a section of the building was once the focus for the royal family's devotion to the cult of a disemboweled saint and likely contained gruesome images of his martyrdom.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Ancient DNA from medieval Germany tells the origin story of Ashkenazi Jews      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Extracting ancient DNA from teeth, an international group of scientists peered into the lives of a once-thriving medieval Ashkenazi Jewish community in Erfurt, Germany. The findings show that the Erfurt Jewish community was more genetically diverse than modern day Ashkenazi Jews.