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Archaeologists have discovered a vast Bronze Age settlement in the steppe of Kazakhstan that was likely an early major city during its heyday some 3,600 years ago, a new study reports.The early city of Seminyarka covered 346 acres (140 ha), more than four times the size of contemporary villages in the region. The site dates back to 1600 B.C. and is the first site in the region to be found containing a significant space dedicated to metallurgy and the production of tin-bronze, according to a study published in the journal Antiquity on Tuesday (18 November).”Semiarcha forever changed our understanding of…

Digital analysis of a perfectly preserved nasal bone in a bizarre-looking Neanderthal skull reveals that long-standing theories about Neanderthal noses don’t pass the sniff test.This skull belongs to the Altamura man, one of the most complete and well-preserved Neanderthal skeletons ever discovered. Speleologists discovered it in 1993 while exploring a cave near the town of Altamura in southern Italy. Altamuraman has not been removed from the cave to prevent damage to the bones, as it is covered with a thick layer of calcite, or “cave popcorn.” This Neanderthal man likely died at the exact location where the skeleton was found,…

Earthlings will have to wait a few more days to see the clearest images yet of NASA’s interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.The space agency just announced that it will hold a live news conference call on Wednesday (November 19th) at 3pm ET. At the conference, NASA scientists and administrators will share and discuss never-before-seen images of interstellar comets taken by telescopes and spacecraft over the past month or so.These images have not yet been released to the public because the majority of NASA employees were furloughed during the U.S. government shutdown from October 1 to November 12, and NASA was unable to…

Facebook creators have new tools to protect their work from plagiarism by others. On Monday, Meta introduced Facebook content protection. This is a mobile tool designed to detect when a creator’s original Reel posted on Facebook is being used without permission. If creators are alerted that others are using their Reels, they can also block their Reels from being displayed on both Facebook and Instagram, track their Reels’ performance, and optionally add attribution links to their creations. Alternatively, you can unclaim on the reels and keep them visible on the meta platform. Meta says the addition of content protection features…

Long before the ancient Greeks imagined Zeus taking the form of a swan and copulating with Princess Leda, the Natufians of Southwest Asia were also depicting the same thing. Archaeologists recently discovered fragments of 12,000-year-old fired clay sculptures from prehistoric settlements in Israel, which they claim represent an early belief system.”When we took this small lump of clay out of the box, we immediately recognized a human figure and a bird lying on its back,” Laurent Davin, an archaeologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told Live Science in an email.The figurine depicts a woman and a bird, likely a…

Three more Chinese astronauts (Taikonauts) are currently stranded in space after successfully repatriating previously stranded comrades. Experts say the development highlights potential flaws in China’s space protocols that could unnecessarily put astronauts at risk.The recently stranded trio Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang are the crew of the Shenzhou-21 mission. They have been living at China’s Tiangong Space Station since October 31, shortly after they were launched into space on a Long March 2F rocket. Their mission was to take over the current Shenzhou 20 crew, consisting of ancient aviators Wang Jie, Chen Zhongrui, and Chen Dong, who were…

Researchers have narrowed down the exact route that the interstellar interloper 3I/ATLAS will take as it begins its one-way journey from our solar system.Thanks to data collected from this alien comet’s recent close encounter with Mars, scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA) have refined the comet’s orbit tenfold. And this could further help researchers unravel its secrets in the coming months, experts say.3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar object ever observed, first discovered in early July and hurtling toward the Sun at more than 130,000 miles (210,000 km) per hour. The comet was likely ejected from a star in a…

Swedish car manufacturer Volvo has terminated its five-year contract with Luminar. This is the latest escalation in an increasingly ugly battle between LIDAR sensor companies and their biggest customers. The battle is occurring at a moment of survival for Luminar. The company recently defaulted on several loans. Luminar is working to reach a resolution with these lenders, but has warned investors that it may have to declare bankruptcy. To stop that, Luminar recently laid off 25% of its staff and is trying to sell itself, or parts of itself, to potential buyers. One of them is Luminar founder Austin Russell,…

Microbes in the gut can help the immune system fight cancer, and a fiber-rich diet may be key to reaping the benefits, a study in mice suggests.The immune system plays an important role in the body’s fight against cancer. At the forefront of this resistance are CD8+ killer T cells, a type of immune cell that surrounds tumors and kills cancer cells. However, as each battle continues, these cells become exhausted and are no longer able to find tumors effectively. So there is a need for treatments that give cells enough oomph to finish their job.Now, in a study published…

Google is rolling out new AI-powered features for booking and planning travel in search, the company announced on Monday. The tech giant is expanding the availability of its AI-powered “Flight Deals” tool, adding the ability for users to organize their travel plans with the AI-mode “Canvas” tool, and bringing agent booking capabilities to more people. Google launched its first flight sale in the US, Canada, and India in August. Now, the company is expanding its AI-powered search tools within Google Flights around the world to help people quickly find affordable destinations. First, users must describe where, when, and how they…