Stone Age women were buried like men in Hungary 7,000 years ago, revealing flexible gender roles
A typical male burial in the Stone Age cemetery of Chashalom, Hungary. He is buried on the right side, with polished stone tools placed near his left shoulder. (Image credit: Alexandra Anders) A Stone Age woman buried with male-related artifacts in what is now Hungary reveals that her society embraced complex identities and flexible gender […]
Gravitational wave background could repair our broken understanding of the universe
Physicists may have an entirely new way to measure the rate of expansion of the universe, one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in cosmology, by harnessing the ripples in space-time predicted by Einstein. A new study suggests that the weak gravitational wave background produced by the mergers of large numbers of black holes across the […]
Gold coins discovered by British metal detectors may have been dropped by Viking invaders from the Great Pagan Army
Minted more than 1,000 years ago as an imitation of a more famous coin, the gold coin may be a relic of the “Great Heathen Army” that invaded England in 865. This invasion created a Viking kingdom there known as the Danelaw. Metal detectors discovered the coin in a field near Elsing, a village in […]
‘Blood Moon’ total lunar eclipse on March 3 will attract millions of people around the world (photos)
As the full moon began to set over North America in the early morning hours of March 3, it briefly sank into the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, resulting in the last total lunar eclipse visible in the United States until 2029. If you missed the early morning spectacle, you can still watch the whole […]
In this parasitic species, all ants are queens and reproduce by cloning themselves and hijacking colonies of other ants.
Scientists have discovered that a rare type of ant that lives in Japan has no males or workers, only a queen ant. These ant queens parasitize the nests of another species of ants and reproduce asexually, creating clone queens that take over other nests. Jürgen Heinze, a biologist at Germany’s University of Regensburg and co-author […]
Vanuatu’s ‘barefoot volcanologist’ stands on Mount Yasur, spewing ash and sulfur, captured in award-winning photo
A photograph of an amateur volcanologist standing barefoot on a lava field on Vanuatu’s Mount Yasur has won the portrait category in this year’s Sony World Photography Awards open competition. Fine art and documentary photographer El Leontief captured Philip, the “barefoot volcanologist,” on Tanna, a remote Pacific island about 120 miles (190 kilometers) from Efate’s […]
The Lady of Elche: A 2,400-year-old bust of a mysterious “noble” woman from pre-Roman Spain
The mysterious bust of the Virgin of Elche was discovered in Spain in the late 19th century. (Image source: Getty Images) simple facts Name: Lady of Elche What is it: Limestone bust Birthplace: Elche, Spain Created: From around 400 BC to around 350 BC On a hot summer day in 1897, a farmer in Elche, […]
Pain lasts longer in women and may be caused by immune cells
Pain is something most people experience after an injury such as an ankle sprain, surgery, or car accident. The pain usually goes away as the body heals. However, symptoms can last longer in women than in men, and women are more likely to develop chronic pain. For decades, differences in pain between men and women […]
Ancient Greek mystery cult priestesses may have chemically tweaked fungi to induce psychedelic hallucinations
Priestess of a mysterious cult in ancient Greece and Rome may have used highly toxic fungi to induce psychedelic hallucinations during rituals, a new study suggests. But some experts say that while research shows it’s plausible, there’s no historical evidence that this happened. The study, published February 13 in the journal Scientific Reports, reports the […]
Auroras may become more intense this March due to the “vernal equinox effect”
This month could be the best time to see the aurora borealis in nearly a decade, as the combination of the equinox effect and excessive solar activity makes them more likely to occur. However, exactly when and where they will appear is still unknown. At 10:46 a.m. UTC on Friday, March 20th, the sun will […]