Skeleton discovered in Bulgaria revealed that a teenage boy managed to survive a brutal lion attack 6,200 years ago that left him severely injured
A teenage boy who survived a brutal lion attack in what is now Bulgaria some 6,200 years ago had a deep hole in his skull, suggesting his brain was severely damaged, new research has found. The 16- to 18-year-old boy may have been hunting when he encountered the lion (Panthera leo), according to a study […]
How is a “traumatic tattoo” made and do you have one?
Usually, we get tattoos intentionally. However, some injuries can leave another type of mark known as a “traumatic tattoo.” These tattoos have nothing to do with needles or ink. So what exactly is a traumatic tattoo? Traumatic tattoos are formed by everyday substances such as graphite, dirt, and gravel. Alternatively, pieces of metal, such as […]
This week’s science news: Neanderthals start fires, killer whales and dolphins team up, and the Star of Bethlehem is explored
It’s been an exciting week in science news, with interesting directions in our understanding of human evolution and animal behavior. But before we get too deep into terrestrial matters, let’s look to the skies and see what has been discovered in space. A bright binary star system could soon glow with the glow of thousands […]
New telescope images prove comet 3I/ATLAS is getting brighter and greener on its way to Earth
New telescope images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS confirm that the mysterious object has gotten brighter and greener since it moved closer to the sun in late October. This increase in activity could herald a new bright burst of cometary material as 3I/ATLAS heads toward its closest approach to Earth next week. New images taken on […]
Giant structure discovered deep underground in Bermuda is unlike anything else on Earth
Step aside, the Bermuda Triangle: The North Atlantic’s newest mystery lies beneath this enigmatic archipelago. Scientists have discovered a strange rock formation 20 kilometers thick beneath the oceanic crust of Bermuda. This level of thickness has never been seen in other similar formations around the world. “Normally, you would expect the bottom of the ocean […]
‘Very novel and highly puzzling’: Unknown species of squid found buried upside down pretending to be a plant
Scientists have photographed a never-before-seen deep-sea squid burying itself upside down on the ocean floor. This behavior has never been recorded in cephalopods. They captured the strange sight while surveying the depths of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a deep-sea plain in the Pacific Ocean that is targeted for deep-sea mining. The researchers describe the encounter […]
New “DNA cassette tape” can store up to 1.5 million times more data than a smartphone, and data can be stored for 20,000 years if frozen
Running out of space on your phone? Don’t upgrade your cloud storage subscription yet. Scientists in China have discovered that images, text files, and other digital data can be stored on DNA strands fused to a 330-foot-long (100-meter) plastic strip that can hold the equivalent of 3 billion songs. This is a far cry from […]
‘It’s too big to imagine’: Scientists discover a monster black hole with winds blowing at more than 130 million miles per hour
Astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole that is whipping up cosmic winds at record speed. The black hole, located 135 million light-years from Earth at the center of spiral galaxy NGC 3783, caught the attention of researchers after it emitted a huge X-ray flare. When the explosion subsided, winds roared at more than 37,000 […]
‘They’ve never seen it before’: Romans made liquid plaster paste and smeared it on the dead before burial, leaving fingerprints, new study finds
About 1,800 years ago, people preparing for burial in Roman England created a plaster-like paste and applied it to corpses, leaving fingerprints that are still visible today, researchers reported in a recent blog post. These newly discovered prints reveal a pragmatic approach to funerary practices in the third and fourth centuries AD, the archaeologists said. […]
Study finds killer whales work with dolphins to hunt salmon – but not everyone agrees
Killer whales off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, have been seen hunting with dolphins and sharing the remains of salmon after killing them. Killer whales (Orcinus orca), or killer whales, found in northern waters off the coast of British Columbia, have been observed working with white-sided dolphins (Aethalodelphis obliquidens) to hunt Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus […]