Earth’s ‘Cousin’ Found; Burnt Scroll Made Readable, ET Search Boosted
NASA Finds Earth’s Older and Bigger Cousin NASA announced that its Kepler mission has discovered a planet and star that closely resembles the Earth and our Sun. Some have even been calling the discovery of the exoplanet “Earth’s older and bigger cousin”. The planet and sun are part of the Kepler-452 system and are about […]
Ancient Toolmaking Roused Humanity’s Need for Language
A couple of million years ago our ancient human ancestors created the world’s first tools when they broke some rocks into sharp shards so that they could slice apart and butcher game such as gazelles or zebras. These early implements, called Oldowan tools, are the world’s oldest-known cutting devices. The term “Oldowan” is taken from […]
Science Scanner: Ultra-Fast Data Transmission, Why Humans Look Different, Exoplanet Makes Young Sun Act Old, Scientists Find New Branch of European Family Tree
California Scientists Develop Radio Based Ultra-Fast Data Transmission System Back in 2012, an international team of scientists led by electrical engineering professor Alan Willner, of the University of Southern California, made news when they announced that they were able to transmit data at incredibly high speeds with a system that used eight twisted light beams. […]
Rosetta Rendezvous With Comet, Measuring Happiness with Math, Lowered Testosterone Levels Civilized Us, Bettering our Brains with Electromagentic Stimulation
ESA’s Rosetta Rendezvous with its Target Comet Today, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft became the first to rendezvous and orbit a comet. Rosetta, launched back in March, 2004, spent over a decade traveling in space to pursue its target, Comet 67P/Churyumov/Gerasimenko. Both the Rosetta and its target comet are about 405 million kilometers […]
Study Suggests a Significant Change to Human History
An international team of scientists claim that their recent research could rewrite the history of human evolution. The researchers suggest that instead of our early human ancestors belonging to different evolutionary species such as Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis or Homo erectus, they are all actually of the same species, but just happen to look a […]
Studies Provide Fresh Insight into the Ancestry of Early Europeans
Two recently released studies have shed new light on ancient Europeans. Taking maternally-inherited mitochondrial DNA samples from bones and teeth of the skeletons of 364 people who lived about 5,000 years ago in what is now Central Europe, researchers in one study said that they were able to reconstruct the first detailed genetic history of […]
Neanderthals Invented Leather Tool Still Used Today
New evidence shows Neanderthals likely invented a type of hand tool that’s still being today by high-end leather workers. Two international teams of researchers reached that conclusion after discovering remnants of bone tools crafted by ancient man about 50,000 years ago. The tools found at two Paleolithic sites in southwest France were identified as a […]
Studies Disagree on Origins of Monogamy
Two new competing studies disagree on the origins of monogamy but both agree it had nothing to do with romance. Researchers at Cambridge University found social monogamy originated as a male mating strategy which evolved over the years. Males pushed for monogamous relationships after finding themselves in situations where females lived far apart from each other […]
Study: Diet Changes May Have Been Crucial Step in Becoming Human
A change in diet about 3.5 million years ago may have set hominid species on a path to becoming human, according to a study led by the University of Colorado, Boulder. Scientists conducted high-tech tests on the tooth enamel found in remains of ancient hominid species. The results indicated that, prior to that dietary change, […]
Study: Human Hand Evolved So Fist Could Club Enemies
The human hand is a sophisticated work of art and science. Refined through centuries of evolution, hands enable us to perform unique functions which help us to not only survive but also to thrive as a species. New research suggests the evolution of the modern human hand may be due to a very basic need: for use […]