Uncategorized

  1. 19676

    Unless Vincenzo Formicola can demonstrate a human-caused fatal injury to the youngsters buried at these grave sites, his suggestion of human sacrifice is just sensationalistic speculation. The likeliest reason for a group burial is death in an outbreak of disease. There are many modern instances, such as the era of the bubonic plague. The rich […]

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  2. Anthropology

    Making sacrifices in Stone Age societies

    A half-dozen burials at sites in Europe and western Asia dating to between 27,000 and 23,000 years ago provide clues to possible human sacrifices.

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  3. Anthropology

    Digging up debate in a French cave

    A scientific debate has broken out over whether a French cave excavated more than 50 years ago contains evidence of separate Stone Age occupations by Neandertals and modern humans.

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  4. Anthropology

    Neandertals take out their small blades

    Excavations of Neandertal artifacts have yielded a trove of thin, double-edged stone blades that researchers usually regard as the work of Stone Age people who lived much later.

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  5. Anthropology

    Ancient islanders get a leg up

    A new analysis of bones from a tiny evolutionary cousin of people found on a Pacific island indicates that these late Stone Age individuals carried a lot of weight on short frames and had extremely strong legs.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    An aging protein?

    The defective protein that, when defective, causes a premature-aging disease may also play a role in normal aging.

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  7. Astronomy

    Crust on a star

    By analyzing X rays generated by the rumblings of a neutron star 40,000 light-years from Earth, astronomers have estimated the thickness of the dense star's crust.

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  8. Plants

    Nectar: The First Soft Drink

    Plants have long competed with one another to lure animals in for a sip of their sweet formulations.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Predicting Parkinson’s

    Scientists are searching for ways to detect the earliest signs in the brain of Parkinson's disease.

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  10. Math

    Quilting Pi

    The digits of pi inspire artistic quilts. For more math, visit the MathTrek blog.

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  11. Humans

    From the May 2, 1936, issue

    Atomic bullets, exploding cornstarch, and an unstable solar system.

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  12. Tech

    Aircraft Photos

    The Dryden Flight Research Center is NASA’s center for aeronautical flight research and atmospheric flight operations. The Center’s Web site has an extensive photo collection, which features images of many of the research and experimental aircraft flown at the test facility, from the 1940s to today. Go to: http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/index.html

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