Earliest signs of life: Scientists find microbial remains in ancient rocks
Western Australia's famous 3.5-billion-year-old stromatolites contain microbial remains of some of the earliest life on Earth, scientists have found.
Read moreOrigin of Life
Tripolye 'mega-structures' were ancient community centers
So-called 'mega-structures' in ancient Europe were public buildings that likely served a variety of economic and political purposes, according to a new study.
Read moreFirst evidence for early baby bottles used to feed animal milk to prehistoric babies
A team of scientists, led by the University of Bristol, has found the first evidence that prehistoric babies were fed animal milk using the equivalent of modern-day baby bottles.
Read moreHow and when was carbon distributed on Earth?
A magma ocean existing during the core formation is thought to have been highly depleted in carbon due to its high-siderophile (iron loving) behavior. Thus, most of the carbon forming the atmosphere and life on Earth may have been delivered by a carbon-rich embryo after the core formation. However, a new high-pressure experiment has shown that previous studies may have overestimated the amount of carbon partitioning to the core.
Read moreMachu Picchu: Ancient Incan sanctuary intentionally built on faults
The ancient Incan sanctuary of Machu Picchu is considered one of humanity's greatest architectural achievements. Built in a remote Andean setting atop a narrow ridge high above a precipitous river canyon, the site is renowned for its perfect integration with the spectacular landscape. But the sanctuary's location has long puzzled scientists: Why did the Incas build their masterpiece in such an inaccessible place?
Is theory on Earth's climate in the last 15 million years wrong?
A key theory that attributes the climate evolution of the Earth to the breakdown of Himalayan rocks may not explain the cooling over the past 15 million years, according to a new study. The study could shed more light on the causes of long-term climate change. It centers on the long-term cooling that occurred before the recent global warming tied to greenhouse gas emissions from humanity.
Read moreNew evidence of the Sahara's age
The Sahara Desert is vast, generously dusty, and surprisingly shy about its age. New research looking into what appears to be dust that the Sahara blew over to the Canary Islands is providing the first direct evidence from dry land that the age of the Sahara matches that found in deep-sea sediments: at least 4.6 million years old.
Read moreGrand ideas, global reverberations: Grand Canyon at its 6 millionth anniversary
Etched onto the steep walls of Arizona's 6,000-foot-deep, 277-mile-long Grand Canyon are clues that chronicle the sweeping changes the region has experienced during the past two billion years. The canyon's colorful layers narrate tales of ancient environments come and gone, from lofty mountain ranges and tropical seas to a Saharan-scale desert that once stretched across much of western North America.
Read moreCapturing extreme close-ups of cellular gene expression
Scientists studying genetic transcription are gaining new insights into a process that is fundamental to all life. Transcription is the first step in gene expression, the process taking place within all living cells by which the DNA sequence of a gene is copied into RNA, which in turn (most generally speaking) serves as the template for assembling protein molecules, the basic building blocks of life.
Read moreLong lost human relative unveiled
Many people are familiar with the existence of Neanderthals, the humanoid species that was a precursor to modern humans, but far less is known Denisovans, a similar group that were contemporaries to the Neanderthals and who died out approximately 50,000 years ago. Researchers have now made a reconstruction of a Denisovan girl based on patterns of methylation (chemical changes) in their ancient DNA.
Read more