There is not a lot of information about the first humans and where they settled. This is why scientists are discovering that humans might have populated some places before it was believed. Until now it was known that the first humans in North America came 14,000 years ago.

A new study showed that they might have come 10000 years earlier than that. The researchers were able to prove that the first humans arrived in North America 24,000 years ago. This study was conducted by Ariane Burke from the Universite de Montreal along with her student Lauriane Bourgeon.

The study was published this month after two years of struggle. The researchers discovered bones in a site that was previously excavated by Jacques Cinq-Mars in 1977. The researcher believed that the region dated 30,000. Because in that period the technology was not so advanced as it is now, the hypothesis that Cinq-Mars believed could not be proved.

Now it was proved by this team of researchers. Bourgeon was able to examine more than 35,000 bones. This took her over 2 years because it was a long and hard task. From those bones, there were 15 fragments that showed human activity. Other 20 fragments also showed possible traces of human activity.

“Series of straight, V-shaped lines on the surface of the bones were made by stone tools used to skin animals,” said Burke. “These are indisputable cut-marks created by humans.”

After they studied all of these bones they also submitted them to radiocarbon dating. The oldest bone fragment was 24,000 years old. This is what made them believe that the first humans set foot in North America earlier than previously believed.

The researchers mentioned that they proved that the first humans to live in North America lived during the last ice age. This type of discovery puts everything we believed about the first humans into perspective. It is very interesting to see that people have been populating this planet for so long and that they have managed to spread all around the globe so many years ago.

What is your opinion about this discovery? Did you know when the first humans set foot in North America?

Image source: Wikipedia

A man found out that his son’s toy collection is much more valuable than he thought. He discovered that it held a gold coin that is worth more than £250,000. The man from Bishop Stortford, Essex knew about that coin but never believed that it had such a great value.

The man received the coin from his grandfather and once his son grew older, he gave the coin to him so that he could play treasure hunt. He did not think about the fact that the coin could be rare and expensive; he treated it like a simple toy.

The man became curious about this coin and he went to a coin specialist, Gregory Tong, in order to find out if the gold coin had any value at all. The specialist recognized the gold coin immediately. He knew that is was a rare 18th-century gold coin. This piece is known as a Queen Anne Vigo guinea piece.

The most interesting thing is that this coin is one of the last 15 specimes, which means that the gold coin is extremely rare and incredibly valuable. It is believed that the gold coin was made in 1703 in order to draw attention from the British because it failed to capture the Cadiz. After that, they captured the treasure ships that were carrying silver and gold.

Nobody knows how the gold coin ended up in his grandfather’s hands, but now his family might receive a fortune for it. The man who received the coin mentioned that his grandfather used to travel a lot and maybe this is how he managed to find the coin and give it to him.

The man mentioned that his granddad gave him bags full of coins because when he was little he loved to play pretend pirate treasure games. This is why he never believed that this gold coin was anything but a toy. The coin is going to be auctioned next month. Only 6 other coins like this have been offered for sale. The price with which the gold coin is going to be sold could be bigger than $300,000. This will break the record that the Bonington had. It could also break the record that was made this year by the painting of Winston Churchill.

Image source: Wikipedia

As the global warming is now a threat more than ever, we have to prepare.  This means also to have clothes that keep us cool. According to the latest news, engineers created a clothing material that allows our body heat to escape and keeps us cooler than other materials do.  So instead of using the air conditioning, we could just wear that material and we will feel  better.

The issue is that that clothing material has not been tested by humans, so we don’t know yet  when  it will be available for us to use. The research was made by engineers from Standford Univesity and was published in Science. According to the researchers, the body should feel around 4.8 degrees cooler than cotton or 3.8 degrees more relaxing than other materials.

This clothing material seems to be able to help infrared radiation escape. We already knew some fabrics managed to keep as cooler, but there was no solution for the infrared radiation that comes out of our body. The problem seems to be solved and, in the future, we could be able to feel good  about our temperature, even during the hottest days of summer.

The problem is that this clothing material, called plastic wrap,  is that we can see through it. It allows visible light to escape and this is something that most people do not want to hear. Researchers are now trying to make it look like a regular fabric, that can be used no matter where you are.

Even though the clothing material that keeps us cooler was not tested on humans, they used devices to mimic human skins. This way they were able to see how the skin’s temperature changes and what happens to the body when we use this material. The truth is we could wait for three years before we will be able to try the product.

Researchers must think also of other factors like washability, durability and how they are going to replace materials that have been used for thousands of years.  There is a lot of work to do before this product will be used. We can’t wait to see if researchers will manage to get this material on the market.  In a few years, we might be able to enjoy summer days more than we are doing now, wearing a new clothing material.

Image source: Pixabay

 

 

The discovery of a habitable planet near Proxima Centauri is cause for wild speculation in the scientific community. The Earth-like planet orbits around our closest star called Proxima Centauri.

Scientists wonder whether the Jupiter-sized planet has life, or to what degree it resembles Earth. These are burning questions, on everybody’s mind.

 Seth Shostak, from the SETI institute, aiming to search for life in space, says that finding the answer to the question of who inhabits the newly discovered planet is not easy. The planet orbiting the Proxima Centauri star is called Proxima B.

Although it has not been seen yet, the planet’s inclination and orbit have been measured. It showed that it is, in fact, a planet, with a mass comparable to Jupiter but scientists can only speculate about the conditions on the planet.

Because our current telescopes are not advanced enough, there is little chance that scientists will discover relevant information, such as what kind of atmosphere the planet has, or if it has biological processes.

Scientists will make the effort, but it won’t be easy, with current equipment, which just shows pixelated dots. Planetary scientist, Athena Coustenis, director of research for the National Center for Scientific Research from France believes that Proxima Centauri is a star different from the Sun. It is smaller, dimmer, and it could influence the way life develops on Proxima B.

For now, we can’t go there and check. A mission to Proxima B is impossible with current technology. Even though it is only four light-years away, this would mean that a mission to Proxima B would have to go through 25 trillion miles, in less than a lifetime.

Scientists estimate that such interstellar voyages will be possible within one hundred years.

But if astronomers could find alien life on Proxima b, this would have huge implications for humanity and Earth.

Finding life on other planets or anywhere in the Universe would have a tremendous importance, according to Ian Crawford, professor of Earth and Planetary science at Birkbeck College in London, UK.

Some scientists compare the impact of finding life on other planets to the reaction of Europe in 1492, upon discovering the New World. They assume there would be a lot of new information to take in.

Image Source – Wikipedia

San-Francisco researchers are thrilled to begin the deep sea exploration of a World War II vessel, called the USS Independence. The ship was in service between November 1943 and August 1945. It later helped deliver the atomic bomb tests in 1946, known as the Bikini Atoll tests.

The USS Independence was an aircraft carrier. It helped planes reach Japanese forces from the sea. It withstood a torpedo attack in 1944. It stayed afloat and was later repaired.

Researchers have dived to the shipwreck of the aircraft carrier, which was sunk deliberately off the coast of San-Francisco in 1951. The submarine Nautilus has broadcasted live video over the internet. Those who wish to view the extraordinary footage can access Nautiluslive.org to watch how the exploration went. The vessel is located at a depth of 2,600 feet of water and is still in good shape.

The Independence served the central and western Pacific area. Even though it sustained damage by waves, heat, nuclear tests or radiation, the Independence survived through it all and returned to the United States.

The Navy also experimented with decontamination on board the Independence. It was finally towed to sea for one last time on January 26^th, 1951.

Recently, the Nautilus has done research within the ecosystem of the ship to enable scientists to understand the area better. They looked at deep sea corals and sponges and took samples for future studies on ocean acidification.

The submerging of Nautilus took over one hour to reach the Independence shipwreck and the entire dive lasted for over 16 hours, producing photographs and amazing videos of the historical landmark ship.

On August 22^nd, the 65-year-old shipwreck was explored by a team of scientists. They found a plane in the hangar bay area of the carrier.

The four-month expedition of Nautilus is supposed to explore the eastern Pacific Ocean. It’s going to seek out the unknown. Previous expeditions have found unseen shipwrecks, new species of sea animals and other curiosities.

The Nautilus has explored the differences between animal and plant species found on the shipwreck, compared to creatures and plants found on the natural ocean floor.

The submarine is run by a nonprofit organization called the Ocean Exploration Trust. Its founder is oceanographer Robert Ballard.

Image Source – Wikipedia

An ancient Zeus sacrifice skeleton was found in Greece. The 3,000-year-old artefact belongs to a teenage boy and it was found in Mount Lykaion, in Greece, on the grounds of an ancient altar for Zeus.

The finding was revealed by the Greek Ministry of Culture, Education, and Religious Affairs. Archaeologists have excavated the skeleton from the site of a temple dedicated to Zeus, the Greek god of sky and thunders. It appears the skeleton belongs to a male teenager.

Ever since 2007, experts have revealed a massive altar with remains of drinking cups, human and animal figurines, vases, coins and many animal sacrifices, most of which were sheep and goats.

Some ancient literature sources mention that human sacrifices took place at the site. Until recently, no one had any idea whether that was true or not. But after human bones being discovered at the site, the perspective has changed – according to David Gilman Romano – professor of Greek archaeology.

The ancient writer Pausanias mentioned a legend about a king named Lycaon who got turned into a wolf while sacrificing a child.

The story goes like this: “Lycaon brought a baby to the altar of Zeus and sacrificed it. The blood poured over the altar, and right after the sacrifice, the man became a wolf.”

The legend further suggests that those who sacrificed animals and humans and cooked human flesh along with animal meat and ate the resulting concoction would be turned into wolves for nine years.

Archeologists don’t yet know if the teenager was sacrificed. A lot of the altar has not been excavated yet. The site looks more like an altar than a cemetery, according to scientists.

Mount Lykaion is situated in the Peloponnese area. That’s an early worshipping site for Zeus. It could also have been the scene of a massive slaughter.

From the 16^th century b.c. until the time of Alexander the Great, thousands of livestock were sacrificed in Zeus’ name.

Zeus started out as a weather god but went on to become the ruler of the Greek Pantheon. The pottery and human remains date back to the 11^th-century b.c., at the end of the Mycenaen era.

What’s your opinion on this article? Please leave a comment below! Thanks!

Image Source – Flickr

 

 

 A robot exoskeleton could enable people with walking disabilities to walk again. Patients who are paralyzed because of severe spinal injuries now have a chance to move their legs. This amazing accomplishment was possible by using a robotic exoskeleton connected to the patient’s brain. One of the patients was eventually capable of walking with the help of two crutches.

A team of experts started the “Walk Again Project” based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. They believe it could enable people with walking disabilities to move again, by using an exoskeleton powered by their own brainwaves.

In a surprising twist of events, scientists discovered that eight of the patients started to take back control of their movement and the sense of touch, as some of the formerly paralyzed spinal nerves started to function again.

Although previously, experts believed that their nerves were completely severed, upon extensive training, patients were capable of using their spinal nerves to some success.

Now, scientists believe that some of the spinal nerves survived the accident and have been brought back by training, and in turn, It could have rewired the synapses in the brain.

Some patients with total paralysis achieved some walking. This was a great breakthrough for medical science, as Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, director of the Duke University in the US pointed out.

Scientists have never thought this kind of effect could be achievable and are now very happy with the results. They believe they’ve reached a key moment in helping paralyzed people.

Some of the training meant that patients used a virtual reality machine to control a computer avatar with their own thoughts. When they wanted to walk forward, the avatar would move forward.

After that, scientists used the same system integrated into an exoskeleton that patients could wear. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, a young man previously paralyzed from the chest down kicked a football to start the tournament , using the above-mentioned brain interface and exoskeleton.

Researchers were happy to notice that after long term training, a partial recovery was triggered.

What’s your opinion on this article? Do you think we’ll ever see formerly paralyzed people walking again? Please leave a comment below.

Image Source – Wikipedia

The fossilised skeleton of a small bird may help researchers better understand the pace at which birds diversified after the dinosaurs went extinct 66 million years ago, a new research suggests.

Researchers say that this fossil – which is about 62 to 62.5 million years old – is the oldest modern bird fossil ever to be found in North America. According to the researchers, it shows that modern birds evolved much quickly than it was previously believed – only three to four million years after the dinosaur mass-extinction.

Tom Williamson, a curator of palaeontology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, said that birds started intensely diversifying right after the Cretaceous period ended.

About 150 million years ago – during the Jurassic period – birds had already begun their evolutionary split from dinosaurs. Unfortunately, many bird lineages died out after the asteroid (6 miles/ 10 km long) impact, which took place roughly 66 million years ago.

Probably less than a dozen bird lineages managed to survive the catastrophe, Daniel Ksepka, a curator of science at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, stated. Nowadays there are about 40 bird lineages that include more than 10,000 species.

The new-found fossilised bird skeleton may shed some light on how quickly bird diversity sky-rocketed, Ksepka said.

The bird skeleton was found in 2007 in New Mexico. Williamson excavated the bird’s tiny bones, which led him to believe that the bird was probably no larger than the size of a human fist.

Williamson, Thomas Stidham, an avian palaeontologist at the Institute for Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology in Beijing, and Ksepka analysed the bird fossils.

The researchers found that the species is part of an extinct family of birds that is related to mouse birds and owls. The new-found species is evidence that mouse birds evolved six million years earlier than it was previously thought, according to Ksepka.

In New Zealand, researches came across a fossilised penguin skeleton, called Waimanu manneringi that is about 60.5 to 61.5 million years old.

“The new bird and Waimanu show that the diversifications of birds were well under-way a few million years after the mass extinction that hit 66 million years ago,” Ksepka stated.

The findings were presented October at the 75th annual Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology conference in Dallas.

Image Source: cdn4.sci

Polar bears, the beautiful white creatures that filled the winter landscapes from our favorite books when we were children might soon become history due to the accelerated global warming.

A photographer that was recently on an expedition in the Arctic took a photo of one of these bears and it was far from looking as chubby and energetic as we imagine all polar bears are. This one was incredibly skinny, and obviously undernourished.

The fact that polar bears are starving is no breaking news. A study that was published a couple of months ago pointed out that the bear population is decreasing at such a fast pace, that all of them are likely to perish by 2050.

This particular photo that soon became viral was taken by Kerstin Langenberger, who is a nature photographer that went on a trip to the Svabald, in Norway. The tourists who want to see the polar bears in their natural habitat usually go there because the area is very accessible.

According to the photographer, climate change is responsible for the bears’ inability to find food. The most affected ones are the females, which need to take care of their cubs and find it difficult to search for seals or fish to feed on. Because ice caps melt and become smaller by the year, more bears are stuck on land and are unable to reach the places where more food would be available.

Even if they are great swimmers, they need a great deal of strength to swim long distances and hunt. Obviously, that strength needs to come from food, which is scarcer every year.

Her photo depicted a female which also had an injured leg and was desperately trying to catch a walrus.

However, even if there are a lot of skinny bears out there, some experts say that people should not jump to the conclusion that all polar bears look like that. The skinny female bear was most likely old and her weight loss might be largely due to the injury she suffered on her leg.

“I don’t think you can tie that one to starvation because of lack of sea ice,” said Ian Stirling, who is an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta and has been studying polar bears for over 40 years.

Image Source: bi.gazeta.pl

Scientists have often forwarded the theory that people are not the only ones who have the ability to fall in love and mate for life.

A new study now aims to prove that birds too can be swept off their feet and females usually pick their partners if they find them attractive and stimulating. It is precisely this stimulation that makes birds become committed to one another.

According to a team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany, the way birds fall in love is very similar to the way humans do.

The experts looked at the zebra finch, which is a socially monogamous bird. During the trial, they placed the males and females in the same room and started a dating session, in which they left groups composed of 20 females to choose from 20 males.

As soon as the females found their partners, the researchers split them into two groups: the first group of couples were left alone to live their love story and the rest of the couples were broken, as the birds were forced to pair up with other partners.

It was noted that the courtship between the two different types of couples varied up to a large extent. Males and females had very different reactions as well. While males paid as much attention to their new partners as the ones in the original couples did, females showed much more indifference and sometimes avoided copulation.

After that, all the couples were left to mate and breed in aviaries and the scientists evaluated the number of dead chicks, dead embryos and surviving offspring. It was soon revealed that the individuals which were allowed to mate with their partner of choice had 37 percent more surviving chicks that the ones which were forced to get together with another bird.

“Most deaths occurred within the chicks’ first 48 hours, a critical period for parental care during which non-chosen fathers were markedly less diligent in their nest-care duties,” said co-authors of the study Wolfgang Forstmeier and Malika Ihle.

Moreover, the nests of original couples had three times fewer unfertilized eggs than the non-chosen pairs and a much larger number of eggs were lost or buried.

Image Source: brackenbird