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☆ Stone Age Paleo diet was not rich in meat, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —What did people in the Stone Age eat before the advent of farming around 10,000 years ago? Scientists analyzed chemical signatures preserved in bones and teeth belonging to at least seven different Iberomaurusians and found that plants, not meat, were their primary source of dietary protein. The evidence suggested that the Iberomaurusians consumed “fermentable starchy plants” such as wild cereals or acorns, according to the study. The work undermines the idea that a Stone Age diet was meat heavy — a rigid assumption perpetuated by present-day dietary trends like the Paleo diet. The transition to agriculture was a complex process that occurred at different times and proceeded at different rates, in different ways with different foods, in different places, Pobiner said.

Persons: Heiko Temming, ”, Zineb Moubtahij, Max Planck, Klervia Jaouen, ” Jaouen, Iberomaurusians, ” Moubtahij, —, Briana Pobiner, wasn’t, Jaouen, Pobiner, “ Organizations: CNN, Géosciences Environnement, Max Planck Institute, Stone, Smithsonian National Museum of Locations: what’s, Morocco, Cave, Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, France, Leipzig, Germany, Taforalt, Peru, Levant

☆ In Coral Fossils, Searching for the First Glow of Bioluminescence
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Sam Jones | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bioluminescence is used throughout the animal kingdom, particularly in marine environments, to lure prey, startle predators and even act as camouflage in the surrounding light. “We always say it’s light-limited in the deep sea, but there are a lot of organisms that produce their own light,” said Andrea Quattrini, a zoologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington. The dazzling glow of bioluminescence is common in Octocorallia, also known as octocorals, a class of over 3,000 Anthozoa species including sea fans, sea pens and soft corals. The prevalence of bioluminescence in these sessile animals makes a lot of sense, Dr. Quattrini said: “They settle somewhere and they’re there.”How long organisms have been able to emit light is at the center of recent research by Dr. Quattrini and colleagues. Their latest study, published Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, resets the timing for the emergence of bioluminescence back to about 540 million years ago, from the existing understanding that it appeared in small marine crustaceans 267 million years ago.

Persons: ”, Andrea Quattrini, Quattrini, “ Organizations: Smithsonian National Museum of, Royal Society Locations: Washington

☆ Scientists name newly discovered ancient amphibian species after Kermit the Frog
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Scientists have discovered a new species of proto-amphibian that lived 270 million years ago. They have named it the Kermitops gratus, after "The Muppet Show" character Kermit the Frog. The new discovery should help scientists understand how these ancient species evolved. AdvertisementScientists say they have discovered a new species of proto-amphibian that lived 270 million years ago — and they've named it after "The Muppets Show" character Kermit the Frog. "Because this animal is a distant relative of today's amphibians, and Kermit is a modern-day amphibian icon, it was the perfect name for it," he said.

Persons: Kermit the, —, they've, Nicholas Hotton III, Hotton, Arjan Mann, Mann, gratus, Calvin So, Kermit Organizations: Service, Smithsonian National Museum of, Smithsonian, Zoological, George Washington University Locations: Texas

☆ An ancient dinner still sits in a Bronze Age village 2,850 years later
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

First, one of the crew found a marble head of a Roman lady, and two weeks later its bust surfaced nearby, reuniting the pieces. Cambridge Archaeological UnitMust Farm was a thriving Bronze Age stilt village, perched above a river in eastern England, when it burned down 2,850 years ago — just nine months after its inhabitants had built it. The site, acclaimed by experts as “Britain’s Pompeii,” preserved rare information that reveals a new, less hierarchical portrait of Bronze Age society. Malhan/MPIAAstronomers have spied two streams of ancient stars that likely helped build the Milky Way galaxy billions of years ago. They find wonder in planets beyond our solar system and discoveries from the ancient world.

Persons: Earl of Exeter, ”, Chris Wakefield, Kermit the, Jim Henson’s, Payne, Shiva, Li Yibo, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Burghley, University of Cambridge, Smithsonian National Museum of, NASA, Force, Xinhua News Agency, Getty, CNN Space, Science Locations: United Kingdom, Peterborough, England, Cambridge, Africa, Ethiopia’s, China, Shaanxi, Iran

☆ Scientists use cosmic rays to date earliest evidence of humans in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Archaeologists have recovered 90,000 stone tools from the site, which lies close to Ukraine’s southwestern border with Hungary and Romania. Some 90,000 stone tools made by early humans have been found at the site but no human fossils. Garba‘s colleagues measured two nuclides, aluminum-26 and beryllium-10, found in quartz grains from seven pebbles discovered in the same layer as the stone tools. The earliest human fossils unearthed in Europe are from the Atapuerca site in Spain and date back 1.1 million years, according to the study. Korolevo would have been appealing to ancient humans because it’s near the Tisza River, which leads to the Danube, and there was a readily available source of hard rock to knap stone tools, Garba said.

Persons: Roman Garba, ”, “, ” Garba, Garba, It’s, Briana Pobiner, wasn’t, hominins Organizations: CNN, Czech Academy of Sciences, Archaeological Institute, NAS, Smithsonian National Museum of Locations: Ukraine, Europe, Prague, Hungary, Romania, Africa, Spain, Georgia, Dmanisi, Washington , DC, hominins

☆ Researchers Dispute Claim That Ancient Whale Was Heaviest Animal Ever
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Carl Zimmer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last August, a team of paleontologists announced that they had discovered the fossilized bones of a gigantic ancient whale. Perucetus, as they named it, might have weighed over 200 tons, which would make it the heaviest animal that has ever lived. But in a study published Thursday, a pair of scientists have challenged that bold claim. The bones had many hallmarks of whales’ bones. Dr. Urbina and his colleagues reconstructed the full skeleton of Perucetus by studying the much smaller whales that lived at the same time.

Persons: ”, Nicholas Pyenson, Pyenson, Ryosuke, Perucetus, Mario Urbina, Urbina Organizations: Smithsonian National Museum of, University of California, Museum, National University of San Locations: Davis, National University of San Marcos, Lima , Peru, Peru

☆ Invasive Jorō spiders can live well with humans, according to new study
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Typical spiders — and most creatures — tend to find the noise and wind disturbance from nearby busy roads to be too stressful, but the Jorō spider doesn’t seem to mind much, according to a new study published in Arthropoda on February 13. University of Georgia ecology students and study coauthors Kade Stewart, Caitlin Phelan and Alexa Schultz handle a Jorō spider. What to do when you come across a Jorō spiderAs the nonnative Jorō spider continues to spread in the region, the spiders pose a threat to native species that are beneficial to the environment. While conducting the study, the researchers found evidence of the Jorō spiders coexisting with native spiders, Davis said. And the Jorō spiders eat species that are good and bad for the environment, including the infamous lantern fly, he added.

Persons: ”, Andy Davis, Kade Stewart, Caitlin Phelan, Alexa Schultz, Davis, Floyd Shockley, Shockley, ” Shockley, “, They’re, they’re Organizations: CNN, University of Georgia’s Odum, of Ecology, University of Georgia, Entomology, Smithsonian National Museum of Locations: United States, Arthropoda, Washington ,

☆ Mystery of whale song unraveled by scientists, study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Amarachi Orie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

How baleen whales, which include humpback whales, are able to sing underwater has eluded scientists since whale songs were first discovered more than 50 years ago. A baleen whale’s larynx is shaped differently from other mammals. This structural adaptation allows the leviathan to breathe massive amounts of air in and out when they go to the surface, according to the study. Air sacs also evolved in a way that may allow a baleen whale to recycle air while creating vocal sounds, according to researchers. This means that most boating noises mask calls between baleen whales, reducing the distance over which they can communicate.

Persons: Olga Filatova, “, ”, Coen Elemans, ” Elemans, Elemans, they’ve, Patricia Jaqueline, Karim Iliya, James Rule, Ellen Coombs, Peter Buck Organizations: CNN, University of Southern, London’s, Museum, Smithsonian National Museum of Locations: Bering, University of Southern Denmark

☆ ‘Moths to a flame’: Insect behavior around light isn’t about attraction, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Gaining a better understanding of the impact of artificial light on these winged creatures is crucial as light pollution plays an increasing role in the decline of global insect populations, the researchers wrote. Artificial light confuses nocturnal insectsWhen artificial light does not interfere, nocturnal insects keep their backs pointed toward whatever direction is brightest, which is typically the sky versus the ground. By using insect-scale motion-capture cameras, the researchers determined that the flying insects exhibited three consistent behaviors: orbiting, stalling and inverting. Moths and other insects can become trapped in a disorienting orbit around artificial light sources such as street lamps and porch lights. The new findings could help with conservation by fueling research on how to minimize the effects of light pollution on the insects, Dombroskie said.

Persons: it’s, critters, Samuel Fabian, Sam Fabian “, … It’s, ” Fabian, that’s, ”, Yash Sondhi, Sondhi, Sam Fabian, Fabian, Floyd Shockley, Shockley, ancestrally, “, Jason Dombroskie, Dombroskie Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, Imperial College London’s, Florida Museum, Florida International University, Smithsonian National Museum of, Cornell, Insect, National Wildlife Foundation Locations: bioengineering, Miami, Washington , DC

☆ The World Hasn’t Seen Cicadas Like This Since 1803
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Aimee Ortiz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The cicadas are coming — and if you’re in the Midwest or the Southeast, they will be more plentiful than ever. This spring, for the first time since 1803, two cicada groups known as Brood XIX, or the Great Southern Brood, and Brood XIII, or the Northern Illinois Brood, are set to appear at the same time, in what is known as a dual emergence. The last time the Northern Illinois Brood’s 17-year cycle aligned with the Great Southern Brood’s 13-year period, Thomas Jefferson was president. After this spring, it’ll be another 221 years before the broods, which are geographically adjacent, appear together again. “Nobody alive today will see it happen again,” said Floyd W. Shockley, the chair of the Entomology Collections Committee at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Persons: Thomas Jefferson, it’ll, “, ”, Floyd W, Shockley, “ That’s Organizations: Southern, Northern Illinois, Northern Illinois Brood’s, Entomology, Smithsonian National Museum of Locations: Midwest, Louisiana, Northern

☆ Meet Frank Waln, the Sicangu Lakota hip hop artist bringing Indigenous culture to the American music scene
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Alaa Elassar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Sicangu Lakota rapper Frank Waln is bringing Indigenous culture to the American music scene. Weaving Indigenous culture into American musicWaln was 7 years old when he found himself mesmerized by an old black piano sitting in his second grade classroom. He centers nearly every song around the instrument, and often the drums, both fundamental components of Indigenous music. “I want to create my own genre that’s rooted in Native music, Native culture and Native sound, that also becomes a space for other Native musicians who don’t have a place in American entertainment and music culture,” he said. Deanna Dent/ReutersDespite his extensive accomplishments – including three Native American Music Awards – Waln measures his success differently.

Persons: Frank Waln, “, ” Waln, Mita, Tara Rose Weston “, Waln, I’ve, Nas –, doesn’t, don’t, ”, I’m, Leslie Frempong, ’, Peter Pan ”, Fleetwood Mac, Deanna Dent, Teca Organizations: CNN, “, Lakota, Harvard University’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology, White, US Department of, Harvard University, Smithsonian National Museum of, Columbus, Reuters Locations: South Dakota, Lakota, American, America, United States, “, Waln’s, White American, Boston

☆ PrEPVacc: HIV vaccine trial that could be ‘the last roll of the dice’ this decade is underway
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Tom Page | Thomas Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +24 min

CNN —A novel trial that has been described as “the last roll of the dice” for a generation of HIV vaccines has entered its latter stages. Nearly 40 years since HIV was identified as the cause of AIDS, and 36 years since the first HIV vaccine trial, the medical community still does not have a working vaccine. But that is not necessarily why they were chosen to participate, said Eugene Ruzagira, PrEPVacc trial director. Evaluating the combination of a trial HIV vaccine and PrEP is a first, say organizers. “I did my very first HIV vaccine trial in 1991,” recalled Weber.

Persons: PrEPVacc, ”, Jonathan Weber, Frank, Helena Herholdt, Eugene Ruzagira, Ruzagira, “, Weber, ” Ruzagira, “ We’ve, Mark Runnacles, Edward Jenner, Louis Pasteur, Galileo, Win McNamee, Humphry Davy, JEAN, SEBASTIEN EVRARD, Haydn West, Joe Raedle, ANNE, CHRISTINE POUJOULAT, Alexander Fleming, Fleming, wasn't, Louise Joy Brown, Sandy Huffaker, Daniel Acker, James Watson, Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin, Watson, Crick, Raphael GAILLARDE, Sean Gallup, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, Thomas Edison's, INDRANIL MUKHERJEE, Descovy, Luwano Geofrey, Dr, Luke Dray, Geofrey, Nishanta Singh, Sharon Lewin, Lewin, “ it’s, it’s, ” Lewin, ” Geofrey Organizations: CNN, Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre, PrEPVacc, Medical Research, Uganda Virus Research Institute, European Union, Smithsonian National Museum of, Cleveland Clinic, Volvo, Bayer, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Getty, Keystone, — Farmers, Food and Drug Administration, FDA, Bloomberg, PANTHAKY, PrEP, US Centers for Disease Control, Independent, The University of Melbourne, International AIDS Society, Muhimbili University of Health, Allied Sciences, Dar Locations: Entebbe, Uganda, Thailand, London, Mbeya, Tanzania, South Africa, Ugandan, Durban, Masaka, Salam, African, Africa, China, FPG, AFP, United States, America, U.S, Peoria , Illinois, Europe, “, Dar es Salaam, Rwanda

☆ Fossil discovery may be one of the oldest, smallest aquatic whales found in Africa, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Jenna Schnuer Cnn | Jenna Schnuer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The find is also the oldest fully aquatic whale found in Africa, according to a new study. Tutcetus rayanensis is a member of the extinct family of early whales known as basilosauridae — the first widespread group to become fully aquatic. The discovery of the whale fossil led to the establishment of a new genus within the basilosauridae family. The area is one of the world’s “most productive fossil whale sites,” according to the study. Tutcetus rayanensis is the second whale species, following Phiomicetus anubis, to be discovered, described, and named by Egyptian paleontologists,” Antar said via email.

Persons: Pharaoh Tutankhamen, rayanensis, ”, Mohammed S, Antar, ” Antar, paleobiologist Nicholas Pyenson, wasn’t, Abdullah Gohar, Mohamed Sameh, Hesham, Whales, Erik R, Seiffert, Carlos Mauricio Peredo, Hesham Sallam Organizations: CNN, Communications, Vertebrate Paleontology, Smithsonian National Museum of, Egypt's, University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, Miami University in, American University Locations: Egypt, Africa, Washington , DC, Mansoura, Wadi, Miami University in Oxford , Ohio, Cairo

☆ This Ancient Whale May Have Been the Heaviest Animal Ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Carl Zimmer | More About Carl Zimmer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Paleontologists on Wednesday unveiled the fossilized bones of one of the strangest whales in history. The 39-million-year-old leviathan, called Perucetus, may have weighed about 200 tons, as much as a blue whale — by far the heaviest animal known, until now. While blue whales are sleek, fast-swimming divers, Perucetus was a very different beast. Some experts cautioned that more bones would have to be discovered before a firm estimate of Perucetus’s weight could be made. “It’s clear from this discovery that there are so many other ways of being a whale that we have not yet discovered.”

Persons: Perucetus, ”, Nicholas Pyenson Organizations: Wednesday, Smithsonian National Museum of

☆ Butterfly group named after 'Lord of the Rings' villain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The “distinctive fused orange rings” that encircle black-and-white eyespots on the hindwings of this group led the researchers to name the genus Saurona, according to a recent study published in the journal Systematic Entomology. The Eye of Sauron glows in the 2001 film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." … It’s a very fine scientific paper.”Distinguishing a special groupThe researchers documented two new species in the Saurona genus, named Saurona triangula and Saurona aurigera. Female saurona butterflies have slightly more rounded wings than males, but are otherwise similar in pattern, the authors found. Giving newly described genera or species names drawn from pop culture can draw attention to underappreciated species, Huertas said.

☆ Fact Check- Image does not show ‘last Neanderthal giant’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A fabricated image of a giant man towering above a crowd of people is being shared alongside false claims that it shows the “last Neanderthal giant”, but the image was likely generated using artificial intelligence, experts said. A Facebook post sharing the image states: “This is the last know human Giant Neanderthal!” and adds that Neanderthals “died out” thousands of years ago, so “no Neanderthal's DNA is found in modern times” (here). Contrary to the online claims, Neanderthal DNA has been extracted from these skeletal remains and analysed extensively. The earliest version of the image of a purported “Neanderthal giant” that Reuters could find appears on the official subreddit for Midjourney, an AI-based system that generates images based on text prompts entered by users (bit.ly/423OozQ). The image does not show the last Neanderthal giant, it is likely AI-generated.

☆ Fact Check-Video shows an aphid, not a genetically modified mosquito ‘released by Bill Gates’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A video circulating online shows a small sap-sucking insect called an aphid, not a genetically modified mosquito with a number stamped on it released by philanthropist Bill Gates, as online posts claim. Bill Gates was very vocal about releasing millions of GMO [genetically modified organism] mosquitos into the public.”Another example can be seen (here). However, the video shows a small insect called an aphid, not a GMO mosquito. A representative for the Gates Foundation said the claim that the video showed a genetically modified mosquito with a number or barcode stamped on it released by the Gates Foundation was false. The video shows an aphid, not a mosquito with a number stamped on it and released by Bill Gates.

☆ Fact Check-Dinosaurs existed and were documented before the term ‘dinosauria’ was coined in the early 1840s
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Dinosaurs existed long before the word ‘dinosauria’ was coined by paleontologist Sir Richard Owen in the 19th century, paleontology experts and a spokesperson for Britain’s Royal Society told Reuters, rejecting a claim to the contrary spreading online. They were invented by the Royal Society in 1841,” the individual says, referring to the academic organisation which is Britain’s national academy of sciences. However, three experts and a spokesperson for the Royal Society told Reuters separately that these claims are false. They say Sir Richard Owen first used the term ‘Dinosauria’ in the early 1840s but that dinosaurs and their fossils existed and were documented long before. Dinosaurs existed and were documented long before they were given a universal name in 1841, paleontologists and Britain’s Royal Society say.

☆ The Art Behind Supply Chains Is Front and Center at a Museum Exhibit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Liz Young | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Newsletter Sign-up The Logistics Report Top news and in-depth analysis on the world of logistics, from supply chain to transport and technology. “What we wanted to do was to make the invisible visible, to look at the supply chain as a key part of how AI works,” Dr. Crawford said. “The best artists are all geometry and symmetrical work coupled with creativity, and that’s what supply chain is. Some of the artists on display in the MoMA gallery have gone on to create more work centered on supply chains. “When you start to do this research, you see everything differently and the precarity of the supply chain was made so clear to me,” she said.

☆ Jill Biden now ‘all in’ for second run at the White House, people close to her say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Kate Bennett | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Jill Biden is now “all in” on the idea, according to a person who works with the East Wing. Recent polling, however, suggests a large swath of the Democratic Party may not be eager to see the president run again. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive with Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff for a bill signing ceremony for the Respect for Marriage Act on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House. “[Jill Biden] is the one more aware of how the last few years have affected Joe [Biden,]” noted a person with ties to the Biden family. Jill Biden is also the tender of Joe Biden’s legacy.

☆ Why over 600,000 bird specimens are preserved at the Smithsonian
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Michelle Yan Huang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has over 600,000 bird specimensThe collection dates back to 1817 and specimens are still being added today. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyThe Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has one of the biggest bird collections in the world, housing over 600,000 specimens, from ducks to eagles to peacocks. The collection was created over 200 years ago and is still being added to today. But why does the museum still need more and more specimens? Research and wildlife management, notably reducing the amount of bird strikes.

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