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☆ Shattering the myth of men as hunters and women as gatherers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But researchers have found that women in foraging societies were often the ones bringing home the bacon (and other prey, too). Of the 63 foraging communities examined, 50 had records documenting women hunting. Women hunted game of all sizes, “with large game pursued the most,” the study authors reported. Women also used specialized tools: In the Philippines, for example, Agta women hunted with knives, bows and arrows, or a combination of the two weapons, depending on personal preference. In many of the groups, it seemed as though women had a more flexible approach to hunting than men did, Wall-Scheffler said.

Persons: Cara Wall, Scheffler, “, ”, Vivek Venkataraman, ” Venkataraman, Venkataraman, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle Pacific, Charles University, University of Calgary, Scientific Locations: Czech Republic, Philippines, Canada

☆ French cave markings may be oldest known engravings by Neanderthals
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Made by dragging fingers across relatively soft rock, lines, swirls and dots on the walls of a cave in France are the oldest known engravings by Neanderthals, according to a new analysis of the ancient marks. The finding adds to a growing body of evidence that Neanderthals — who have been characterized as dim-witted cave dwellers — were creative beings and more complex than the stereotype suggests. Neanderthals’ ‘deliberate composition’To understand how the markings were made and whether they were intentional, the researchers made detailed 3D models of the engravings from photographs of the Loire Valley’s La Roche-Cotard cave using a process known as photogrammetry. Based on the shape, spacing and arrangement of these engravings, the team concluded that markings in eight panels in La Roche-Cotard cave were intentional shapes and patterns created by human hands. At some cave sites in Spain, there’s evidence — albeit contentious — that Neanderthals created abstract motifs and hand stencils.

Persons: Jean, Claude Marquet, Cotard, La Roche, JC Marquet Organizations: CNN, University of Tours Locations: France, La Roche, Europe, Bulgaria, Spain

☆ Some of the earliest-known cave drawings were from Neanderthals, not humans, and they're 57,000 years old
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

57,000-year-old engravings on the walls of a French cave may have been the work of Neanderthals. The oldest Neanderthal cave engravingsThe markings are made up of lines, squiggles, and dots, likely made by fingers instead of tools. On the left are some curved lines and on the right are more wavy lines that researchers say were made by Neanderthals. Tim Schoon, University of IowaThough early researchers considered Neanderthals less advanced than humans, more recent findings have complicated that view. In 2018, researchers estimated a group of Spanish cave paintings were 65,000 years old and made by Neanderthals.

Persons: —, Claude Marquet, Shara Bailey, Homo sapiens, would've, Tim Schoon, It's, Bailey, sapiens, Cotard, lithics, La Organizations: Service, ONE, University of Tours, New York University, La Roche, University of Iowa Locations: France, La, Europe, Western Europe

☆ The Secret in the Spots on Monarch Butterflies’ Wings
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Every fall, monarch butterflies embark on one of nature’s greatest journeys. These insects flap more than 2,000 miles from their summer homes in Canada down to the mountains of central Mexico. Researchers have found a shared trait in the butterflies that make it: The edges of their wings tend to be slightly spottier. He added, “All of a sudden, it seems like they’re really important.”Monarch wings are mostly orange, but their edges are black, punctuated with tiny white spots. Dr. Davis was curious if those black edges contributed to monarchs’ migratory capabilities.

Persons: ”, Andy Davis, Davis, Mostafa Hassanalian Organizations: University of Georgia, New Mexico Institute of Mining, Technology Locations: Canada, Mexico

☆ Scientists were 'shocked' to discover that juvenile white sharks regularly venture near swimmers and surfers but don't attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Rupendra Brahambhatt | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Juvenile white sharks grow up to become great white sharks, known for being dangerous to humans. Why juvenile white sharks swim near humans so oftenFrom the researchers' drone footage, it may look like juvenile white sharks like to hang around swimmers and surfers. The shallow water near the beaches "is actually the natural habitat the juvenile white sharks use. Why juvenile white sharks don't typically attack humansAlthough great white sharks are infamous for attacking humans, the actual number of attacks is low. However, it doesn't mean the risk of a bite from a juvenile great white is zero — it's just very low.

Persons: —, Sean DuFrene, Christopher Lowe, Carlos Guana, you'll, that's, it's, Yannis Papastamatiou, Stephen Frink, Catherine Macdonald, Patrick Rex, Macdonald, there's, Alexis Rosenfeld, Rex, Brett Monroe Garner, Papastamatiou, Carlos Gauna Organizations: Service, California State University Long, CSULB, Boston Herald, Florida International University, Stingrays, University of Miami Shark Research, Conservation Program, Animal Foundation Locations: California

☆ Rare North American dinosaur named for two-faced Roman god
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Investigating a new speciesThe newfound species, named Iani (YAH-nee) smithi, is the first early ornithopod from this part of the Cretaceous to be discovered in North America. Terry Gates and Lindsay Zanno excavated the bones of Iani smithi from the Cedar Mountain Formation in Utah in 2014. The braincase of Iani smithi was recovered during excavations. Drawers of Iani smithi bones can be seen in the collections at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. “Perhaps ornithopod species evolved a certain way or adopted certain behaviors to succeed,” she said.

Persons: —, ornithopods, Ornithopods, Darla Zelenitsky, Terry Gates, Lindsay Zanno, Matt Zeher, ” Zelenitsky, Janus, Zanno, ” Zanno, smithi, Mark Thiessen, Becky Hale, Zelenitsky, ” Organizations: CNN, geoscience, University of Calgary, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, North Carolina State University, Geographic Locations: Utah, North America, Canada, Raleigh, Europe, Australia

☆ Kids who live with pets may be less prone to food allergies, recent study shows—here's what an allergist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The strongest benefit was seen in kids who lived with dogs that were kept inside of the house, and for families who owned pets during a child's fetal development and early infancy. Owning dogs during a child's early development was associated with a lower risk of milk, egg and nut allergies, according to the new study. There wasn't a strong association found between food allergies and ownership of birds, turtles and hamsters. Research thus far has been conflicting about if having pets while a child is young is actually helpful for preventing the development of food allergies, Kwiat tells CNBC Make It. "Some studies show that early exposure to furred animal dander does protect against food allergies.

Persons: Carolyn Kwiat Organizations: CNBC Locations: Mount Sinai

☆ China, birthplace of COVID, lays tracks for a new global health crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

Bat viruses have been the source of multiple health crises besides those related to coronaviruses, including recent outbreaks of Ebola, Nipah, and Marburg. Partners in risk The total area at high risk for bat viruses to infect humans more than doubled in size in Laos between 2002 and 2020. The animals, known to be susceptible to bat viruses, included raccoon dogs, bamboo rats and porcupines. As China boomed in recent decades, global demand for rubber also skyrocketed, leading to further development and deforestation here. Already, scientists have found local bats bearing viruses closely related to those responsible for the 2003 SARS and COVID-19 pandemics.

☆ Desert Monoliths Reveal World’s Oldest Architectural Plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Priyanka Runwal | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Massive prehistoric stone structures found in desert landscapes from Saudi Arabia to Kazakhstan have baffled archaeologists for decades. Each can stretch for up to a few miles, and resembles a kite with tail strings in overall shape. Recent studies have built a consensus that the so-called desert kites were used to trap and kill wild animal herds. Engraved between 7,000 and 9,000 years ago, these representations are by far the oldest known to-scale architectural plans recorded in human history, the team reported on Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE. They also highlight how carefully planned the desert kites may have been by the ancient peoples who relied on them.

☆ World’s oldest architectural plans date from the Stone Age
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Archaeologists working in Saudi Arabia and Jordan say they have discovered the oldest known architectural plans. The Stone Age hunting traps date back about 9,000 years and are known as kites because of the shape they form. Archaeologists are shown during the discovery of the kite engravings at Jebel az-Zilliyat in Saudi Arabia. Engravings made to scaleThe engraved stone is shown at the JKSH F15 site in Jibal al-Khashabiyeh in Jordan. His colleagues in Saudi Arabia unearthed a larger engraved stone in the region of Jebel az-Zilliyat that was almost 4 meters (13 feet) long.

☆ Foods and drinks packaged for kids are higher in sugar and lower in nutrition, study shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Products with marketing that appealed to children were higher in sugars and lower in all other nutrients, according to the study, published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One. The study looked at nearly 6,000 packaged foods to analyze their number of marketing strategies aimed at children and their nutritional information. “We are likely underestimating just how much marketing children are exposed to on food packages in real time — and packaging is just one of the ways that food companies target children with food marketing,” she said. And governments will need to step in to regulate companies’ ability to target children directly when marketing products that can harm their health, she added. Mulligan recommends talking to kids about how companies use marketing and how it might influence their choices.

☆ Exercise can help addiction treatment, study shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —One key to fighting addiction may be exercise, according to a new study. “It’s very beneficial to do physical activity in addition to the treatments.”There are limitations to the findings. Physical activity can also help boost self-esteem and lower anxiety and depression, experts said. What exercise doesMost people can benefit from engaging in physical activity, Kandola said. The current Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans does recommend that adults get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and two days of muscle-strengthening activity.

☆ Carnivorous Plants Use a Smelly Trick to Catch Their Prey
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Veronique Greenwood | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Pitcher plants supplement their diets with this one strange trick: eating flesh. Usually found growing in relatively poor soil, the plants sprout pitcher-shaped cups with pretty, frilly tops that obscure their true purpose: trapping hapless insects. Look inside the pitchers and you’ll find the half-digested bodies of the plants’ victims. While studies suggest that the plants’ colors and its nectar may attract prey, some scientists think pitchers’ scent may play a role as well. Humans tend to describe a pitcher plants’ scent as floral or herbal, said Laurence Gaume, a scientist the French National Centre for Scientific Research and an author of the new paper.

☆ Carnivorous plants may lure their insect prey with specialized scents
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Sarracenia pitcher plants, found in bogs throughout eastern North America, look like trumpet-shaped flowers, often in purplish or reddish hues. Different kinds of Sarracenia pitcher plants tend to eat different kinds of insects — some species trap more ants, while others feast on bees and moths. But recently opened pitcher plants that don’t stink of rotting bug carcasses provide an opportunity to identify the scents, she explained. The biggest challenge with the study, honestly, is that they did it in France,” rather than in the Sarracenia pitcher plants’ native North American bogs. It’s important to study pitcher plants due to the unique role they play in their increasingly fragile ecosystems, he added.

☆ Oldest-known bat skeletons shed light on evolution of flying mammals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A few other fossil species from around this time still have that claw, but it's been lost in most living bats," Jones added. This species was closely related to two other bat species whose fossils were previously found at the same locale - Icaronycteris index and Onychonycteris finneyi. This indicates there was a greater diversity of species early in the history of bats than previously appreciated. The fossils represent the oldest-known bat skeletons - both very complete and well-preserved. The only older bat fossils are isolated teeth and jaw fragments from places including Portugal and China, dating to about 55 to 56 million years ago.

☆ A growing plastic smog is choking the world's oceans — and it shows no signs of slowing down
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.N. member states are scheduled to meet this spring with the aim of developing a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. More than 170 trillion plastic particles weighing roughly 2 million metric tons are afloat in the world's oceans, according to new research, and that number could nearly triple by 2040 if no action is taken. The authors of the peer-reviewed research paper, published Wednesday in the PLOS ONE journal, warn that "cleanup is futile," if plastic continues to be produced at the current rate. They say this may reflect an exponential uptick in plastic production, fragmentation of existing plastic pollution or changes to terrestrial waste generation and management. The rate of plastic entering the world's oceans, without immediate action to reverse the current trend, was expected to increase roughly 2.6-fold from 2016 to 2040.

☆ An elite Bronze Age man who underwent brain surgery 3,500 years ago may have suffered from leprosy, archaeologists believe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Archaeologists discovered the remains of a man from the Bronze Age who had a rare brain surgery. The two brothers discovered were likely elite or even royal members of their society. "It's hard to overstate Megiddo's cultural and economic importance in the late Bronze Age," he said in a statement. Rachel Kalisher, a Ph.D. student, analyzed the bones of two upper-class brothers who were buried beneath the ancient city of Megiddo. Evidence of brain surgery — angular notched trephination — was discovered in the older brother.

☆ These 5 health conditions affect the Black community at higher rates—here are early signs to look out for and preventative measures
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Health conditions like colon cancer and cardiovascular diseases impact people within the Black community at much higher rates than most other racial backgrounds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And even after the onset of life-threatening conditions, systemic issues lead to health disparities that prevent many Black people from accessing the resources they need. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV): "In 2019, Blacks/African Americans represented 13% of the U.S. population, but 40% of people with HIV," says HIV.gov. Metabolic syndrome: Between 1988 and 2012, "Non-Hispanic black women were more likely than non-Hispanic white women to have metabolic syndrome," CDC data shows. Colon cancer: In 2016, Black men had the highest incidence and mortality rates of colorectal cancer, when compared to other racial groups, per CDC data.

☆ Fossilized eggs reveal new secrets about one of the world's largest dinosaurs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Kamakshi Gupta | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

More than 250 eggs of one of the largest dinosaurs ever to walk the Earth have been found in 92 hatcheries in central India, according to a team of paleontologists that made the discovery. Paleontologists have been able to identify six different types of eggs from the 256 they found during excavations between 2017 and 2020, the study said. The eggs were found in the Lameta formation, a sedimentary geological formation in central India known for fossil discoveries. “The presence of many nests in the same area suggests these dinosaurs exhibited colonial nesting behavior like many modern birds,” the study added. “But the close spacing of the nests left little room for adult dinosaurs, supporting the idea that adults left the hatchlings (newborns) to fend for themselves.”

☆ Photos show 10 mummified crocodiles found in an Egyptian tomb, likely after being sacrificed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A ancient Egyptian tomb was uncovered containing ten mummified crocodiles. The tomb's contents was likely sacrificed for the crocodile-headed god Sobek. The leading theory is that the crocodiles were sacrificed as an offering to Sobek, the crocodile-headed god of the Nile and fertility. Sobek, the crocodile-headed god of fertilitySobek, the crocodile-headed god of fertility, is shown in hieroglyphs in Kom Ombo, southern Egypt. "In theory, it was an area where there was not much devotion to the crocodile god Sobek."

Here are 12 of the weirdest and most fascinating animal behaviors scientists spotted in 2022. Here are 12 bizarre and amazing things animals were spotted doing, some of which had never been seen before. It turned out that at least 12 species of primates had been reported doing so, a review published in the Journal of Zoology in October found. A dolphin swallowed 8 venomous sea snakesA sea snake (indicated with pink arrow), moments before it is captured and eaten by a Navy dolphin. Though animals have often been spotted using tools, these usually are used to give the animal a clear survival advantage.

☆ Nutrition content is huge on TikTok, but a new study shows trends like #WhatIEatInADay may influence disordered eating behaviors
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Researchers at the University of Vermont analyzed 1,000 TikTok videos under the most popular hashtags related to body image and eating by using search terms like food, nutrition, weight and body image. The study included 10 hashtags with at least one billion or more views. On the list were #WhatIEatInADay and #WeightLoss, which had 3.2 billion views and nearly 10 billion views respectively at the start of the study. Less than 3% of the nutrition-related TikTok videos analyzed by the study's researchers were weight-inclusive. Nearly 44% of the shared videos included content about weight loss; 20.4% portrayed someone's weight transformation.

☆ Conservative policies linked to higher mortality, except regarding marijuana
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Aria Bendix | Aria Bendix Is The Breaking Health Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Conservative state policies regarding the environment, gun safety, labor, taxes and tobacco have been associated with higher mortality rates among working-age people relative to liberal policies, new research found. Conservative policies did the opposite. The link between liberal marijuana policies — such as legalization and access to medical cannabis — and higher mortality was also unexpected, Montez said. By contrast, if all had adopted the most conservative policies, nearly 218,000 more working-age people might have died. Warraich's own research has shown that death rates in counties that voted for Democrats in presidential elections fell 22% between 2001 and 2019, while death rates in Republican-voting counties declined by just 11%.

☆ Endangered species protections kick in too late, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The study suggests that the Endangered Species Act, a bedrock tool of conservation, has become bogged down by delays and inaction that are hampering its mission. Decisions on whether species should be listed are supposed to take two years, according to Noah Greenwald, the endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Species are slipping through the cracks.”The new study builds upon research that began decades ago in a study that analyzed species listed from 1985 through 1992. Although few species have fully recovered and been delisted, it’s important to remember that the Endangered Species Act has been instrumental in preventing extinction, Greenwald said. “99% of species protected under the Endangered Species Act still survive, which is highly significant,” he said.

☆ Scarred Dinosaur ‘Mummy’ Suggests Such Fossils Aren’t Quite So Rare
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An illustration of a type of dinosaur known as an Edmontosaurus, above, and its mummified right hand, below. Most dinosaur specimens are just fossilized bones, but a handful also have fossilized soft tissues—and a new look at a duck-billed dinosaur specimen nicknamed Dakota suggests that these dinosaur “mummies” are more common than previously believed. Dakota’s fossilized skin bears unhealed wound and bite marks likely made by scavengers after the animal’s death, according to a study published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One. That suggests the Edmontosaurus—a multi-ton herbivore that died about 70 million years ago, before its fossilized remains were found in southwestern North Dakota in 1999—had been exposed to the air long enough to become desiccated before being buried by sediment and later fossilized.

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