Maya archaeologists have excavated salt kitchens where brine was boiled in clay pots over fires in pole and thatch buildings preserved in oxygen-free sediment below the sea floor in Belize. But where these salt workers lived has been elusive, leaving possible interpretations of daily or seasonal workers from the coast...
Warmer soil stores less carbon
Global warming will cause the world's soil to release carbon, new research shows.
New findings on the link between CRISPR gene-editing and mutated cancer cells
A protein that protects cells from DNA damage, p53, is activated during gene editing using the CRISPR technique. Consequently, cells with mutated p53 have a survival advantage, which can cause cancer. Researchers have found new links between CRISPR, p53 and other cancer genes that could prevent the accumulation of mutated...
Paleontologists debunk fossil thought to be missing link between lizards and first snakes
Filling in the links of the evolutionary chain with a fossil record of a 'snake with four legs' connecting lizards and early snakes would be a dream come true for paleontologists. But a specimen formerly thought to fit the bill is not the missing piece of the puzzle, according to...
‘Volcanic winter’ likely contributed to ecological catastrophe 250 million years ago
A team of scientists has identified an additional force that likely contributed to a mass extinction event 250 million years ago. Its analysis of minerals in southern China indicate that volcano eruptions produced a 'volcanic winter' that drastically lowered earth's temperatures -- a change that added to the environmental effects...
Genetic changes in Bronze Age southern Iberia
The third millennium BCE brought about substantial transformations that are visible in the cultures of Bronze Age Europeans. A new study documents the arrival of new genetic ancestry to southern Iberia, concomitant with the rise of the Early Bronze Age El Argar culture around 2,200 BCE.
New knowledge about our Earth’s most important biochemical reaction: A step towards increasing CO2 uptake in plants
A group of proteins in plant cells plays a vastly more important role in regulation of photosynthesis than once thought, according to new research. The research is an important step towards fully understanding photosynthesis regulation and increasing CO2 uptake in plants to benefit the climate.
Shape-morphing microrobots deliver drugs to cancer cells
Chemotherapy successfully treats many forms of cancer, but the side effects can wreak havoc on the rest of the body. Delivering drugs directly to cancer cells could help reduce these unpleasant symptoms. Now, in a proof-of-concept study, researchers have made fish-shaped microrobots that are guided with magnets to cancer cells,...
Methane from carbon dioxide
Recycling carbon dioxide, especially through conversion to methane, is compelling while anthropogenic CO2 emissions are still rising. A useful process for this transformation is photothermal methanation, in which CO2 and hydrogen are catalytically converted into CH4 and water upon irradiation with sunlight. A team of researchers has now reported the...
Perceptual links between sound and shape may unlock origins of spoken words
Most people around the world agree that the made-up word 'bouba' sounds round in shape, and the made-up word 'kiki' sounds pointy -- a discovery that may help to explain how spoken languages develop, according to a new study. Language scientists have discovered that this effect exists independently of the...