Experts are calling them hybrid Byzantine ring pommeled swords. Archaeologists in Turkey have discovered two “rare and unique” swords in a heavily fortified city from the Byzantine Empire, a new study finds. One of the swords, unearthed in a church, may have been placed there as an offering. Both ironContinue Reading
Only the largest males get to mate, so the pressure to eat and grow is extreme If you’re a male northern elephant seal, your car-sized bulk is crucial to your genetic legacy, since only a fraction of the very largest males will have access to mates. Now, scientists have foundContinue Reading
Scientists say that the new material is even more durable than real dental enamel Enamel, the tough outer covering of a tooth, is the hardest substance in the human body. It is also notoriously difficult to replicate artificially. Throughout history, dentists have repaired damaged and decayed teeth with everything fromContinue Reading
The “rolling stop” feature introduced by Tesla in October meant that cars rolled past stop signs instead of stopping, as many states require by law Tesla is recalling more than 50,000 cars in the US because the AI behind its self-driving feature acted too aggressively, rolling past stop signs ratherContinue Reading
Archaeologists don’t know why the horse was decapitated. The skeletal remains of a man buried 1,400 years ago near a headless horse have been discovered at an ancient cemetery in the town of Knittlingen in southern Germany. He likely was the horse’s owner/rider when he was alive. The man wasContinue Reading
House cat skulls have gotten significantly smaller over the last 10,000 years, and so have their brains. Thousands of years of human dependence has shrunk your cat’s brain, new research suggests. In a study published Jan. 26 in the journal Royal Society Open Science, researchers compared the cranial measurements (anContinue Reading
Hammerhead flatworms are often described outside their native range. Scientists have discovered an alien hammerhead flatworm species that looks a bit like a miniature king cobra, or perhaps an itty-bitty snake with a moustache. The researchers found the tiny creatures hunting snails in France and Italy, and they’ve named theContinue Reading
The search for life on Mars is not an easy one. Not only is the red planet difficult to get to, it’s deeply inhospitable to life as we know it. However, there are places on Earth that could show us how life may have been able to survive on MarsContinue Reading
Parasitic gall wasps don’t get out much. For the vast majority of their year-long lives, from eggs to larvae, pupae to adults, these tiny insects are entombed in cocoon-like crypts on the leaves, flowers, and stems of oak trees. When spring rolls around, there’s no time to waste, not evenContinue Reading
Thanks to a combination of sensing the Earth’s magnetic field through vision and an in-built compass that allows them to orient themselves according to magnetic intensity, migratory birds don’t have much trouble finding their way. Those biological gadgets, known as magnetoreception, allow birds to not only know which direction toContinue Reading