Science

A runestone was discovered in Norway recently that jumps back the origin date of runic writing by hundreds of years to a time before the fall of Rome. Based on carbon-dated organic remains, the reddish-brown sandstone block may have been carved as far back as 250 to 1 CE—making it the…

Fiction and non-fiction writers alike have imagined life on Mars. Now, you don’t need any imagination to picture the resident as a giant bear. Scientists at NASA have spotted what they say looks like a bear on the Red Planet. The quirky image was captured in December by the Mars Reconnaissance…

A meteorite containing the oldest material in the solar system has been discovered in Antarctica. It is one of the biggest ever found—and sheds new light on the evolution of the sun and the planets. The 17-lb cosmic treasure (7.6kg) was easy to find, as its black composition contrasted starkly against…

For 3 years, paleontologists working in Petrified Forest National Park have been unearthing the remains of perhaps the oldest known amphibian. It’s not a frog, nor a salamander, but the early-Triassic version of what today are called Caecilians: a family of legless, salamander-adjacent, burrowing critters. The fossils extend the record of…

Nearly 100 years ago, the Chicago Field Museum acquired a bronze sword from Europe, but it was thought to be a well-made replica. Now a new analysis has revealed that the sword is the real deal, dating back 3,000 years to the Bronze Age, and likely belonging to a warrior in…

Recent surveys of the composition of an asteroid as old as our solar system has revealed a key strength that humanity must work around if it should ever need to defend our planet from a possible impact. “Rubble pile” asteroids are immune to impact weaponry, the study revealed, and shows that…

Scientists have found that higher levels of physical activity measured by steps taken per day and hours spent playing sports reduced young children’s susceptibility to upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs.) A secondary finding of note was that the study also took into account whether the house had smokers, pet hair, which…