DNA-based computer could solve problems faster A theoretical DNA-based computer called a nondeterministic universal Turing machine could work out difficult problems faster than both conventional and quantum computers. The machine works by endlessly rearranging DNA via gene editing. New Scientist Temperature of Earth’s mantle recalculated Earth’s mantle is much hotter than researchers thought, coming in […]
Archaeologists work by destroying their object of study. An archaeological excavation is a process of deliberate destruction of the site being dug, during which relevant information is recorded. Since the original site is destroyed in the process, information must be recorded with special care, because archaeologists cannot revisit the site to check dubious information or […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
Cancer found in bone of ancient human ancestor Evidence of cancer has been found in the toe bone of an ancient human ancestor who died 1.6 million to 1.8 million years ago, suggesting the deadly disease isn’t just caused by lifestyle factors. Researchers examining the bone using 3D imaging identified a malignant osteosarcoma tumor. National […]
After Language evolution: The origin , we will go over some of the fundamental substrates of human language. As if mind or anatomy were not broad enough themselves, we will see how a host of structures contributes to language. Each of them has their own role in the emergence, use and change of language as […]
M ethodological developments in medical imaging, computer sciences and rapid prototyping technologies offer new possibilities for research and formation in anthropology, archaeology and curation procedures but also for the benefit of the cultural heritage. To conduct their studies on rare fossil specimens, anthropologists and archaeologists have to deal with two challenges. First, the specimens of […]
1 Introduction Evolutionary linguistics encompasses the origins of language, the change within and across different languages, and the acquisition of language and languages by children and adults (Gong, Shuai, & Zhang, 2014). We shall start framing this voyage by looking back two centuries. Then, some theories of language origins seem to have displayed considerable ‘imagination’ […]
As everybody knows, the people from Bilbao are born wherever they want. And, according to one of the most captivating conjectures in contemporary archaeology, this might have been so in a totally unexpected way even from many millennia ago. The conjecture I am referring to is the ‘Solutrean hypothesis’ about the first human population of […]
Biology • Biotechnology • Ethics • Evolution • Genetics
Ever since the 1993 film based on Michael Crichton’s novel Jurassic Park was released, the thought of reviving extinct species using molecular biology techniques has been on the forefront of the collective imaginary. The idea seemed pretty simple: reading the genetic code of fossilized animals would provide the instruction manual to bring them back to […]
Authors: Maria-José Iriarte-Chiapusso is an Ikerbasque research professor at the Department of Geography, Prehistory and Archaeology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Álvaro Arrizabalaga is a lecturer of Prehistory in the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Archaeology has been defined as the “Science of Trash”. However fortunate or unfortunate that definition might be, it […]
The Big Bang Theory is one of the most robust theories ever made, if not the most. It also has become one of the greatest shows of our time, and I am not talking about the TV show with the same name -which is also one of the greatest TV shows of our time, just […]