Tag: Science

Scientists suggest unearthed skull could belong to new species of ancient human | Science | News

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Scientists may have identified a new species of human after investigating a skull belonging to an ancient child.

A new study published in the Journal of Human Evolution has attempted to shed light on the fossilised remains recovered from Hualongdong, China, in 2019 that did not appear to fit with any known human lineage.

Archaeologists uncovered a fossilised leg, skull and jawbone, with the latter two items proving the most puzzling.

They said the features exhibited by the skull and

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Perseid meteor shower: When and how to watch incredible light show at its peak | Science | News

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Stargazers have something to look forward to at the end of this week — weather permitting — with the Perseid meteor shower set to peak across the night of August 12–13.

According to astronomers, observers in the northern hemisphere could see up to 50 meteors an hour, with the light show best seen a few hours prior to sunrise on Sunday morning.

The spectacle, which occurs from mid-July to mid-August each year, is caused by Earth crossing through the orbital

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How to make the perfect sandcastle, according to science: Using an 8:1 ratio of sand to water and packing the bucket full of shells is key to achieving the most stable structure, expert says

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The summer holidays are here and no trip to the seaside is complete without building an enormous sandcastle to the envy of other beachgoers. 

But as any holidaymaker will know, there’s nothing more frustrating than being halfway through your majestic creation when it collapses in a heap. 

Luckily, a British researcher has now offered a few tips to get the ‘perfect sandcastle’ according to science and make it stand proud for hours. 

Professor Matthew Bennett, a sedimentologist at Bournemouth University,

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New Zealand’s active volcano that still threatens to devastate country | Science | News

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New Zealand: Smoke billows from volcano on White Island

Mount Tarawera has been touted as one of New Zealand’s first-ever tourist hotspots.

The geothermal Rotorua region is peppered with hot springs which are fed by the locality’s hidden volcanic bed, a vast pool of magma sitting just below the surface.

Silica terraces which over hundreds of years formed tumbling pools, staircases and waterfalls filled with warm, mineral-rich waters were destroyed in the major 1886 eruption that wiped out much of

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Dark side of the moon reveals huge heat blob that has scientists concerned | Science | News

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Scientists have discovered an enormous heat blob on the dark side of the moon, which could have profound consequences for lunar research.

The unusual mass of heat is believed to come from a large deposit of granite buried beneath the moon’s surface, which was formed by a volcano similar to those found on Earth.

The heat blob spans 31 miles in total and has a temperature of 10C.

This is considered to be very hot for the moon where the

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Yellowstone supervolcano experts says ‘we’re not ready’ for potential eruption | Science | News

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Will Yellowstone volcano erupt in our lifetime? That is the question countess volcanologists have asked in recent decades.

Over the past few years, new insights into how the volcano’s magma chamber reservoir works have been published, all based on seismic data collected from seismometers installed around the caldera in 2020.

The findings are important in order to understand exactly what is going on beneath the surface and whether an eruption or other seismic activity is likely to happen.

Many questions

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Ancient Egyptain mummy ‘mystery woman’ mistaken for great king | Science | News

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Ancient Egypt has provided the world with a wealth of knowledge since archaeologists began digging up

The fertile Nile Delta region is home to a range or civilisations which have all risen and fallen one after the other, their lives spanning thousands of years.

Perhaps best-known is the period in which so-called great pharaohs ruled over Egypt, including figures like Djoser, Khufu, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, and Ramses II.

By the end of the 1800s, most of the tombs of the greats

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‘Extraordinary’ ancient Aztec objects ‘never before seen’ found in lost pyramid | Science | News

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The Aztecs are today revered around the world, despite their civilisation having been gone for hundreds of years.

They were at one point in history the most advanced humans on the planet, leading the way in science and medicine, building great cities for hundreds of thousands of people in jungle and desert landscapes across Mexico.

Many of their cities contained complex irrigation systems that wouldn’t be seen anywhere else in the world for hundreds of years.

But, when Europeans arrived

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How Webb instruments work together to create views of space

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A series of new images from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the dusty, irregular galaxy NGC 6822 — and the different views captured by various Webb instruments.

Located relatively close by at 1.5 million light-years from Earth, this galaxy is notable for its low metallicity. Confusingly, when astronomers say metallicity they do not mean the amount of metals present in a galaxy, but rather the amount of all heavy elements — i.e., everything which isn’t hydrogen or helium. This

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Calls grow for specialist clinics for all over-50s | Science | News

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A growing army of MPs, Peers, medics, charities and business leaders are backing our fight to end the death and disability caused by osteoporosis.

Since its launch in June, the Sunday Express Better Bones campaign has triggered an overwhelming response, with 236 politicians joining forces with us to demand action. And 791 medics have signed an open letter calling for change.

This week the Federation of Small Businesses also pledged its support, saying preventative measures against the “silent bone disease”

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