Archaeologists Dug Up an Old Skeleton. Then They Noticed Something Very Strange

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Scientists say a skeleton found with a nail through its foot in England is rare evidence of a Roman crucifixion. The skeleton was included in a recent report in British Archaeology magazine, which details findings from a dig of an ancient Roman settlement found in Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire, that dates back to the late first or … Read more

Astronomers Spot Two Dust Bunnies Hiding in the Early Universe

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Christopher Intagliata: This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I’m Christopher Intagliata. If you’ve ever looked up at the Milky Way, you’ve seen what’s known as cosmic dust. Pascal Oesch: When you see this band of the Milky Way, you can see these dark patches. So that’s really just dust that is obscuring the stars behind it. Intagliata: Pascal … Read more

Solar panels: Transparent coating causes snow and ice to slide off

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Snow and ice block sunlight from reaching solar panels and stop energy generation, but a new material can cause them to slide off Technology 9 December 2021 By Matthew Sparkes The solar panels on the left are covered in a snow-shedding coating Anish Tuteja et al. Settling snow and ice can significantly dampen the output … Read more

Drinking May Reduce The Risk Of Certain Diseases, But Don’t Get Too Excited, Texas

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Heavy drinking may lead to more than alcoholism, according to recent studies. A report appearing online, to be published later in a print version of The International Journal of Cancer, revealed that women who drink an average of more than two alcoholic beverages a day double their chances of being diagnosed with endometrial cancer, compared … Read more

How Much of a Risk Do Synthetic Food Dyes Pose to Your Health? A Research Weighs In

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Early-onset colorectal cancer incidence among the young, defined as those under age 50, has been rising globally since the early 1990s. Rates for colon and rectal cancers are expected to increase by 90 percent and 124 percent, respectively, by 2030.   One suspected reason behind this trend is increased global consumption of a Westernized diet … Read more

This Protein Could Boost Brain Function without Exercise

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The drumbeat of exercise’s brain benefits may sound familiar. Most of us know that getting our move on can mean a boost to mental and neurological health. But what if, through understanding these biochemical processes, we could get all of that brain gain without going through the exercise pain? Mouse experiments have already demonstrated the … Read more

Croydon cat killer: DNA analysis confirms foxes, not humans, were to blame

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By Jason Arunn Murugesu Foxes are notorious scavengers Jamie_Hall/Getty Images Between 2014 and 2018, more than 300 mutilated cat carcasses were found on London streets, leading to sensational media reports that a feline-targeting serial killer was on the loose. The fact that the cats often had their heads or tails cut off, as well as … Read more

NASA’s Next-Generation Asteroid Impact Monitoring System Just Got Switched On

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When it comes to avoiding asteroid-inflicted apocalypse, we’ll take all the help we can get, and NASA’s next-generation asteroid impact monitoring system, which has just been activated, has us sleeping a little bit easier in our beds.   Called Sentry-II, the new system can take data collected from telescopes and work out the path of … Read more