A new study has determined the post-mortem interval of human skeletal remains using real samples, which has been made possible by the combination of two non-destructive analytical tools: Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics. This opens up new avenues for dating in the field of forensic medicine and anthropology. In the field of forensic analysis there is…

The molecular evolution of placental protein NRK and its function in regulating placental growth has finally been clarified. They elucidated that eutherian NRK regulates placental development by a novel mechanism, modulating the CK2-PTEN-AKT pathway. They also determined that this new function was acquired due to the amazingly rapid molecular evolution of NRK in eutherian ancestors.…

The magnitude of the Great Lisbon Earthquake event, a historic and devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Portugal on All Saints’ Day in 1755, may not be as high as previously estimated. In his study published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Joao F. B. D. Fonseca at the Universidade de Lisboa…

Ancient Judeans commonly ate non-kosher fish surrounding the time that such food was prohibited in the Bible, suggests a new study. This finding sheds new light on the origin of Old Testament dietary laws that are still observed by many Jews today. Among these rules is a ban on eating any species of fish which…

Archaeologists have long had a dating problem. The radiocarbon analysis typically used to reconstruct past human demographic changes relies on a method easily skewed by radiocarbon calibration curves and measurement uncertainty. And there’s never been a statistical fix that works — until now. «Nobody has systematically explored the problem, or shown how you can statistically…

Before they can get started at their field site — a giant cave studded with stalactites, stalagmites and human artifacts — 15 undergraduate students must figure out how to use their virtual hands and tools. They also must learn to teleport. This is ANTH 399, a course designed to bring the archaeological field school experience…

A new study has determined the post-mortem interval of human skeletal remains using real samples, which has been made possible by the combination of two non-destructive analytical tools: Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics. This opens up new avenues for dating in the field of forensic medicine and anthropology. In the field of forensic analysis there is…

Researchers have new insights into the citric acid cycle: Certain bacteria can use this central metabolic pathway ‘backwards’, but to do so they must have very high concentrations of the enzyme citrate synthase and of carbon dioxide. This pathway may be a relic from the early development of life. The citric acid cycle is an…

In an effort to help identify skeletal remains of Thai descent, researchers have found that examining the distal humerus (elbow) bone is superior to previous techniques that were developed for identifying sex in a non-Asian population. In an effort to help identify skeletal remains of Thai descent, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM)…

Scientists have found a new species of fleshy verdigris lichen, thanks to DNA analysis of museum specimens. Misidentified by its original collectors, the lichen is only known from 32 specimens collected in North and Central Florida scrubland between 1885 and 1985. Now the hunt is on to find it in the wild — if it…