Humans

The 19th-century American writer Wallace D. Wattles once claimed, “Thinking is the hardest and most exhausting of all labor.” On the surface, that might sound like a contentious comparison, but a new study suggests thinking too hard and too long really can drain your brain, much like exercise can wear out the body. Hard physical

A child’s manner of walking can tell a doctor a lot about their health and development. But the transition from tottering toddler to strutting teen is not as universal as you might think. Depending on where in the world a child grows up, their gait may mature in a slightly different way. By age 7,

Maya people cremated their rulers and used the ashes to help make rubber balls that were used in ballgames, an archaeologist has claimed. The researcher and his team believe they’ve found evidence of this practice while excavating the Maya city of Toniná, in southern Mexico. Researchers refer to it as the “ballgame” as its rules

Humans take a lot of pride in their brains. We like to think we are an intelligent species, and even though size isn’t everything, our noggins are some of the largest nature has to offer. The idea that our brains are shrinking is not one we like to consider. For more than four decades, experts

A sweeping analysis of more than 72 million Facebook users has found a big bonus to having rich friends. When poor children grow up around wealthier kids and parents, they are much more likely to earn a higher salary later in life, researchers at Harvard, Stanford, and New York Universities have found. The findings suggest

Thousands of years ago, across the Eastern Mediterranean, multiple Bronze Age civilizations took a distinct turn for the worse at around the same time. The Old Kingdom of Egypt and the Akkadian Empire both collapsed, and there was a widespread societal crisis across the Ancient Near East and the Aegean, manifesting as declining populations, destruction,

In the middle of the night, the world can sometimes feel like a dark place. Under the cover of darkness, negative thoughts have a way of drifting through your mind, and as you lie awake, staring at the ceiling, you might start craving guilty pleasures, like a cigarette or a carb-heavy meal. Plenty of evidence

Reduced to the size of an apple with their eyes and lips stitched shut, it’s easy to forget that these iconic shrunken heads are, in fact, the remains of real humans who once lived and breathed. For centuries, the famous relics (known as tsantsas) of the indigenous Ecuadorean Shuar people have been sold as novelties,

Archaeologists recently stumbled upon a set of mysterious ‘ghost footprints’ in the salt flats of a Utah desert. These unusual ancient tracks get their eerie name not because they are from an ethereal realm, but due to their earthly composition: They become visible only after it rains and the footprints fill with moisture and become

One in five adults in Michigan doesn’t have children and isn’t planning on starting a family any time soon. Regardless of fertility, childfree adults have decided to opt out of parenthood entirely. “We estimate 21.64 percent of Michigan adults are #childfree,” Michigan State University (MSU) sociologist Zarchary Neal wrote in a tweet about the study. He’s

Ever wondered why kissing feels better than holding hands? The tongue is a pretty incredible piece of kit, though notoriously difficult to study, due to its position inside the mouth. Obviously, it gives us access to the wonderful world of taste, but more than that, it has greater sensitivity to touch than the fingertip. Without

The decapitated head of an ancient Egyptian mummy found in an attic in Kent, England, has been put under a CT scan, revealing it belonged to a woman that lived at least 2,000 years ago. The head is believed to have been brought back from Egypt as a souvenir in the 19th century, researchers from Canterbury

Scientists experimenting on mice have found evidence that key parts of the modern human brain take more time to develop than those of our long extinct cousin, the Neanderthal. Like the hare and the tortoise, slow and steady is the winner here. The extra time is caused by protein differences that also appear to reduce

In a time when flaunting your best self on social media has become a norm, narcissistic traits seem to be everywhere.  In today’s slang, off-putting behaviors like entitlement, superiority, and self-congratulating are known as ‘flexing’. Such traits might be more common these days, but being narcissistic is still seen as a pathological personality trait, akin to

Amber Heard has one of the world’s most beautiful faces – that is, according to cosmetic surgeon Julian De Silva. The claim has been recycled for some years now, and recently resurfaced in the wake of Heard’s (widely reported) trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp. But what is this claim based on? Well, according to De

Conspiracy theories are hardly a modern affliction: think of the JFK assassination or the long history of UFO sightings. Yet the internet is often said to have ushered in a ‘post-truth’ era, with social media, in particular, allowing for the spread of viral misinformation.  Whether or not that’s actually true is another matter, and it’s

A mysterious mummy of an ancient Egypt woman, who may have been pregnant when she died, likely also had cancer, according to researchers. Deformities in the mummy’s skull suggest a sizable tumor behind the left eye, but further tests are required to confirm that the tumor was cancerous.   The unusual mummy, who has been

Researchers have peered back through 800 years of history to conclude that Mayapan – the capital of culture and politics for the Maya people of the Yucatán Peninsula in the 13th and 14th century CE – may well have been undone by drought. That drought would have led to civil conflict, which would, in turn,

We often think of babies as blank canvases with little ability to learn during the first few weeks of life. But babies actually start processing language and speech incredibly early. Even while in the womb, they learn to discern voices, along with some speech sounds. At birth, they already prefer speech sounds over other types

An ancient upper jawbone discovered in Spain reveals the unique facial features of an individual who may be the oldest known ancient human relative in Europe.  A team of paleoanthropologists unearthed the fossil in June at Sima del Elefante (Spanish for “Pit of the Elephant”), an archeological site in the Atapuerca Mountains near the city

For most of us, policing unwanted thoughts isn’t easy – but a new study outlines an approach that any of us could use in order to limit the number of thoughts that drop into our minds without an invitation. The study looks at the differences between reactive and proactive control. Reactive control is when we

Distrust of science is a massive problem. In our current environment, it’s directly leading to people’s deaths. Much of the misinformation we face is intentional and organized, and even worse, research has found lies seem to spread faster online and are often stickier than the truth. So psychologist Aviva Philipp-Muller, now at Simon Fraser University,

In this age of science, many people see supernatural forces as illusions rooted in wishful thinking. But love remains a profound exception to humanity’s trend toward rationality. People are used to seeing romantic love presented as it is on the reality show “The Bachelor” – as a force cosmically bound to one’s destiny. It’s an

As a hobby, video gaming can get some bad press when it comes to its effects on our physical and mental health – and it has been well established that sitting still all day isn’t especially good for us. However, done in moderation, there are upsides to video gaming. A new study suggests that hours spent

Remains recovered from a cave in the Chinese province of Yunnan more than 10 years ago have finally given up their secrets, with a DNA analysis revealing not just who left them, but ultimately where their ancestors would go. Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences evaluated nuclear and mitochondrial sequences extracted from a 14,000-year-old

When we dream, something mysterious happens within our brains – we experience something similar to being awake, and yet also very different to being awake, and scientists are still trying to unpick exactly what’s going on in that in-between state. Now another clue has been discovered. A new study has found that one crucial feature

Our DNA is packed into our nucleus pretty damn tightly. Each chromosome is one looong DNA molecule wrapped around proteins called histones, like a very tiny thread on very tiny spools. But sperm puts even the packing skills of chromosomes to shame. “If DNA were to take up as much space as a watermelon under

The identity of an unknown god described in inscriptions from the ancient city of Palmyra, located in modern-day Syria, has long baffled scientists. But now, a researcher declares that she has cracked the case. Palmyra existed for millennia and the city flourished around 2,000 years ago as a center of trade that connected the Roman Empire with

Dogs are beyond great. These wonderful animals are so clever, and so connected with us. For people lucky enough to be dog owners, they’re truly our best friends. Now researchers have discovered another reason to love dogs, and it’s something that’s not so obvious. According to new research, a higher concentration of dog ownership in

In the area where the Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexican borders now meet, ancestral Pueblo societies thrived and then collapsed several times, over the span of 800 years. Each time they recovered, their culture transformed. This shifting history can be seen in their pottery and the incredible stone and earth dwellings they created. During

Facts are the cornerstones of reality. At least, they used to be. In today’s ultra-polarized environment, however – marked by deep political divisions, heightened social tensions, and a deluge of misinformation and fake news – facts are rather less certain in people’s minds than they once were. Because of this strange ambiguity in how we

Locally sourced grapes and imported tar pitches may have been the norms for winemakers along the coast of Italy during the Roman period, according to jars recovered from the ocean near the harbor of San Felice Circeo. Three different wine jars, or amphorae, were recovered and analyzed, giving researchers a useful insight into the practices

Community science – also known as citizen science – has enormous appeal for researchers looking to collect larger datasets and engage the public in their work. But are the data collected in this way any good? Enabled by technology, community science allows researchers to harness the power of public interest, using their voluntary contributions to

Holding a conversation with a five-year-old can be an adventure. One second you’re sharing opinions on favorite breakfast cereals, the next they’ve jumped ship to something vague about a cartoon octopus. What seems like a limited vocabulary or difficulty in keeping focused could actually be an inability to reconcile inferences with another person’s perspective. Researchers

Like snowflakes, no two people are exactly the same. You’re probably used to the idea that people differ substantially in personality and in cognitive abilities – skills like problem-solving or remembering information. In contrast, there’s a widely held intuition that people vary far less in their ability to recognize, match or categorize objects. Many everyday

It’s the climax of the movie. The protagonist’s love interest is mortally wounded, their dog has run off, and for some reason it’s now raining. To drive home the fact it’s a gut-wrenching moment, the music is now playing in a somber minor key. New research suggests there could be some in the audience who

Imagine you have an interview for a new job tomorrow. Some people might think about what kind of questions they will be asked so that they can prepare, or imagine the interview going well. For others, the thought of an interview will cause them to toss and turn all night thinking of every worst case

In 2018, archaeologists made a staggering discovery in Swaga Swaga Game Reserve in central Tanzania: 52 previously undocumented rock shelters, deliberately painted with rock art. Weathering had mostly destroyed all but a handful; but of those that were preserved, one was an absolute enigma. The site, named Amak’hee 4, was elaborately painted with a frieze

NASA has requested the safe return of moondust and cockroach samples that were scheduled to be sold in a private auction that ended June 23. Earlier this month, the space agency contacted RR Auction, a Boston-based auction house, to stop the sale of moondust that was collected by astronauts during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission.

A US navy destroyer sunk during World War II has been found nearly 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) below sea level off the Philippines, making it the world’s deepest shipwreck ever located, an American exploration team said. The USS Samuel B. Roberts went down during a battle off the central island of Samar on 25 October

Archaeologists have revealed a complex of hidden passageways and galleries deep inside the ancient Chavín de Huántar temple complex in the Peruvian Andes. The researchers think the network of chambers and galleries was used in religious rituals, possibly involving psychedelic drugs. It’s the first time in about 3,000 years that these particular hidden structures have

Multiple ancient hominin remains from caves in South Africa may be much, much older than previous estimates suggested. The Sterkfontein limestone cave system, not far from Johannesburg, has yielded so many ancient bones from the hominin genus Australopithecus over the last century that its location has been dubbed the Cradle of Humankind – deeply important

An overlooked archaeological site outside of Canterbury turned out to contain some of the oldest human-made tools in Britain. Many of the artifacts were found in the 1920s in the market town of Fordwich, Kent, but they were only recently properly dated. According to modern radiometric techniques, the collection of more than 330 hand axes

Have you ever met a perfect stranger and felt like you ‘clicked’ almost immediately? Well, that feeling of chemistry might actually be chemistry. An Israeli study recruited twenty pairs of same-sex, platonic friends who said they clicked when they met.  Using an electronic nose (and volunteers who heroically agreed to sniff T-shirts worn overnight), the

The idea of love languages is that we all express love differently – physical touching, buying gifts, giving compliments and so on – and recognizing that others may not express love in the same way that we ourselves do can help keep relationships strong. But there’s not been much research done to back that idea

Scientists have identified the traits that may make a person more likely to claim they hear the voices of the dead. According to research published in 2021, a predisposition to high levels of absorption in tasks, unusual auditory experiences in childhood, and a high susceptibility to auditory hallucinations all occur more strongly in self-described clairaudient

As people age, their immune systems naturally begin to decline. This aging of the immune system, called immunosenescence, may be an important part of such age-related health problems as cancer and cardiovascular disease, as well as older people’s less effective response to vaccines. But not all immune systems age at the same rate. In our

With enough training, most humans can learn how to echolocate, using their tongue to make clicking sounds and interpreting the echoes that come back, reflected from the surrounding environment. In as few as 10 weeks, researchers have been able to teach participants how to navigate obstacles and recognize the size and orientation of objects using