A Catalan rock shelter preserves a rare record of the transition from hunter-gathering to farming. For thousands of years, people repeatedly returned to a rock shelter above the Montsant River, leaving behind traces of a profound change in human life. Excavations at Coves del Fem (Ulldemolins, Priorat), within Serra de Montsant Natural Park, have now […]
The Lost “Golden Age” of Human Language
New modeling suggests that tens of thousands of languages were spoken between 1,000 and 3,000 years ago, and that their decline began long before European colonial expansion. Around 7,500 languages are spoken or signed today, but that number captures only one moment in a much longer and less visible history. Before written records, was humanity […]
Scientists Say Love Follows Mathematical Patterns
By expanding dynamical systems theories to account for forgetting rates, attraction levels, and reaction patterns, math can now identify ‘relationship danger zones’. Could the course of a romantic relationship be traced through equations? Three decades of research suggest that love can follow recognizable patterns, allowing mathematics to identify signs that a couple may be approaching […]
Long-Term Money Problems May Accelerate Brain Aging
Decades of financial hardship were associated with poorer cognition and brain health later in life. Years of persistent financial strain may leave measurable effects on cognitive performance by middle age and on brain health decades later. Research led by University College London (UCL) linked long-lasting money problems with poorer cognitive outcomes, rather than treating financial […]
Long-Term Money Problems May Accelerate Brain Aging
Decades of financial hardship were associated with poorer cognition and brain health later in life. Years of persistent financial strain may leave measurable effects on cognitive performance by middle age and on brain health decades later. Research led by University College London (UCL) linked long-lasting money problems with poorer cognitive outcomes, rather than treating financial […]
The Surprising Brain Chemistry That Turns Ants Into Caregivers
Parenting may have evolved by repurposing the brain’s ancient hunger circuits. Long before parenting became widespread, many animals simply laid eggs and left their offspring to survive alone. A new study published in Nature reveals how evolution may have turned that lack of care into nurturing behavior. By studying clonal raider ants, an insect known […]
A Fiber Frozen at -196°C Unlocks a New Way To Store Light
A frozen-core optical fiber has revealed a powerful new way to control interactions between light and sound. Molten lava hardens into rock as it cools, much as the surface of a lake freezes during a cold winter. In both cases, a liquid becomes a solid, changing physical properties such as density and refractive index, which […]
A Fiber Frozen at -196°C Unlocks a New Way To Store Light
A frozen-core optical fiber has revealed a powerful new way to control interactions between light and sound. Molten lava hardens into rock as it cools, much as the surface of a lake freezes during a cold winter. In both cases, a liquid becomes a solid, changing physical properties such as density and refractive index, which […]
A Fiber Frozen at -196°C Unlocks a New Way To Store Light
A frozen-core optical fiber has revealed a powerful new way to control interactions between light and sound. Molten lava hardens into rock as it cools, much as the surface of a lake freezes during a cold winter. In both cases, a liquid becomes a solid, changing physical properties such as density and refractive index, which […]
Alien Signals May Be Hiding in a Radio Band SETI Has Barely Explored
Archived radio observations could open new frequencies to SETI while showing that past searches covered millions more stars than previously estimated. A potential extraterrestrial signal could be hiding in radio frequencies that modern searches for intelligent life have barely examined. Most radio SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) projects concentrate on frequencies from 1.42 to 1.66 […]