49,000 years ago South Africans used Milk-based Painting

While the use of ochre by early humans dates to at least 250,000 years ago in Europe and Africa,  this sis the first time a paint containing ochre and milk has ever been found in association with early humans in South Africa, said Poala Villa a curator at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural history and lead study author. The milk likely was obtained by killing lactating members of the bovid family such as buffalo, eland, kudu and impala, she said.

The powdered paint mixture was found on the edge of a small stone flake in a layer of Sibudu Cave, a rock shelter in northern KwaZulu-Natal, Africa, that was occupied by anatomically modern humans in the Middle Stone Age from roughly  77,000 years ago to about 38,000 years ago. Said Villa. While ochre powder production and its use are documented in a number of Middle Stine Age South African sites, there has been no evidence of the use of milk as a chemical binding agent until this discovery.

Cattle were not domesticated in South Africa until 1,000 to 2,000 years ago and Wild South African Bovids are known to separate from the herd when giving birth and usually attempt to hide their young, a behavior that may have made them easy prey for experienced Middle Stone Age hunters. 

Source: University of Colorado

Archaeologists Uncover Entrance Gates, Fortification of Ancient City

The fortifications and entrance of the biblical city of Gath of the Philistines - home of Goliath and the largest city in the land during the 10th -9th century BCE, about the time of the 'Untied Kingdom' of Israel and King Aheb of Israel - has been found by investigators. The excavations are being conducted in the Tel Zafit National Park, located in the Judean Foothills, about halfway between Jerusalem and Ashkelon in Central Israel. 

The city gate of Philistines Gath is referred to in the Bible (in I Samuel 21) in the story's of David's escape from King Saul to Achish, King of Gath.

Source : Bar-Ilan University

Most Big Animals Tried Grass but Many Switched Diet or Extinct

As grasses grew more common in Africa, most major mammal group tried grazing on them at times during the past four million years, but some of the animals went extinct or switched back to browsing on trees and shrubs.

Mass Extinction can Wiped Out Any Species

There have been five mass extinction events in the Earth's history, including climate change caused by volcanoes and an asteroid hit that wiped out the dinosaurs. In general, geographically widespread animals are less likely to become extinct than animals with smaller geographic ranges, offering insurance against regional environmental catastrophes. 

However, a study published in the Nature has found this insurance is rendered useless during global mass extinction events and  that widely distributed animals are just as likely to suffer extinction as those that are less widespread. 

The researchers explored the fossil record of terrestrial vertebrate (including dinosaurs) from the Triassic and Jurassic periods (252 - 145 million years ago).

Source: University of Leeds

Widest Distribution of Mammoth during the Last Ice Age

Ice Age paleontologist recorded the maximum geographical distribution of the woolly mammoth during the last Ice Age and published the most accurate global map in this regard. A total distribution area of 33,301,000 square kilometers and may thus be called the most successful large mammals of this era. The study determined that the distribution was limited by a number of climate driven as well as climate-independent factors.

Woolly Mammoth Tusk

Source : Science Daily

Genome Analysis lighted up the Arrivals and Spreading of first Americans

An international team of researchers compared the genomes of 31 living Native Americans, Siberians and people from Oceania with 23 Native Americans genome to establish a timeline for the arrival and spread of Amerindian populations. They concluded that the first Americans arrived after about 23,000 years ago and diverged around 13,000 years ago into two populations. They found no admixture of Polynesian or European genes, but did find some East Asian gene flow.

Source: University of California

Early Dogs drove to Extinction by the Cats

The dogs family originated in North America 40 Million of years ago and reached a maximum diversity around 22 million of years ago, when more than 30 species inhabited the continent. Today only 9 species of them lived in North America. They progressively increased in body size and species and specialized into becoming large predator. Some of them exceeded 30 kg and were among the largest carnivore on the North American continent. Although there are several large carnivores today face a higher extinction risk than smaller species, the author of the study found no evidence of a similar pattern in ancient canid species.

In the ancient times in the North America the canid species and the felid species fights for the same food just what we see in the Africa today where lions, leopards, Hyenas, wild dogs and other carnivores. New researches revealed that the ancient felids have strong negative impacts on the survivals of the ancient dogs but the opposite is not true. 

This also proved that the ancient felid species are much more efficient hunters than the ancient dogs.

Source: University of Gothenberg

Sky Diving Spiders found in S America

Scientists have discovered a type of nocturnal hunting spider in South America, that is able steer while falling. The spider, from the genus Selenops, is the only arachnid that is able to do this. They manoeuvre by spreading their legs in order to use lift and drag to steer themselves towards the tree when they fall. If they fall upside down, they are able to right themselves in midair.

World Without Humans

Researchers have provided the first estimate of how the mammal diversity world map would look like if modern man had never existed. Then most of northern Europe would probably now be home to not only wolves, Eurasian elk and bears, but also animals such as elephants and rhinoceroses.

Researches have based their estimates on the distribution of each species according to its ecology, bio-geography and the current natural environmental template. "Northern Europe is far from the only place in which humans have reduced the diversity of mammals", said Jens-Christian Svenning, from the Department if Bioscience, Aarhus University in Denmark. The current world map of mammal diversity shows that Africa is the only place with a high diversity of large mammals.

However, the world map shows far greater distribution of high large-mammal diversity across most of the world,with particularly high levels in North and South America.

"Most safaris today take place in Africa, but under natural circumstances, as many or even more large animals would no doubt have existed in other places such as Texas and region around northern Argentina-Southern Brazil", said lead author Soren Faurby.

World Without Us 

We are Responsible for the Extinction of the Mega Fauna

Scientists claimed their research settles a prolonged debate over mankind or  climate change was the dominate cause of the demise of massive creatures in the time of the saber-tooth, the woolly mammoth, the Woolly Rhinos and the giant armadillo.

Woolly Mammoth

Early human were the dominate cause of the extinction of a variety of species of giant beasts. 

Source: University of Exeter 

Marks on 3.4 Million Years Old Bones not Due to Trampling

Marks on two 3.4 million years old animal bone found at the site of Dikika, Ethiopia were not caused  by trampling, an extensive statistical analysis confirms.

The results of the study developed by new methods of fieldworks and analysis for researchers exploring the origins of tool making and meat eating in our ancestors


Source: Emory Health Sciences

Evidence of mass murder during Stone Age Found

Archaeologists have discovered evidence of a brutal mass murder that took place outside Frankfurt Some 7,000 years ago during the Stone Age. The massacre also includes what could be one of the earliest evidence of torture.

Archaeologists dug up 26 bodies in the mass grave and said the horror of their deaths marked them out.

Stone Age People

The legs of the victims seems to have been broken - either just before or after death, 

"Many have injuries, skull fractures caused by typical weapons from the time", said Christian Meyers, who was a PhD student at the University of Mainz when he conducted the research.

The injuries are often on the left of the skull, indicating that they were facing the attacker when they were hit with an adze.

Ancient Reptiles Attacked with Giant Fangs

According to the researchers the Giant ancient Prehistorical mammal like reptiles that grazed across the globe in the Permian Period may have possessed many of the fighting tactics seen in mordern herbivores, including head butting and attacks with the giant fangs. A number of these extinct beasts also possessed complex molar like teeth on the roof of their mouth.

About 250 to 300 million years ago, right before the Age of Dinosaurs the most successful vertebrates on land were the ancestors of mammals - also known as the primitive therapsids that are sometimes called mammal-like reptiles. These ancient creatures includes anomodonts,

Few states in US require HPV vaccine

An examination of state vaccination requirements for adolescents finds that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is currently required in only two states, many fewer than another vaccine associated with sexual transmission (hepatitis B) and another primarily recommended for adolescents (meningococcal conjugate), according to a new study

Lightening can Warp Rocks at Their Core

When a high energy lightening strike bombards a rock, it can heat the rock more than 3,000 degree Fahrenheit which can be twice as hot as lava and deforms not only the appearance of the rock, also the chemical bond that holds it together.

When this happens, the lightening zapped rock becomes covered in natural glasses called fulgurites. In the new study, the researchers took a microscopic look at the quartz fulgurites and found a thin layer of warped quartz crystal underneath the glassy quartz, induced by the high pressure of the strike. This warped layer consists of distinct, parallel and remarkably straight lines and can only be seen with intense magnification. This features control the fundamental structure of the rocks.

Abusive men put female partners at greater sexual risk

Men who were physically and sexually abusive to women were more likely than non-abusive men to engage in behaviors that exposed them and their partners to sexual transmission infections.

Sexting and internet safety climb top 10 list of health concerns for children

With more kids online and using cell phones at increasingly young ages, two issues have quickly climbing higher on the public's list of major health concerns for children across the U.S. sexting and internet safety.

Source: Science Daily

After KT extinction Age of Modern Fishes rises

According to two paleontologist, working in the National Academy of Science have determined that the world's most numerous and diverse vertebrate - ray finned fishes - began their ecological dominance of the oceans 66 million years ago, aided by the KT mass extinction event that killed of the Dinosaurs.

An assortment of Early Cenozoic ichthyoliths.

Entire Genomes of Wooly Mammoth Mapped

A international team of researcher has sequenced the nearly complete genome of two Siberian wooly mammoths. It revealed most complete picture of wooly mammoth to date.It includes the new information about the species' evolutionary history and the conditions that led to its mass extinction at the end of the Ice Age.

Trunk of a baby mammoth

Source: Science Daily

13 year study suggests Bushmeat grows with Economy

Comprehensive results of 13 years of one of the longest continuously running studies of commercial hunting activity have been published. The researchers recorded more than 197,000 animal carcasses for sale and analyzed market patterns in relation to political, economic and legal factors in the country of Equatorial Guinea in Central Africa.

Red Colobus

Source: Science Daily

Parasitized spider makes bed for its natural enemy, wasp larva

An ichneumonid parasitic wasp seizes control of the parasitized spider and exploits its 'resting web' building behavior as seen before moulting, scientists have discovered. Researchers examining the threads’ force, found that the web produced through parasitic manipulation is more robust than the resting web. Given that the wasp induces a behavior inherent in the spider, revealing the molecular mechanism of the web manipulation is likely to contribute to the practical application of spider silk.

Source: Science Daily

Why it's hard to make a Bunny Mad

Rabbits have long been considered immune to prior disease, but recently scientists have shown that under certain circumstances they can get transmissible spongiform  encephalopathy (the scientific name of the fatal brain disease causes by prion). Two studies suggests what makes rabbits hard to infect with prions and how they resistance can be overcome.

Head of Brazilian frogs are venomous wepeons

It's no surprise that some frogs secrete poison from glands in their skin. But researchers have discovered the first two species of frog, both living in Brazil, that are actually venomous. Not only do the frogs produce potent toxins, but they also have a mechanism to deliver those harmful secretions into another animal using bony spines on their heads.

Brazilian Frogs

Source: Science Daily