The Penghu Islands offer a coastal view where a fossil was discovered on the seabed during low tide in the shallow sea visible there. This group of islands is located in the Taiwan Strait.
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During our honeymoon, my husband and I came across the Robenhausen door at the National Museum Zurich in Switzerland. This wooden board, over 5,500 years old, stands as one of the oldest preserved doors in Europe. Archaeologist Jakob Messikommer unearthed this prehistoric object from the marshes in Wetzikon in 1868, according to the museum. It likely belonged to a Neolithic home in a village on Lake Pfäffiker. Contemplating its history raised questions about the ancient hands that built it and the people who once passed through it thousands of years ago. Such artifacts and fossils provide glimpses into our origins and deepen our knowledge of humanity’s past.
A fossilized jawbone discovered between Taiwan and China belonged to a Denisovan, an enigmatic ancient human relative. Scientists were intrigued when a commercial fishing net dredged up the jawbone off Taiwan’s coast in 2010, prompting a reevaluation of its place in the human family tree. Protein fragments within the jaw’s teeth indicated that the bone, known as Penghu 1, belonged to a Denisovan male who likely inhabited a submerged land bridge connecting present-day China and Taiwan. The scarcity of Denisovan fossil finds leaves many mysteries about these ancient relatives unanswered, but further exploration at Taiwan’s National Museum of Natural Science may unveil intriguing insights.
Lunar update: Keep an eye out on Saturday for April’s full moon, known as the pink moon, reaching its peak at 8:22 p.m. ET. Despite its name referencing spring blooms, the moon will maintain its usual white-golden appearance, albeit possibly appearing smaller due to being a micromoon—Earth’s satellite reaching or nearing its farthest orbital distance, with April hosting the smallest micromoon of the year.
In space exploration news, tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, nominee to lead NASA under President Donald Trump, expressed intentions to prioritize sending American astronauts to Mars and implement other potential agency changes during a Senate confirmation hearing.
Bringing an extinct creature back to life, scientists have utilized gene editing to resurrect the dire wolf species that once roamed North America, inspiring the creatures in the “Game of Thrones” series. Although the real-life dire wolf went extinct around 12,500 years ago, biotech company Colossal Biosciences has successfully recreated the species. By extracting DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull, they have produced healthy dire wolf puppies. As debates ensue regarding the genetic makeup of these recreated wolves, Colossal scientists have observed unique behaviors in the wolves as they
New research contributes to the existing evidence suggesting that dinosaurs were thriving before the catastrophic asteroid strike. A team of scientists compared the fossil records of the four main dinosaur groups that existed in the 18 million years leading up to the mass extinction with data modeling estimates, revealing a discrepancy. Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, a Royal Society Newton International Fellow at University College London, remarked, “If it weren’t for that asteroid, dinosaurs might still coexist on Earth with mammals, lizards, and their modern descendants: birds.”
In an exploration of ocean mysteries, deep-sea mapping company Magellan has produced a detailed “digital twin” of the RMS Titanic, providing new insights into the ship’s final moments before sinking 113 years ago. The 3D underwater scan is showcased in a National Geographic documentary about the ill-fated ocean liner resting at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. The scan uncovered previously unseen details, supporting the account that 35 boiler room engineers sacrificed themselves to maintain power for distress signals. Additionally, the findings of the project clear an officer accused of abandoning his duties at a critical juncture.
Further intriguing stories include the discovery of an enigmatic altar in an ancient Mayan city, containing bodies and believed to be constructed by a different culture, potentially shedding light on the geopolitics of the era. Excavation on a soccer field in Vienna unveiled a mass grave of soldiers from almost two millennia ago, showcasing rare evidence of battles between Romans and Germanic tribes. Scientists continue to investigate the phenomenon of a mysterious oceanic glow persisting for centuries, known as “milky sea” events.
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