A "replica" sword that had been gathering dust at Chicago's Field Museum for about a century was recently found to be an authentic artifact from the late Bronze Age. The 3,000-year-old weapon was found in the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary, in the 1930s. It was given to the Hungary National Museum but later acquired by the Field Museum. Here, the sword was mislabeled as a copy and placed in storage....
Read news articleAn international team of scientists has created a robot that seamlessly goes from a solid to a liquid state and back again. The feat may sound magical. But it is rooted in science....
Read news articleThe first phonetic alphabet — where each symbol stands for a certain sound — is credited to the Canaanites. They lived in the Eastern Mediterranean over 2000 years ago. Over the years, archaeologists have found some of these symbols on old pottery pieces. Now, they have discovered the oldest complete sentence written in this alphabet on an ancient lice comb....
Read news articleDespite technological advances, modern concrete structures start to crumble in just 50 years if not maintained. This contrasts sharply with Italian monuments that remain standing after over 2,000 years. Now, an international research team has finally uncovered how Roman concrete wonders continue to survive to this day....
Read news articleResearchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently unveiled a paper-thin solar cell that could turn any surface into a power source. The device is thinner than a single strand of human hair. It weighs about 100 times less than standard solar cells....
Read news articleThe series of winter storms that have battered California since late December finally began to wind down on January 17, 2023. The historic levels of rain and snow have caused rivers to overflow and flooded roads and homes. Thousands of people were forced to evacuate. Millions lost power at some point during the three-week-long deluge of rain. At least 20 people have died in connection with the storms....
Read news articleOn January 22, 2023, over 1.6 billion people of Asian descent worldwide will celebrate the first day of the Chinese New Year, also called Lunar New Year. In China, the festivities last for two weeks and include many fun customs and traditions. Millions of city dwellers head home to spend the important festival with friends and family. The spring travel rush, or Chunyun, results in the world’s largest seasonal human migration....
Read news articleA remote area in Antarctica has been identified as the "coldest place on Earth." According to NASA, the temperatures in the East Antarctic Plateau can dip to a bone-chilling -136° F (-93.3° C). That is several degrees colder than the previous low of -128.6° F (-89.2° C) set in 1983 at the Russian Vostok Research Station in East Antarctica....
Read news articleStarting January 12, 2023, stargazers will get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a rare comet with a greenish hue. Astronomers discovered Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in March 2022 when it was inside Jupiter's orbit. NASA scientists believe this may be the comet's first sighting. If the icy body did pass our planet previously, it was probably thousands of years ago....
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