Nov 28th, 2025 - Pit diggers may have been trying to connect with the underworld, archaeologist Vincent Gaffney says Archaeologists have confirmed that a series of deep pits discovered near Stonehenge in Wiltshire, UK—some of which are five metres deep—were carved out by humans more than 4,000 years ago. The circle pits at Durrington Walls and Woodhenge, around 2 miles north-east of Stonehenge, are set at regular intervals, ten metres in diameter and more than five metres deep, making this the "largest known prehistoric structure in Britain" the archaeologists behind the project say. The circle ... [Read More]

Nov 27th, 2025 - In the latest twist in human evolution, scientists have discovered that a mysterious foot found in Ethiopia belonged to a previously unknown ancient relative. Dated to around 3.4 million years ago, the species was likely similar to Lucy, an ancient human relative who lived in the area at around the same time, according to a study published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature. But researchers found that the Burtele foot — named after the place in northeastern Ethiopia where it was discovered in 2009 — was unmistakably different. With an opposable big toe resembling a human ... [Read More]

Nov 27th, 2025 - Follow Earth on Google New research suggests that most modern dogs carry a small but detectable dose of wolf DNA acquired after domestication. Moreover, this lingering wolf ancestry has nudged traits from body size and olfaction to behavioral tendencies.  Led by the American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, the study argues that this post- domestication gene flow likely gave dogs extra adaptive tools for thriving in wildly different human-made environments.  " Modern dogs , especially pet dogs, can seem so removed from wolves, ... [Read More]

Nov 26th, 2025 - A human avian influenza case reported in Mexico in late September has been confirmed as H5N2, making it the country's second known human infection with this subtype and the second reported worldwide, according to health officials. The case was initially classified only as avian influenza A(H5) when it was announced on September 30. The Pan American Health Organization ( PAHO ) said further laboratory analysis has now confirmed the virus as H5N2. Mexican health officials reported that the patient was a 23-year-old woman from Mexico City who had no recent travel history. PAHO said she began ... [Read More]

Nov 26th, 2025 - Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By MARCIA DUNN CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A telescope in Chile has captured a stunning new picture of a grand and graceful cosmic butterfly. The National Science Foundation's NoirLab released the picture Wednesday. Snapped last month by the Gemini South telescope, the aptly named Butterfly Nebula is 2,500 to 3,800 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. A single light-year is 6 trillion miles. At the heart of this bipolar nebula is a white dwarf star that cast aside its outer layers of gas long ago. The discarded gas forms the ... [Read More]

Nov 26th, 2025 - Nov. 26 (UPI) -- NASA's Perseverance rover has recorded the first evidence of electrical activity on Mars that a scientist described as "mini lightning." A scientific team analyzed 28 hours of audio and video recordings made by the rover that landed on Mars in February 2021, and the team determined that some recordings are evidence of electrical activity on Mars, according to Gizmodo . The electrical activity is not like the lightning bolts that occur during adverse weather on Earth and instead is more akin to static electricity that is thought to be caused when dust devils pass across Mars' ... [Read More]

Nov 26th, 2025 - Man airlifted to hospital in serious condition Do you know more? Contact tips@dailymail.com.au  A woman in her 20s has died after she was attacked by a shark during an early-morning swim at a popular holiday destination.  Emergency services were called to Kylies Beach at Crowdy Bay, south of Port Macquarie, at about 6.30am on Thursday following reports of a shark attack.     Police confirmed a woman and man, both in their 20s, were mauled.  The pair are understood to be Swiss nationals and the man was attacked during his efforts to save the woman. Despite the ... [Read More]

Nov 26th, 2025 - CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have detected what they believe to be lightning on Mars by eavesdropping on the whirling wind recorded by NASA's Perseverance rover. The crackling of electrical discharges was captured by a microphone on the rover, a French-led team reported Wednesday. The researchers documented 55 instances of what they call "mini lightning" over two Martian years, primarily during dust storms and dust devils . Almost all occurred on the windiest Martian sols, or days, during dust storms and dust devils. Just inches (centimeters) in size, the electrical arcs ... [Read More]