Ancient baby DNA suggests tie to Native Americans

Ancient baby DNA suggests tie to Native Americans

NEW YORK: The DNA of a baby boy who was buried in Montana 12,600 years ago has been recovered, and it provides new indications of the ancient roots of today's American Indians and other native peoples of the Americas.

 

It's the oldest genome ever recovered from the New World. Artifacts found with the body show the boy was part of the Clovis culture, which existed in North America from about 13,000 years ago to about 12,600 years ago and is named for an archaeological site near Clovis, N.M.

Scientists find 800,000-year-old footprints in UK

Scientists find 800,000-year-old footprints in UK

LONDON: They were a British family on a day out - almost a million years ago.

 

1. Archaeologists announced Friday that they have discovered human footprints in England that are between 800,000 and 1 million years old - the most ancient found outside Africa, and the earliest evidence of human life in northern Europe.

New Madrid fault zone alive and active: US

New Madrid fault zone alive and active: US

LOS ANGELES: The New Madrid fault zone in the nation's midsection is active and could spawn future large earthquakes, scientists reported Thursday. 

It's "not dead yet," said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough, who was part of the study published online by the journal Science. 

Researchers have long debated just how much of a hazard New Madrid (MAD'-rihd) poses. The zone stretches 150 miles, crossing parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.

Rescued Antarctic scientists back on dry land

Rescued Antarctic scientists back on dry land

SYDNEY: Scientists whose Antarctic expedition became trapped in sea ice finally returned to dry land Wednesday, apologising for the disruption and facing questions over who will pay for the international rescue mission.

The scientists were among the 52 passengers plucked by helicopter from their stranded Russian ship, the Akademik Shokalskiy, on January 2 after Chinese and Australian icebreakers failed to cut through the ice to rescue them.

Killer dinosaur found in Utah; preceded T. rex

Killer dinosaur found in Utah; preceded T. rex

NEW YORK: Scientists have discovered a killer dinosaur that roamed in what is now Utah some 100 million years ago. Experts say the discovery provides insight into the top predators in North America before T. rex showed up.

 

The two-legged beast was estimated to stretch more than 30 feet long and weigh more than 3 tons. It helps fill a gap in the fossil record of big North American predators between earlier killer beasts and the arrival of the group including T. rex. It wasn't related to that famous beast.

US scientists claim world's most accurate clock

WASHINGTON: US scientists said they have built the world's most precise clock, whose ticking rate varies less than two parts in one quintillion, or 10 times better than any other.

The clock, made from the element ytterbium, could be used for technological advancements beyond timekeeping, such as navigation systems, magnetic fields and temperature.