Northwestern Arabia — the region between Mecca and Aqaba — during the Bronze Age was dotted with interconnected monumental walled oases centered around small fortified towns such as the recently-discovered town of al-Natah in Khaybar Oasis, the Saudi Arabian province of Medinah. 3D virtual reconstruction of the Bronze Age town of al-Natah. Image credit: Charloux

Archaeologists have unearthed a rare dagger dating back to the Copper Age at Tina Jama Cave in the regional decentralization entity of Trieste in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The 4,000-year-old copper dagger found in Tina Jama Cave, Italy. Image credit: Davide Bonaduce. The ancient copper dagger from Tina Jama Cave is just under

The end-Triassic extinction along with the end-Permian and end-Cretaceous events are the most severe mass extinctions in the past 270 million years. The exact mechanisms of the end-Triassic extinction have long been debated, but most prominent: carbon dioxide surfaced by volcanic eruptions built up over many millennia, raising temperatures to unsustainable levels for many creatures

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a magnificent new image of the unbarred spiral galaxy NGC 4414. This Hubble image shows NGC 4414, an unbarred spiral galaxy located 51 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / O. Graur / S.W. Jha /

Dietary interventions with pistachios — a bioavailable source of the xanthophyll lutein — are efficacious in increasing macular pigment optical density (MPOD) in healthy adults, according to a new study from Tufts University and Tufts Medical Center. Pistachios are the only nut that provides a measurable source of lutein, a powerful antioxidant that helps protect

Archaeologists in Armenia have discovered the remains of an early Christian church at the site of the ancient city of Artaxata. A preliminary reconstruction of the early Christian church of Artaxata. Image credit: Armenian-German Artaxata Project. Artaxata, also known as Artashat, was a major city of ancient Armenia that served as the capital of the

In 2000, archaeologists discovered the 300,000 to 400,000-year-old remains of three ancient elephants along with 87 stone tools at the Pampore in the Kashmir Valley, India. In a new paper in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews, researchers describe their discovery of elephant bone flakes which suggests that hominins struck the bones to extract marrow, an

Weighted blankets can help to improve sleep in adults with insomnia and other mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression, but results are mixed for children, according to a new review paper published in The American Journal of Occupational Therapy. Dawson et al. suggest that occupational therapists should consider offering or recommending weighted blankets as