Best from science journals: Listen to the sound of an 18,000-year-old seashell horn


Here are some of the most interesting research papers to have appeared in top science journals last week.

(Subscribe to Science For All, our weekly newsletter, where we aim to take the jargon out of science and put the fun in. Click here.)

Music of the past

Published in Science Advances

(A) Side view. (B) Front view and naming of the anatomical areas. Credit: Fritz et al., Sci. Adv. 2021
 

About 18,000 years ago, the inhabitants of Marsoulas Cave (now in France) tuned a sea snail shell into a wind instrument and used it during important social events and rituals. Musicologists and researchers worked together and have now reproduced the sound of the horn. “This seashell horn, with its unique sonority…sheds light on a musical dimension until now unknown in the context of Upper Paleolithic societies,” notes the paper.

Click here to listen

Why did North America’s megafauna go extinct?

Published in Nature Communications

The arrival of humans and over-hunting were believed to be one of the reasons behind the extinction of North America’s largest mammals such as the woolly mammoth and saber-tooth cat. A new study found that climate change (a decrease in global temperatures around 13,000 years ago) initiated the decline of these massive creatures. They write that there was no evidence for a relationship between human and megafauna population levels in North America.

Science of siestas

Published in Nature Communications

If your parents scold you for sleeping during the day, tell them to blame your genes. “Daytime napping is biologically driven and not just an environmental or behavioral choice,” says Hassan Saeed Dashti, co-author of the study that identified 123 regions in our genome that are associated with daytime napping.

New imaging technology

Published in Optica

Ever wanted to look inside a semiconductor or a computer’s microchip? Meet a new imaging technology called Coherence Tomography with Extreme Ultraviolet Light. The researchers write that the method is highly precise and can help inspect the deep structure of the tiny samples and also study the chemical composition of the samples in a non-destructive manner.

Genome of white-faced capuchin sequenced

Wild Capuchin monkey in Costa Rica | File

 

Published in PNAS

White-faced capuchin monkeys found across Central and South America, have the largest relative brain size of any monkey and are also known to live past the age of 50, despite their small size. A study of their genome has now identified genes associated with longevity, brain development and also shown how they live in different environmental conditions.

You have reached your limit for free articles this month.

Subscription Benefits Include

Today’s Paper

Find mobile-friendly version of articles from the day’s newspaper in one easy-to-read list.

Unlimited Access

Enjoy reading as many articles as you wish without any limitations.

Personalised recommendations

A select list of articles that match your interests and tastes.

Faster pages

Move smoothly between articles as our pages load instantly.

Dashboard

A one-stop-shop for seeing the latest updates, and managing your preferences.

Briefing

We brief you on the latest and most important developments, three times a day.

Support Quality Journalism.

*Our Digital Subscription plans do not currently include the e-paper, crossword and print.



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Releated

Study shows Covid-19 patients have higher risk of cardiac damage – Times of India

WASHINGTON: A recent study revealed that approximately 50 per cent of patients, who are hospitalized due to severe Covid-19 symptoms, show raised levels of a protein called troponin that causes damage to their hearts. The injury was detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at least a month after discharge, according to new findings published […]

Chandrayaan-3 launch delayed further to 2022

Chandrayaan-3 is critical for ISRO. Chandrayaan-3, India’s third mission to Moon, is likely to be launched in 2022, ISRO chief K. Sivan has said. The COVID-19 lockdown has hit several projects of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) including Chandrayaan-3, which was scheduled to be launched in late 2020, and Gaganyaan, the country’s first manned […]

%d bloggers like this: