Science word of the day: cipher Pronunciation: krip-tah’-leh-gee What does it mean: Cryptology is the study of secret codes – both making them (cryptography) and breaking them (cryptanalysis). Cryptology, once associated with the secret codes and ciphers of spy networks, now often refers to computer algorithms used to encrypt data to protect passwords and personal …
liubo game board Shaanxi Province, China—Two Liubo game boards carved into square bricks have been found in the Han Dynasty (206) BC–Advertisement 220) Tombs in Xi’an, an ancient capital of central China, according to Greek reporter. The rules of the game are not fully understood, but each player is believed to control six playing pieces …
Some long-necked dinosaurs may have been far more capable of standing upright than their massive bodies would have suggested. About 66 million years ago, two South American sauropods could stand on their hind legs and stay there for a relatively long time, especially when they were small. This ability may have helped them reach higher …
Early research suggests that hardening and narrowing of the heart’s aortic valve may also be a common cause behind severe gum disease. This may help explain the link between gum problems and poor heart health. Scientists have long linked severe gum disease to inflammation throughout the body. Higher risk of heart problemsInvolved coronary artery diseaseDue …
The skeleton of a wolf or bat you admire at the natural history museum may look pristine, but it wasn’t always that way — there’s a good chance flesh-eating beetles helped prepare those bones for display. For decades, many museums have relied on colonies of dermestid beetles to strip soft tissue, like skin and muscles, …
There has been long-running debate over how the smallpox outbreak that devastated the indigenous population in Australia began in 1789. Now, a new modeling study has a possible answer: It was brought to Australia by the “First Fleet” of British ships to settle in 1788. The finding is based on mathematical modeling of the disease’s …
Science word of the day: heliosphere Pronunciation: hey’-lee-uhs-feer What does it mean: The heliosphere is the region around the Sun that is affected by the solar wind, a flow of charged particles coming from the Sun. Think of the heliosphere as a giant bubble that surrounds the Sun and the planets and reaches into space. …
Researchers have discovered that babies may have cells in their brains containing their mother’s DNA, and these cells may persist for decades. The findings, which were posted on a preprint database biorxiv June 10, but not yet peer-reviewed, it is part of a growing body of work that shows that a mother and a fetus …
In the weeks surrounding the 2026 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, my phone buzzed with alerts GLP-1 drugs And cancer. there were headlines everywhere — from NPR and The Washington Post to heated debates on Substack and social media — all making the same claim: Ozempic The risk of cancer may …
Archaeologists in Russia have discovered a rare medieval wild boar tusk that was likely used as a good-luck charm by a warrior or noble, a new study reports. This unusual find, a large tooth fitted with an engraved metal cap, has been dated to between the mid-12th and early 13th centuries. It was found in …