Each week we uncover the most interesting and informative articles from around the world, here are 10 of the coolest stories in science this week.
Occupying North America
The researchers found these unbroken mastodon ribs and vertebrae, including one vertebra that had a large neural spine, also called a spinous process, at the site in San Diego, California.
Credit: San Diego Natural History Museum
Early humans may have lived on the North American continent 130,000 years ago, more than 100,000 years earlier than scientists previously believed, according to a new study.
The research examined ancient mastodon bones that bore "conclusive" signs of being handled by intelligent beings, the researchers said. [Read more about the new timeline.]
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Giving a grade
President Donald Trump will mark 100 days in office on April 29, and though it is still early on in his administration, he has enacted policies or signaled his stance on a variety of science issues, ranging from climate change to space exploration.
Experts from several different fields offered opinions on the new administration's performance so far. [Read more about the President's first 100 days.]
Frozen in time
A sonar image showing the ill-fated HMS Erebus shipwreck.
Credit: copyright Parks Canada
Scientists have extracted DNA from the skeletal remains of several 19th-century sailors who died during the ill-fated Franklin Expedition, whose goal was to navigate the fabled Northwest Passage.
The results were published April 20 in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. [Read more about the discovered DNA.]
Drones on Titan?
A proposed eight-bladed drone could soar across Saturn's moon Titan, exploring multiple sites over the course of decades.
Credit: APL/Michael Carroll
A relocatable lander could explore the hazy skies of Saturn's intriguing moon Titan, according a new mission proposal. As the eight-bladed whirlybird travels across the moon, it could investigate some of the most promising potentially habitable sites on the Saturn satellite, where methane and ethane fall from the sky and flow as rivers and lakes.
The lander-size instrument, known as Dragonfly, would take advantage of Titan's low gravity and thick atmosphere to visit multiple sites over several years, moving from one promising site to the next and recharging between the brief flights. [Read more about space-bound drone.]
Higher state
People who use psychedelic drugs have described the experience as feeling as though they have reached a "higher state of consciousness." And now, a brain scan study backs them up.
Previously, researchers knew that normal waking consciousness is a higher state of consciousness when compared with drowsiness and sleep, being under anesthesia or having certain brain injuries or diseases. Evidence of this came from studies in which scientists quantified the state of consciousness by measuring the certain types of activity of neurons. [Read more about the effects of psychedelic drugs.]
Real Death Star
The "super" laser brings together the power of multiple laser beams directed into a single intense output using an ultra-pure diamond crystal at the point of convergence.
Credit: Macquarie University
Though it's not big enough or strong enough to destroy a planet, scientists have developed an amplified laser reminiscent of the Death Star from "Star Wars," according to a new study.
An ultrapure diamond crystal is the key to a new proof-of-concept amplified laser. By placing a diamond at the point of convergence of the different laser beams, the power of each individual beam is transferred into one potent laser beam, the researchers said. [Read more about the laser.]
Caterpillar diet
This piece of plastic is quite holey after wax worm caterpillars (Galleria mellonella) spent 30 minutes on it.
Credit: CSIC Communications Department
A wiggly, ravenous caterpillar — one that doesn't limit its diet to naturally grown objects — can biodegrade plastic bags, a material infamous for the amount of time it takes to decompose, a new study finds.
Now, through a serendipitous discovery, it's clear that G. mellonella can also decompose polyethylene, a thin but tough plastic that is used across various industries, including in shopping bags and food packaging. [Read more about the strange appetite.]
Guts and illness
People with chronic fatigue syndrome may have imbalances in their gut bacteria, a new study suggests.
The researchers then checked to see if these imbalances also characterized the subset of patients in the study who had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), an intestinal disorder that is common in people with chronic fatigue syndrome. [Read more about the chronic fatigue syndrome.]
Lucy and childbirth
A mask representing an Australopithecus afarensis, a human ancestor that may have given birth in a way that was in-between chimpanzees and humans, scientists have found.
Credit: Marcio Jose Bastos Silva/Shutterstock
How might the ancient relative of humanity dubbed "Lucy" have given birth? In a manner in between that of chimpanzees and humans, with newborns undergoing a bit of tilting in the birth canal as they were born, a new study finds.
These findings could shed light on how modern human childbirth evolved and made way for large brains, scientists added. [Read more about the birthing helper.]
"The Scream"
The tumultuous sky in Edvard Munch's "The Scream" painting may have been inspired by so-called nacreous clouds.
Credit: Oli Scarff/Getty
Could Edvard Munch's "The Scream" have been inspired by a rare cloud formation?
A new hypothesis holds that Munch may have been inspired to paint the masterpiece by "mother-of-pearl clouds" (also called nacreous clouds). These unusual, nearly iridescent, clouds are best seen in wintertime at sunrise or sunset, when they are lit from below. [Read more about the unique image.]
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