Early humans turned favored rock sites into toolmaking assembly lines Such prescient planning started 50,000 years earlier than thought, study finds

Scientists recently unearthed a 220,000-year-old quarry that humans repeatedly visited for tens of thousands of years.

The extraordinary site suggests humans had favored rock spots for tools much earlier than previously believed.

#Archaeology #Paleoanthropology

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New at @science.org

Ancient ‘machine-gun’ damage discovered on walls of Pompeii Recently uncovered damage to walls in Pompeii displays patterns that may have been made by an ancient “machine gun” called a polybolos

Good Monday morning, can I interest you in an Ancient Roman "machine gun"? 🧪

(Also this quote: "If anyone was going to come up with a bespoke repeating catapult, it would be Sulla.")

Ancient ‘machine-gun’ damage discovered on walls of Pompeii Recently uncovered damage to walls in Pompeii displays patterns that may have been made by an ancient “machine gun” called a polybolos

Unique damage on Pompeii’s northern fortification walls may have come from a mysterious ancient “machine gun,” according to new research.

The damage was preserved by the fateful eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.

#Archaeology #AncientRome

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New at @sciam.bsky.social

The surprising hidden glow of one of Earth’s largest birds Scientists were surprised to discover cassowaries glow under ultraviolet light. It may help the birds distinguish between different species.

I am honored to have our #cassowary #biofluorescence study highlighted in the National Geographic story that came out today! Thank you to writer, @tmitchellbrown.bsky.social and for having interest in our research!
@tetzoo.bsky.social
www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

Time for giant bugs again

MODERN giant bugs

Huge giant terrifying bugs with transit passes and laptops

How did ancient bugs get so big? The prevailing theory may be wrong Flying insect respiratory systems suggest abundant oxygen can’t explain ancient gigantism

New evidence suggests oxygen wasn’t the primary culprit behind 300-million-year-old mega-bugs.

The data indicate such bug behemoths could exist today but likely don’t because bats and birds would quickly eat them into extinction.

Let’s celebrate birds.

#Paleontology

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New at @science.org

Ancient Maya Wetlands Reveal Settlement That Thrived Amid “Collapse” - Eos A newly excavated site provides evidence that Maya communities migrated from urban areas to rural wetlands during times of intense drought.

New research finds that an ancient Maya settlement thrived through periods of “collapse” by a resourceful reliance on local wetlands.

While nearby towns were being abandoned, these wetlands burgeoned with activity.

#Archaeology #AncientMaya

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New for @eos.org

This hot pink cricket is no mutant Arota festae’s unusual hue may help it blend in with immature plants

In the dense jungles of Panama’s Barro Colorado Island, a rare, hot pink cricket will emerge. Scientists have long thought it was an unfortunate mutant, but it may not be a mutant after all. Fun story by @tmitchellbrown.bsky.social for @science.org

Fossil gut contents are so cool, even moreso when we get a peek at what pterosaurs were eating.

god bless science

This hot pink cricket is no mutant Arota festae’s unusual hue may help it blend in with immature plants

Scientists just found the hot pink Arota festae—a rare cricket once thought the conseuqence of deleterious genetic mutations—is pink as a normal stage of life.

The colorful coat likely helps it mimic budding jungle leaves that are often pink before they mature green.

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New at @science.org

Why Falling Cats Always Seem to Land on Their Feet

Hey here I am in the NY Times commenting on recent falling cat research! www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/s...

Why Falling Cats Always Seem to Land on Their Feet

"Greg Gbur, a physicist and cat-falling expert at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte…"

Yes, a cat-falling expert.

Also, that look on the cat's face.

Perhaps I should have said “self-proclaimed” haha

Earth’s first major extinction was worse than we thought Fossil finds suggest nearly 80% of life on Earth died some 550 million years ago

Earth’s first major extinction was worse than we thought | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Controversial comet theory struck by two new retractions In a now-retracted paper, the authors report they found shocked quartz formed by an airburst from clouds of comet fragments that hit earth more than 12,000 years ago. Source PLOS One has retracted …

In case you needed more reasons to disbelieve the asteroid calamity proponents:

retractionwatch.com/2026/03/04/c...

Controversial comet theory struck by two new retractions In a now-retracted paper, the authors report they found shocked quartz formed by an airburst from clouds of comet fragments that hit earth more than 12,000 years ago. Source PLOS One has retracted …

“The chronic ongoing problem, for nearly two decades, is that the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis proponents withhold the evidence they claim to have. When independent scientists ask to see it — in the form of materials, for example — we are attacked for ‘suggesting fraud.’”: @boslough.bsky.social

Earth’s first major extinction was worse than we thought Fossil finds suggest nearly 80% of life on Earth died some 550 million years ago

Extraordinary new fossils from Newfoundland reveal an ancient mass extinction worse than the asteroid-driven calamity that killed the dinosaurs.

#Paleontology #KotlinCrisis #FossilFriday

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New for @science.org

Have Nature journals always done this?

Why Falling Cats Always Seem to Land on Their Feet

Scientists broke new ground on the vexatious “falling cat problem”—an enigma that has plagued researchers for over a century.

New data suggest keys to the mystery might lie in a particularly flexible region of the feline spine.

#FallingFelines

New for @nytimes.com 🧪🧪

This may be the oldest ‘butthole’ imprint on Earth Fossils show exceptionally rare evidence of a cloacal vent—the slit that most vertebrates use to excrete, have sex and lay egg—which could shed light on the evolution of the orifice

Fossils show exceptionally rare evidence of a cloacal vent—the slit that most vertebrates use to excrete, have sex and lay egg—which could shed light on the evolution of the orifice

The Younger Dryas comet impact "theory" is dying a not-fast-enough death.

Kudos goes to the PLOS editorial team here for quickly recognizing they let shoddy research slip through the cracks.

Researchers found fossil evidence of a cloacal vent, the slit that most vertebrates use to excrete, have sex and lay eggs, which could shed light on the evolution of the orifice. spklr.io/6047E8qwb

Should have used “bit the dust” in the piece somewhere. Accurate!

I didn’t realize there was a biblical angle to ancient airbursts.

I assumed they were more acolytes of pseudoarch in the style of Hancock and co.

Honestly, the MS Paint figures might be my favorite part of the papers

I asked Moore specifically about this and he claimed it was just a mix up of the data.

Is that a plausible mistake? I’m not sure!

Every single paper is like this. We couldn't reproduce the age-depth model in their second PNAS paper. They regularly report spikes from one layer without analyzing layers above and below. Their results can't be reproduced in the rare cases they do share samples. They get really basic things wrong.

Yeah, when reporting this I was kind of shocked the papers made it through peer review.

The errors with citations in the first paper are especially bizarre. One reference links to a religious studies paper describing medieval Islamic invasions of India.

Not to mention the methodological flaws…