Science news this week: Neanderthals made fire, orcas and dolphins team up, and the ‘Star of Bethlehem’ explored
It was an exciting week for science news, with interesting insights into human evolution and animal behavior. But before we get to earthly matters, let’s look to the sky and see what we’ve discovered in space.
A Bright binary star system may soon light up with the nuclear glow of thousands of suns. The star system, called V Sagittae, emits bright flares before going supernova a century from now. Sky watchers are in for a treat, as the eruptions will be visible to the naked eye, day or night. Meanwhile, a mysterious X-ray signal from deep space could actually be the agony of a a star torn into pieces by two separate black holes.
Do orcas and dolphins team up?
Orcas living off the coast of British Columbia have been spotted hunting with Pacific white-sided dolphins and sharing pieces of salmon with them after a kill.
A study published this week shows that the two species in this area generally show few signs of mutual aggression and sometimes even seek each other out, which is unusual given that orcas hunt dolphins in other places, while some dolphins hunt orcas.
The study authors say these findings constitute the first documented record of cooperative hunting and prey sharing between orcas and dolphins. However, not all experts agree that the behavior shows these species working together. Rather, it could be a form of kleptoparasitism, in which one animal steals food that another has already hunted.
The little mysteries of life
In 30 BC, Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII committed suicide after being defeated by Octavian’s forces in a civil war.
What if Antony and Cleopatra had defeated Octavian, the man who became Rome’s first emperor? Would they have become the rulers of Rome? How would the story have been different??
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Neanderthals made fires very early
The use of fire is often considered one of the key moments in human evolutionary history, but a new study published this week has pushed back previous estimates for when Neanderthals were first able to control it by 350,000 years.
A natural mineral called pyrite can be found all over the world, and when struck against flint, it produces sparks that start a fire. But the mineral, also known as fool’s gold, is extremely rare at an archaeological site in Suffolk, England, and dates from more than 400,000 years ago, a time when Neanderthals ruled the earth, but much earlier than previous evidence of fires. Its presence on the site suggests he was intentionally brought thereprobably for the purpose of making fire, the researchers say in the study.
Because of the importance of controlled shooting, paleoanthropologists have long debated the timing of this invention. The study’s findings contribute to a broader debate about Neanderthal control of fire and its social and cultural use.
Discover more news on archaeology:
—1,800-year-old ‘piggy banks’ filled with Roman-era coins discovered in French village
—‘Hobbits’ may have gone extinct when drought forced them to compete with modern humans, new research suggests
—Lost Native Settlements Described by Jamestown Settler John Smith Finally Found
Also in science news this week
—‘It’s just too hot to bear’: 2024 was hottest year on record in Arab region, first climate report of its kind reveals
—New ‘physics shortcut’ lets laptops solve quantum problems once reserved for supercomputers and AI
—Glue strong enough to tow a car made from used cooking oil
Beyond the headlines
Two millennia ago, the Roman Empire reached the limits of its power. The island of Britain marked the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire and the point where the ancient superpower’s expansion stopped.
The Romans launched several invasions and kept 10% of the total army in the province but failed to conquer the entire island. Instead, a militarized border has divided the island in two – marked by the 118 kilometer-long Hadrian’s Wall, which was the border for almost 300 years.
One of the main sources of information we have gleaned about this border region is a historic fort called Vindolanda. New discoveries at Vindolanda change the picture of life on the edge of the empire. The Roman frontier was far from an inhospitable “Game of Thrones” outpost in the middle of nowhere. Instead, the evidence suggests a vibrant community that was a demographic snapshot of the entire empire. And the site is shed light on some of the least studied groups in Roman society.
Something for the weekend
If you’re looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best polls, interviews and opinion pieces published this week.
—“Intelligence comes at a price, and for many species the benefits simply aren’t worth it”: A neuroscientist’s take on the evolution of human intellect [Book extract]
—Chemist initially excluded from research helps develop drug leading to remarkable but short-lived cure in children with leukemia – December 6, 1954 [Science history]
—#23: Distance around the edge of a circle — 6 down [Crossword]
Science in pictures
It may look like a particularly unassuming rock, but its curious whitening suggests that its home, Mars, may once have had wet, humid areas with heavy rainfall, similar to Earth’s tropical regions.
The rock seen in this photo, taken by NASA’s Perseverance rover, appears to be kaolinite, a type of aluminum-rich clay that on Earth almost always forms in very hot and humid conditions. SO how it formed in the cold and dry climate of Mars?
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