Earth Early Americans helped colonise Easter Island South Americans helped colonise Easter Island centuries before Europeans reached it. Clear genetic evidence has, for the first time, given support to elements of this controversial theory showing that while the remote island was mostly colonised from the west, there was also some influx of people from the Americas. Easter Island is the easternmost island … 51¶¯Âþ
DNA and the need to belong Genetics should be kept out of discussions on race and tribe HOW would you feel if your government declared that you had to emigrate if your father wasn't your biological parent? This unpalatable scenario is already playing out within some American Indian tribes. Once upon a time they were groups of indigenous people united by … Opinion
ALMA casts a cold eye on the sky See more: To see the image this article refers to, keep checking Picture of the Day on our news blog Short Sharp Science ONE of the grandest ground-based astronomy projects of the coming decade is taking shape in the arid desert of northern Chile. These antennas, each measuring 12 metres across, are part of a … Regulars
Earth 13 exotic elements we can't live without The elements of modern life From indium touchscreens to hafnium-equipped moonships, the nether regions of the periodic table underpin modern technology – but supplies are getting scarce AS YOU flick the light switch in your study, an eerie europium glow illuminates your tablet computer, idling on the desk. You unlock it, casually sweeping your finger … Features
The beasties we need near us, for our own sake In The Wild Life of Our Bodies , biologist Rob Dunn argues that our modern separation from other species causes more harm than good THERE has been no shortage of nostalgia for the "good old days" of human prehistory, when our hunter-gatherer ancestors lived in ecological harmony with nature, roaming savannahs instead of cramped in … CultureLab
Enigma Number 1651 Four-digit numbers I have found a 3-digit perfect square, a 3-digit perfect cube and a 4-digit triangular number that between them use 10 different digits, with no leading zero. (Triangular numbers are those that fit the formula n(n+1)/2, like 1, 3, 6, 10, 15.) I have also found a 3-digit perfect square, a 3-digit triangular … Regulars
Feedback: Night of the sleeping dead Night of the sleeping dead WE ARE relieved to hear that the US Centers for Disease Control is geared up to tackle zombies should it prove necessary. Its online catalogue of Emergency Preparedness and Response plans at " Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse ". And guess what? The CDC manages to calm public fears about dealing … Regulars