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Carl Zimmer

The Loom

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Collected during expeditions with the research vessel METEOR: sediment cores from the Aegean Sea, which as natural environmental archives provide insights into the effects of early human activity on ecosystems. (Credit: Andreas Koutsodendris)

The METEOR research ship sampled sediments from the Aegean Sea

Learn more about the earliest evidence of human-caused contamination from lead, found in the ancient Aegean.  

Earliest Evidence of Lead Pollution Found From 5,200 Years Ago

This image is a battle reenactment from the Medieval times and not the Roman Period, but represents a warrior battle. (Credit: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock)

Medieval Knights Fighting with Swords

Learn why the use of a tiny spoon likely suggests that Germanic communities used psychotropic drugs for battle. 

Warriors of the Roman Period May Have Used Narcotics Before Battle

A mosaic image of asteroid Bennu, composed of 12 PolyCam images collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 24 kilometers. (Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)

Asteroid Bennu and building blocks of life

Analyzing a sample from an asteroid named Bennu reveals the chemicals necessary to form DNA and RNA.

Basic Building Blocks of Life Found on Asteroid Bennu

Mars crater

Learn about the analysis conducted on wave ripples in the Gale crater region of Mars, where ice-free ponds and lakes stood over 3 billion years ago.

Wave Ripples Prove the Existence of Ice-Free Lakes on Ancient Mars

Ponds in the studied area. (Credit: Author: Umberto Lombardo ICTA-UAB)

Ponds in the studied area

Archeologists discover a complex network of drainage canals and storage ponds that allowed year-round maize production.

By Taming South American Floodwaters, Neolithic Farmers Engineered Stable Community 

This is not an illustration of planet HD 20794 d, but is a general illustration of exoplanets in space. (Credit: olivier.laurent.photos/Shutterstock)

Exoplanet in space

Astronomers who identified HD 20794 d say its proximity to its host star and orbital pattern suggest it could hold water.

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