Did Homo sapiens colonize Asia before Europe?
Daoxian, China (UPI) Oct 15, 2015 -
A cave in Southern China, near the small village of Daoxian, has yielded 47 human teeth, dated between 80,000 and 120,000 years ago - the earliest evidence of Homo sapiens presence outside of Africa.
Researchers don't think modern humans left Africa for Europe until roughly 60,000 years ago. If they're right, the new evidence suggests Homo sapiens left for Asia first.
"This is s ...
more
Hong Kong police, 'beaten' protester, all face charges
Hong Kong (AFP) Oct 15, 2015 -
Seven Hong Kong police officers were charged Thursday with assaulting a pro-democracy protester in a beating captured on video - but the victim was also charged in the heavily-criticised case.
It comes one year to the day since the attack on Civic Party activist Ken Tsang, footage of which was beamed around the world at the height of mass protests for free leadership elections in Hong Kong. ...
more
Heavy air pollution in 80% of Chinese cities: Greenpeace
Beijing (AFP) Oct 15, 2015 -
Pollution in nearly 80 percent of Chinese cities surveyed by Greenpeace "greatly exceeded" national standards over the first nine months of this year, the advocacy group said on Thursday.
The average level of PM2.5 particulates - small enough to deeply penetrate the lungs - in the 367 cities tested was also more than four times the maximum recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) ...
more
Cyprus blasts 'illegal' pipeline from Turkey
Nicosia (AFP) Oct 15, 2015 -
Cyprus on Thursday slammed as illegal a water pipeline connecting Turkey to the Turkish-held north of the divided island, saying it undermined ongoing peace talks.
Nicosia's foreign ministry said the construction of a 106-kilometre (65 mile) underwater pipeline taking water from a damn near the Turkish port of Mersin to breakaway northern Cyprus "violates international law".
Cyprus has ...
more
New study questions long-held theories of climate variability in the North Atlantic
Miami FL (SPX) Oct 16, 2015 -
A University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric-led study challenges the prevailing wisdom by identifying the atmosphere as the driver of a decades-long climate variation known as the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO). The findings offer new insight on the causes and predictability of natural climate variations, which are known to cause wide-ranging global weather i ...
more
2015 Antarctic maximum sea ice extent breaks streak of record highs
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Oct 16, 2015 -
The sea ice cover of the Southern Ocean reached its yearly maximum extent on Oct. 6. At 7.27 million square miles (18.83 million square kilometers), the new maximum extent falls roughly in the middle of the record of Antarctic maximum extents compiled during the 37 years of satellite measurements - this year's maximum extent is both the 22nd lowest and the 16th highest.
More remarkably, th ...
more
Prehistoric mammal likely suffered from hair disease
Bonn, Germany (SPX) Oct 15, 2015 -
An international team of researchers, together with participation from the University of Bonn, has investigated a stunning fossil finding from the Cretaceous period. The 125-million-year-old mouse- to rat-sized mammal is preserved so well that even detailed analyses of its fur are possible. An astounding finding: The animal may have suffered from a fungal infection of the hair which also strikes ...
more
