Science

Humans were creating astonishing cave paintings in the Caribbean thousands of years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, reveals new research. The study sheds new light on etchings found on the walls of dozens of cave systems on Mona Island, off modern day Puerto Rico. It is the Caribbean region’s largest concentration of indigenous pre-Columbian rock art. Some of the paintings are in very narrow spaces deep in the caves - only accessible by crawling. Humans were creating astonishing cave...

The first solar eclipse recorded more than 3,000 years ago in the Bible has been pinpointed by British scientists to today, October 30 1207 BC. And the timing could now mean historians can date within 12 months the reign of Egyptian pharaohs, including Ramesses the Great and his son Merneptah. The solar eclipse, mentioned in the Old Testament book of Joshua, tells how Joshua led the people of Israel into Canaan, now modern day Israel and Palestine and has puzzled...

Scientists have made the "first step" to being able to predict when earthquakes will happen after a major breakthrough hailed as the "holy grail" of geology. British and American researchers have used Artificial Intelligence to accurately predict earthquakes a week before they occur in laboratory simulations closely mimicking real-life tremors. They came up with a machine-learning algorithm that can analyse hidden warning signals modelling real-life "pre-cursor quakes" previously been written off as noise. Geologists have tackled the problem of predicting...

A computer that thinks for itself has mastered the world's most difficult game with no human input, scientists have revealed. The Artificial Intelligence computer program taught itself the game, and scientists claim the breakthrough is a gamechanger with all sorts of applications. Deep Mind's updated AlphaGo algorithm defeated its predecessor by 100-nil - which in turn had been too good for Go champion Lee Sedol last year. Go is a 3,000 year-old Chinese game and has trillions of possible moves...

A new species of bird that lived in Germany almost 50 million years ago has been discovered - complete with the waxy oils it used to colour its feathers. The fossil was so extraordinarily well-preserved its preen gland - found in the tail of our modern feathered friends - was still intact. Most birds use their heads to rub protective oils from this gland over their feathers, legs and feet. Flamingos in the wild even use pigments from these fatty...

A small fanged kangaroo that once roamed rainforests that covered northern Australia lived longer than previously thought. The long toothed creature the size of a wallaby lived at least five million years longer than previously thought. Despite its fearsome canines the fangaroo was a plant eater, did not hop like modern roos and its teeth were just for show to attract mates. They were thought to have gone extinct about 15 million years ago because of climate change. But new...

A tiny planet that orbits the Sun beyond Neptune has a Saturn-style ring, it has been revealed. Astronomers say the discovery suggests the stunning bands made up of dust, rocks and ice are not as rare in our solar system as previously thought. They used observations from 12 ground-based telescopes across Europe to measure Haumea's size, shape and density with unprecedented accuracy. The mysterious icy world was only discovered in 2004. It's the first time a ring has been spotted...

A tubby, tusked mammal that survived the biggest extinction in Earth's history may hold the key to saving the planet, according to new research. Lystrosaurus lived through the 'Great Dying' at the end of the Permian about 252 million years ago which wiped out 70 per cent of land living vertebrates. This drastic loss of biodiversity led to global 'disaster faunas' dominated by a small number of species, say scientists. One of those still standing was Lystrosaurus, an early relative...

Volcanoes on Mars grew a thousand times slower than those on Earth, according to new research. Scottish scientists have reconstructed the evolution of a volcano on Mars for the first time using space rocks that fell to Earth. Analysis of the meteorites from the Red Planet uncovered more than 90 million years of information about the supersized mountains - and identified from which volcano they came from. Martian volcanoes - including Olympus Mons which is over 13 miles high and...