2019-06-22_New_Scientist

(singke) #1
22 June 2019 | New Scientist | 19

Ancient settlements

Archaeology Education

Hatched and
ready to hunt

An analysis of 37 fossilised
pterosaur eggs found in
Jinzhou, China, in 2017
suggests that the winged
reptiles may have broken
out of their eggs with their
wings fully formed and
ready to fly (Proceedings
of the Royal Society B,
doi.org/c697).

Parkinson’s
treatment

The main drug used by
millions of people with
Parkinson’s disease -
levodopa - is made less
effective by microbes
and enzymes that break
it down in the body.
But a molecule has been
found that can block
this degradation in mice
(Science, doi.org/c699).

Gene editing gets
another upgrade

Two teams have used
similar approaches to
develop new versions of
the CRISPR gene-editing
system. Unlike existing
methods, these upgrades
could enable researchers
to insert specific sequences
of DNA wherever they
want in the genome. Both
are based on transposons:
genes that can jump to
new locations (Science,
doi.org/c7bb; Nature,
doi.org/c7bc).

British ‘Pompeii’ rose
and fell in just a year

NEARLY 3000 years ago, fire swept
through a settlement of wooden
dwellings built on stilts in the
marshy Fens of eastern England.
The buildings, which collapsed
into the silt below, were only
rediscovered in 1999.
Dubbed the UK’s Pompeii, the
very well-preserved site gives an
unprecedented glimpse of daily
life in the late Bronze Age. The silt
preserved not only the structure
but also the everyday items not

THE “earliest unequivocal evidence”
of the use of cannabis as a drug has
been found in tombs dating to
around 500 BC. Telltale chemical
traces were discovered at the
Jirzankal Cemetery site in China.
This psychoactive cannabis was
probably used in funeral rites. Hot
pebbles would have been placed in
a wooden brazier (pictured above)
and cannabis put on the stones.
An analysis of the brazier wood
and stones by Yimin Yang at the
University of Chinese Academy of
Sciences in Beijing and his team
found traces of cannabidiol (CBD)
and cannabinol. THC, the chemical
in cannabis that makes people high,

breaks down into cannabinol when
exposed to air or light.
Wild cannabis has low levels of
THC and would leave traces with
similar amounts of cannabinol and
CBD, says Yang. He found much
higher levels of cannabinol than
CBD. That shows people had mutant
strains of cannabis richer in THC
(Science Advances, doi.org/c68v).
Such cannabis use was recalled by
Greek historian Herodotus in around
440 BC: “The Scythians... throw it
upon red-hot stones; immediately
it smokes, and gives out such a
vapour as no Grecian vapour-bath
can exceed; the Scyths, delighted,
shout for joy.” Michael Le Page

usually found in the prehistoric
archaeological record, including
180 textile items, the remains of
food in pots and faeces.
To find out how long the
settlement existed, Mark Knight
at the University of Cambridge
and his colleagues pieced together
strands of evidence. Analysis of
the tree rings from the timbers
showed they were fresh. Wood
chips from the construction of
the buildings were found around
the site, but very little detritus
from human occupation.
The absence of wood-boring
insects and fleas indicates that

Minority children get
more noise pollution

US SCHOOLCHILDREN from
ethnic minority or poorer
backgrounds are much more
likely to be exposed to noise
pollution from cars and planes.
While white pupils make up
around half of the country’s
50 million pupils, only 35 per cent
of those exposed to high levels of
traffic noise are white, Timothy
Collins at the University of Utah
and his colleagues found. Hispanic
children make up 26 per cent of
school age students, but 36 per
cent of the children affected.
Black youngsters are 16 per cent
of the school roll, but 20 per cent
of those highly exposed to noise.
Children on free or reduced-cost
school meals, a proxy for poverty,
make up 51 per cent of students,
but 59 per cent of those hit by
noise pollution.
Collins and his team made
the findings by overlaying
the locations of primary and
secondary schools, complete with
data on their demographics, with
a US government noise-mapping
tool. (Environmental Research,
doi.org/c69). Noisy environments
have previously been linked to
worse academic performance.
Schools should look to address
the imbalance by soundproofing
buildings, says Collins. AV

there hadn’t been time for these
animals to colonise the buildings.
Together, the evidence indicates
the site existed for a year, perhaps
even less (Antiquity, doi.org/c69r).
No one seems to have died in
the fire. “We half expected to
find bodies underneath the roof.
That really would have been a
Pompeii moment,” says Knight.
The settlement could have been
torched by rivals or the occupants
could have instigated the fire
themselves, says Knight. “They
could have torched it themselves
in some grand gesture.”
Alison George

People were getting high on


pot at least 2500 years ago


XIN


HU


A/P


A


XIN

HU

A^ W

U

Really brief


New Scientist Daily
Get the latest scientific discoveries in your inbox
newscientist.com/sign-up
Free download pdf