2019-06-22_New_Scientist

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

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Really brief

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