Staff reporter at The Potsherd, covering Archaeology.
A new study suggests that congenital transmission of treponemal diseases may not be exclusive to venereal syphilis, challenging a long-held assumption in the field of archaeology.
A recent study suggests that the first free-living cells may have emerged independently twice, with life sharing one ancient genetic code but undergoing two separate transitions into free-living existence.
New research from the University of East Anglia suggests that a lost papal letter could change how historians understand the events of 1066 and the Norman Conquest. England may have backed the wrong pope during a bitter religious power struggle, giving Pope Alexander II a political reason to support William the Conqueror's invasion.
Scientists at the La Brea Tar Pits have discovered a previously unknown amphibian species, Spea labreae, which lived in Ice Age Los Angeles. The find is exceptionally rare, with only one other extinct Pleistocene amphibian discovered in North America.
Scientists are searching for tiny fossils in some of Earth's oldest rocks to understand how simple microbial life made the leap towards complex organisms. This knowledge could also help determine whether complex life could emerge on other planets.