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On Earth, these ripples tend to form on the slopes of cold mountains, where soils freeze and thaw throughout the year. It is unclear whether the same process produced these patterns on Mars, but researchers hope that studying them will offer valuable insights into the planet's climate history, as well as aiding in our search for signs of life on Mars.
Some of the metal artifacts dating to the Early Iron Age that archaeologists found on Somló Hill in Hungary.
(Image credit: Bence Soós et al; Photo by László György; CC BY 4.0)
High on a volcanic hill in western Hungary, archaeologists have uncovered a rare stash of hundreds of ancient artifacts, including jewelry, military decorations and weapons, dating from the Late Bronze Age (1450 to 800 B.C.) to the Early Iron Age (800 to 450 B.C.).
Today, the area around Somló is primarily known for its wine production. However, in the late 19th century local farmers and wine producers began unearthing ancient artifacts, leading researchers to dive deeper into the hilltop's buried secrets.
The findings indicate that the hilltop might once have been a seat of power among the communities that once lived there.
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No single method is 100% accurate, but archaeologists have several tricks up their sleeves when it comes to distinguishing differences between sexes, from DNA analysis to measuring their bones.
An illustration of atoms floating freely in the air.
(Image credit: Stanislaw Pytel via Getty Images)
For the first time ever, scientists have observed free-floating atoms interacting in space, confirming some of the most basic principles of quantum mechanics.
Single atoms are notoriously difficult to study due to their quantum behaviors, such as their ability to behave as a single particle and a wave at the same time. However, physicists at MIT have discovered that free-floating atoms can be observed in "atom clouds" with the help of lasers.
"It's like seeing a cloud in the sky, but not the individual water molecules that make up the cloud," Martin Zwierlein, a physicist at MIT and co-author of the new research, said in a statement.
The discovery enables scientists to capture images of these "free-range" atoms as they float about in space, which they hope will aid future investigations into other mysterious quantum mechanical phenomena.
Historical depictions of women often focus on their roles as mothers and homemakers — however, new research increasingly suggests that in Viking Scandinavia, some women were anything but meek and mild.
Numerous excavations have revealed female skeletons buried with lethal weapons. "Women can be as strong, as skilled, as fast as men," Leszek Gardeła, an archaeologist at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and author of "Women and Weapons in the Viking World: Amazons of the North" (Casemate, 2021), told Live Science. "There is nothing in the biology there that would prevent them from being warriors."
However, the poor preservation of Scandinavian graves and lack of historical texts make it very difficult to confirm the roles of these women in Viking society, leaving the subject of women warriors hotly debated among archaeologists.
Something for the weekend
If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best long reads, book excerpts and interviews published this week.
Powelliphanta augusta are large snails found only on the Buller Plateau of New Zealand's West Coast. Their populations are severely threatened by local mining activities, and very little is known about their life cycles due to their elusive, nocturnal behavior.
Researchers from the New Zealand Department of Conservation have been studying these mysterious mollusks in captivity for nearly two decades, but only now have they observed one of these snails laying an egg.
"It's remarkable that in all the time we've spent caring for the snails, this is the first time we've seen one lay an egg," Lisa Flanagan, DOC ranger who captured the footage, said in a statement.
Pandora is the trending news editor at Live Science. She is also a science presenter and previously worked as Senior Science and Health Reporter at Newsweek. Pandora holds a Biological Sciences degree from the University of Oxford, where she specialised in biochemistry and molecular biology.
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