Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) researchers studied the teeth of 12 skeletons excavated from an Edo-era (1603–1867) graveyard in Tokyo, inspected them for signs of periodontal disease using a newly developed method, and investigated the bacterial genomes preserved in the dental calculus. They found that although the prevalence of periodontal disease was similar in these skeletons to the prevalence in modern Japan, different bacteria appeared to be the cause, presumably reflecting Edo-era isolationism.

Rising as high as 20 feet, ancient stone monoliths in southern Ethiopia are 1,000 years older than scientists previously thought, according to a new study in the Journal of African Archaeology. A Washington State University research team used advanced radiocarbon dating to determine the often phallic-shaped monoliths, or stelae, at the Sakaro Sodo archeological site in Ethiopia’s Gedeo zone were likely created sometime during the first century A.D.

Researchers at the University of Zurich have investigated a unique leather scale armor found in the tomb of a horse rider in Northwest China. Design and construction details of the armor indicate that it originated in the Neo-Assyrian Empire between the 6th and 8th century BCE before being brought to China.

There are at least seven specimens of Tethyshadros insularis, including "Bruno", the largest and most complete dinosaur ever found in Italy. They are 80 million years old, larger than previously thought, and lived in a unique ecosystem on the shores of an ancient ocean

The oldest unequivocal evidence of upright walking in the human lineage are footprints discovered at Laetoli, Tanzania in 1978, by paleontologist Mary Leakey and her team. The bipedal trackways date to 3.7 million years ago. Another set of mysterious footprints was partially excavated at nearby Site A in 1976 but dismissed as possibly being made by a bear. A recent re-excavation of the Site A footprints at Laetoli and a detailed comparative analysis reveal that the footprints were made by an early human— a bipedal hominin, according to a new study reported in "Nature."

Archaeologists from the University of Gothenburg have concluded an excavation of two tombs in the Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke in Cyprus. The finds include over 150 human skeletons and close to 500 objects – including gold jewellery, gemstones and ceramics – from around 1350 BCE.

A simple change in the way donor cells are processed can maximize a single cell’s production of extracellular vesicles, which are small nanoparticles naturally secreted by cells, according to new research.