Tag Archives: Earliest

But Whitehouse presented a third line of evidence to dispute the 3.95 billion-year date: isotopes of hafnium in the same zombie zircon crystals. The technique relies on radioactive decay of lutetium–176 to hafnium–176. If the 2.8-billion-year age resulted from rejuvenation by later heating, it would have had to have formed from material with a hafnium isotope ratio incompatible with the …

The ancient behemoth was present just 500 million years after the Big Bang. An international team of astronomers has identified the earliest black hole ever confirmed, an ancient behemoth that existed just 500 million years after the Big Bang. The discovery could offer new clues to a mysterious class of ancient galaxies that confounded prevailing theories of cosmology. In a …

For the first time, archaeologists have used advanced scientific techniques on 4,000-year-old dental plaque to confirm traces of betel nut chewing in ancient Thai communities. Betel nuts are usually chewed as “quids,” a mix of slaked lime and ground betel nuts—which contain psychoactive compounds that boost energy, alertness, euphoria, and relaxation—wrapped in a betel leaf. The stimulant, which can leave …

Facebook Tweet Email Link For the first time, archaeologists have used advanced scientific techniques on 4,000-year-old dental plaque to confirm traces of betel nut chewing in ancient Thai communities. Betel nuts are usually chewed as “quids,” a mix of slaked lime and ground betel nuts—which contain psychoactive compounds that boost energy, alertness, euphoria, and relaxation—wrapped in a betel leaf. The …

Following the Big Bang, our universe expanded at an exponential rate. According to this theory, known as cosmic inflation, the explosive growth produced tiny quantum fluctuations that later evolved into galaxies. Cosmic inflation neatly explains how our universe got so large and mostly homogenous, and that’s why it’s remained a strong theory in cosmology for decades. But it’s far from …