(Press-News.org) Researchers have discovered an extremely old anthropomorphic figure engraved in rock in Brazil, according to a report published Feb. 22 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. The petroglyph, which dates to between 9,000 and 12,000 years old, is the oldest reliably dated instance of such rock art yet found in the Americas.
Art from this time period in the New World is quite rare, so little is known about the diversity of symbolic thinking of the early American settlers. The authors of this study, led by Walter Neves of the University of Sao Paulo, write that their findings suggest symbolic thought in South America was very diverse at that time, supporting the hypothesis that humans settled the New World relatively early."
###Citation: Neves WA, Araujo AGM, Bernardo DV, Kipnis R, Feathers JK (2012) Rock Art at the Pleistocene/Holocene Boundary in Eastern South America. PLoS ONE 7(2): e32228. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032228
Financial Disclosure: This research was funded by Sa˜o Paulo Research Foundation – FAPESP, grants 99/00670-7 and 04/01321-6, and by National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – CNPq, grants 300818/07-6, 472535/07-2, 300339/08-9 and 300917/2010-4. www.fapesp.br. www.cnpq.br. The funders had no role in study design, data collections and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interest Statement: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
PLEASE LINK TO THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT (URL goes live after the embargo ends):
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032228
Disclaimer: This press release refers to upcoming articles in PLoS ONE. The releases have been provided by the article authors and/or journal staff. Any opinions expressed in these are the personal views of the contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLoS. PLoS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the release and article and your use of such information.
About PLoS ONE PLoS ONE is the first journal of primary research from all areas of science to employ a combination of peer review and post-publication rating and commenting, to maximize the impact of every report it publishes. PLoS ONE is published by the Public Library of Science (PLoS), the open-access publisher whose goal is to make the world's scientific and medical literature a public resource.
All works published in PLoS ONE are Open Access. Everything is immediately available—to read, download, redistribute, include in databases and otherwise use—without cost to anyone, anywhere, subject only to the condition that the original authors and source are properly attributed. For more information about PLoS ONE relevant to journalists, bloggers and press officers, including details of our press release process and our embargo policy, see the everyONE blog at http://everyone.plos.org/media.
Ancient rock art found in Brazil
2012-02-23
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Circadian rhythms linked to sudden cardiac death, study finds
2012-02-23
A fundamental discovery reported in the March 1st issue of the journal Nature, uncovers the first molecular evidence linking the body's natural circadian rhythms to sudden cardiac death (SCD). Ventricular arrhythmias, or abnormal heart rhythms, are the most common cause of sudden cardiac death: the primary cause of death from heart disease. They occur most frequently in the morning waking hours, followed by a smaller peak in the evening hours. While scientists have observed this tendency for many years, prior to this breakthrough, the molecular basis for these daily patterns ...
Ads Aim to Decrease Florida Pedestrian and Cyclist Fatalities
2012-02-23
Florida is the deadliest state in the nation for pedestrians and is extremely dangerous for cyclists, according to a national study in USA Today.
The Miami area is especially prone to many of the accidents and injuries associated with high density pedestrian, cyclist and motorist traffic. The Florida Department of Transportation (DOT) is bringing awareness and a sense of urgency to the issue through its new public bicycle and pedestrian accident campaign.
Important Statistics Regarding Cyclist and Pedestrian Injuries and Fatalities
According to a national study ...
The heart beats to the rhythm of a circadian clock
2012-02-23
HOUSTON -- (Feb. 23, 2012) – Sudden cardiac death –catastrophic and unexpected fatal heart stoppage – is more likely to occur shortly after waking in the morning and in the late night.
In a report in the journal Nature (http://www.nature.com/nature/index.html), an international consortium of researchers that includes Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (http://casemed.case.edu/) in Cleveland and Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) explains the molecular linkage between the circadian clock and the deadly heart rhythms that lead to sudden death.
The ...
Cancer discovery shows promise of new drugs
2012-02-23
Uncovering the network of genes regulated by a crucial molecule involved in cancer called mTOR, which controls protein production inside cells, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have discovered how a protein "master regulator" goes awry, leading to metastasis, the fatal step of cancer.
Their work also pinpoints why past drugs that target mTOR have failed in clinical trials, and suggests that a new class of drugs now in trials may be more effective for the lethal form of prostate cancer for which presently there is no cure.
Described this ...
Researchers: Prevalence of improper condom use a public health issue worldwide
2012-02-23
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Problems with the correct use of the male condom, such as not wearing a condom throughout sex or putting it on upside down, are common in the U.S. and have become a major concern of public health officials. New research shows that countries around the world are facing similar challenges.
An unprecedented collection of condom use studies, published in the journal Sexual Health, provides a global perspective on condom use problems and errors, along with new research on factors influencing correct condom use, how condom use programs can be more effective, ...
New nanotechnology converts heat into power when it's needed most
2012-02-23
Never get stranded with a dead cell phone again. A promising new technology called Power Felt, a thermoelectric device that converts body heat into an electrical current, soon could create enough juice to make another call simply by touching it.
Developed by researchers in the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest University, Power Felt is comprised of tiny carbon nanotubes locked up in flexible plastic fibers and made to feel like fabric. The technology uses temperature differences – room temperature versus body temperature, for instance – ...
California's Third-Strike DUI Law Keeps Repeat DUI Offenders Off the Road for a Decade
2012-02-23
A newly passed broadening of California's third-strike law has the legal authority to keep repeat DUI offenders -- those who have three or more DUI offenses in a ten-year period -- off the road for up to a decade. The law now grants judges the authority to revoke the driving privileges of a person convicted of three or more DUI or alcohol-related offenses in a 10-year period.
Some lawmakers -- including California state assemblyman Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), who authored the bill that was passed into law -- support this measure and think that it could possibly keep up ...
Federal agencies must protect America's Pacific Island monuments from illegal fishing now
2012-02-23
Washington, DC (February 22, 2012) – Today, Marine Conservation Institute filed a formal petition to the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce, asking them to prohibit commercial fishing in America's sensitive and pristine Pacific Island marine national monuments, a ban that President George W. Bush declared when he established the monuments over three years ago.
In January 2009, President Bush established three marine monuments in the central Pacific and prohibited commercial fishing in them because they are incredibly rich marine ecosystems that ...
Research offers way to save endangered Florida bird, and a lesson for conservationists
2012-02-23
ITHACA, N.Y. – A team of researchers has found a key to the habitat puzzle for improving long-term survival of the endangered Florida Scrub-Jay.
New research published online today in The Royal Society's journal Biology Letters shows that "clustered habitat networks" are needed to maintain the genetic diversity of Florida Scrub-Jays, a species at risk of extinction with just more than 5,000 birds left in the world.
The new research reveals, for the first time, a direct connection between genetic variation of Florida Scrub-Jay groups and geographic distances separating ...
Disappearing and reappearing superconductivity surprises scientists
2012-02-23
Washington, D.C. — Superconductivity is a rare physical state in which matter is able to conduct electricity—maintain a flow of electrons—without any resistance. This phenomenon can only be found in certain materials at low temperatures, or can be induced under chemical and high external pressure conditions. Research to create superconductors at higher temperatures has been ongoing for two decades with the promise of significant impact on electrical transmission. New work from a team including Carnegie's Xiao-Jia Chen and Ho-kwang "Dave" Mao demonstrates unexpected superconductivity ...