PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Research reveals first evidence of hunting by prehistoric Ohioans

2012-03-05
(Press-News.org) Cleveland . . . Cut marks found on Ice Age bones indicate that humans in Ohio hunted or scavenged animal meat earlier than previously known. Dr. Brian Redmond, curator of archaeology at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, was lead author on research published in the Feb. 22, 2012 online issue of the journal World Archaeology.

Redmond and researchers analyzed 10 animal bones found in 1998 in the collections of the Firelands Historical Society Museum in Norwalk, Ohio. Found by society member and co-author Matthew Burr, the bones were from a Jefferson's Ground Sloth. This large plant-eating animal became extinct at the end of the Ice Age around 10,000 years ago.

"This research provides the first scientific evidence for hunting or scavenging of Ice Age sloth in North America," said Redmond. "The significant age of the remains makes them the oldest evidence of prehistoric human activity in Ohio, occurring in the Late Pleistocene period."

A series of 41 incisions appear on the animal's left femur. Radiocarbon dating of the femur bone estimates its age to be between 13,435 to 13,738 years old. Microscopic analyses of the cut marks revealed that stone tools made the marks. The pattern and location of the distinct incisions indicate the filleting of leg muscles. No traces of the use of modern, metal cutting tools were found, so the marks are not the result of damage incurred during their unearthing. Instead, the morphology of the marks reveals that they were made by sharp-edged stone flakes or blades.

The "Firelands Ground Sloth," as the specimen is named, is one of only three specimens of Megalonyx jeffersonii known from Ohio. Based on measurements of the femur, tibia and other bones, it is one of the largest individuals of this species on record. It had an estimated body mass of 1,295 kilograms (2,855 pounds).

The sloth bones were first described in a 1915 scientific paper by geologist Oliver Hay. The collection was made known to Hay by Roe Niver, a University of Illinois student who lived in Huron County and died in July 1915. The bones were donated to the Firelands Museum before 1915. The only documentation with the remains indicates they were found in a swamp in Norwich Township. The exact locality where the bones were first discovered is uncertain. ###

Other co-authors of the research are Dr. H. Gregory McDonald of the National Park Service and Dr. Haskel J. Greenfield of the University of Manitoba.

To view images, visit www.cmnh.org



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Solving mystery of how sulfa drugs kill bacteria yields 21st century drug development target

2012-03-05
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- More than 70 years after the first sulfa drugs helped to revolutionize medical care and save millions of lives, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have determined at an atomic level the mechanism these medications use to kill bacteria. The discovery provides the basis for a new generation of antibiotics that would likely be harder for bacteria to resist and cause fewer side effects. The work focused on sulfa drugs and their target enzyme, dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS). Most disease-causing microorganisms need DHPS to help make the molecule ...

Cardiovascular societies release heart valve replacement credentialing recommendations

2012-03-05
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Four leading heart organizations representing cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons released initial recommendations today for creating and maintaining transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) programs. The recommendations are aimed at ensuring optimal care for patients with aortic stenosis, a form of valvular heart disease, as use of the new TAVR procedure grows. Since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of TAVR in November 2011, interest in the procedure has quickly grown among cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons as ...

Does power cloud one's ability to make good decisions?

2012-03-05
Grave consequences can result from bad decisions made by people in leadership positions. Case in point: the 2009 Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster. British Petroleum (BP) executives had downplayed potential risks associated with their oil well, claiming that it was virtually impossible that a major accident would ever occur. That same oil rig exploded, killing 11 workers and causing a massive oil spill that's costing BP an estimated $100 billion. For USC Marshall professor Nathanael Fast and his co-authors, the BP case represents only one example that illustrates a fundamental ...

Diabetes Research Institute develops oxygen-generating biomaterial

2012-03-05
Miami, FL – March 1, 2012 -- Scientists at the Diabetes Research Institute have developed a revolutionary technique to provide critical oxygen for maintaining the survival of insulin-producing cells. This is the first time that scientists have been able to successfully deliver oxygen locally to beta cells using a biomaterial. The results of the study, which represents a major step toward the goal of developing an alternative site to house insulin-producing cells, were just published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). One ...

New study links dust to increased glacier melting, ocean productivity

New study links dust to increased glacier melting, ocean productivity
2012-03-05
MIAMI -- A University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science-led study shows a link between large dust storms on Iceland and glacial melting. The dust is both accelerating glacial melting and contributing important nutrients to the surrounding North Atlantic Ocean. The results provide new insights on the role of dust in climate change and high-latitude ocean ecosystems. UM Rosenstiel School Professor Joseph M. Prospero and colleagues Joanna E. Bullard and Richard Hodgkins (Loughborough University, U.K.) analyzed six years of dust concentrations ...

Barleyfields Records Makes Debut With "After All" On Leap Day

2012-03-05
The St Louis, MO based musical group Barley Station is proud to announce the release of their first album, "After All," under their new label: Barleyfields Records. The album will be available via major digital outlets such as iTunes, Amazon, Verizon, Napster, etc. Physical copies will be made available via CDBaby.com and through CD Baby's physical distribution partners. The album contains the critcally favored single "I Found You," which the Music Dish Journal described as "Rootsy alternative country at its best: catchy guitar riffs, driving rhythms, ...

UC Davis study shows that the increase in obesity among California school children has slowed

2012-03-05
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- After years of increases in the rates of childhood obesity, a new UC Davis study shows that the increase slowed from 2003 to 2008 among California school children. While encouraged by the results, the authors expressed concern about a group of youngsters currently driving the increase in obesity: children under age 10. "Children who were obese entering the fifth grade remained obese in subsequent years as well, despite improvements in school nutrition and fitness standards," said William Bommer, professor of cardiovascular medicine at UC Davis ...

Nationwide Children's Hospital neuromuscular disorder podcasts now available on iTunes

2012-03-05
In 2010, the Center for Gene Therapy at Nationwide Children's Hospital launched a monthly podcast entitled, "This Month in Muscular Dystrophy," featuring internationally known scientists discussing the latest research in muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular disorders. Now, these podcasts will be available for users on iTunes and at www.NationwideChildrens.org/muscular-dystrophy-podcast. The podcasts are geared toward patients, their families and primary care physicians who take care of patients with neuromuscular diseases. Hosted by Kevin Flanigan, MD, an attending ...

Grauer School Offers Educational Summer Classes and Camps

2012-03-05
The Grauer School is offering a diverse, accredited Summer School curriculum for college and high school-bound students seeking to accelerate and deepen their studies. In addition, a wide variety of Summer Camp options have been added for students in middle school. This year's summer sessions are scheduled to run from June 25 through July 13 and July 16 through August 3. Standard enrollment begins April 16 and closes June 15; priority enrollment opens March 12 and includes a 5% reduction in tuition. Curriculum details, fees, transfer credits, prerequisites and enrollment ...

Legislation introduced to guarantee free colorectal cancer screening for all medicare beneficiaries

2012-03-05
Colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening saves lives, but a loophole in current Medicare law may cause patients to think twice before undergoing this vital test. Legislation introduced today seeks to ensure that colorectal cancer screening for all Medicare beneficiaries is free, as intended. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act waives the coinsurance and deductible for many cancer screening testsi, including colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy and fecal occult blood testing (FOBT), which screen for colorectal cancer. Colonoscopy is a unique screening test because ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Being physically active, even just a couple of days a week, may be key to better health

High-fat diet promote breast cancer metastasis in animal models

A router for photons

Nurses and AI collaborate to save lives, reduce hospital stays

Multi-resistance in bacteria predicted by AI model

Tinker Tots: A citizen science project to explore ethical dilemmas in embryo selection

Sensing sickness

Cost to build multifamily housing in California more than twice as high as in Texas

Program takes aim at drinking, unsafe sex, and sexual assault on college campuses

Inability to pay for healthcare reaches record high in U.S.

Science ‘storytelling’ urgently needed amid climate and biodiversity crisis

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy

How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease

[Press-News.org] Research reveals first evidence of hunting by prehistoric Ohioans