Author: quannd

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… The Behistun Inscription is an engraving located on the cliff of Mount Behistun (said to have had the meaning of ‘place where the gods dwell’ in antiquity). This inscription was written in three languages and is accompanied by a large rock relief. The Behistun Inscription is for the field of Assyriology what the Rosetta Stone is for Egyptology. Apart from aiding the decipherment of the cuneiform script, another importance of the Behistun Inscription is that it is the only known monumental text created by the Achaemenids that documents a specific historical event. The Man Rocks of…

Topline Columbus, Ohio resident Katie Santry posted a viral series of TikToks this week documenting how she found a rolled-up rug buried several feet below the ground in her backyard, prompting thousands of users to encourage her to try and dig it up and urge police to investigate—though police said Friday afternoon there was no body found in the rug. Police said they found no indication of human remains in Columbus resident Katie Santry’s backyard. … [+] (Photo Illustration by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)NurPhoto via Getty Images Key Facts Columbus, Ohio police said Friday they found no indication of any…

Memphis officers found guilty in Tyre Nichols’ deathAfter a nearly monthlong trial, a jury found three Memphis police officers guilty on counts related to the killing of Tyre Nichols.Three Memphis police officers were found guilty on charges related to Tyre Nichols’s beating death.After the verdict was given Thursday evening, many members of the Memphis community shared their thoughts and condolences with Nichols’ family on social media.Here are some of the responses.What were the verdicts in the Tyre Nichols trial?The jury found Demetrius Haley guilty of using excessive force, being deliberately indifferent to Nichols’ medical needs, conspiring to witness tamper and…

Brand loyalty is a familiar affair in the automotive world, and it’s not uncommon to find some drivers sticking with their brand of choice for decades as they opt for new and improved models through leases or long-term ownership. This is especially true with Toyota fans, many of whom have multiple models in their household and much of that is due to the brand’s reputation for reliability. What then, would be the best way to try and steer a fan away from Toyota during their next vehicle search? Ford thinks it’s cash. They’re now offering $2,000 to current Toyota owners…

Satellites hampering radio astronomy — Science News, October 5, 1974 In the past, the satellites and probes launched by NASA and others successfully avoided conflict with the radio frequency bands reserved for radio astronomy. But now there is trouble. The trespassers are two major U.S. satellites launched in May…. When either of the satellites is on or near the line between an observer and what he wants to study, the work is rendered difficult or impossible… radio astronomers may be able to live with one or two such interlopers. Twenty or a hundred would be a catastrophe for radio astronomy.…

Night MagicLeigh Ann HenionAlgonquin Books, $30 I feel like I’ve been out all night. In my mind, I’ve been walking the mountains and meadows of the Appalachian region after dark. I’ve encountered spotted salamanders, synchronous and blue ghost fireflies, glowworms and different kinds of moths and bats. My guide has been Leigh Ann Henion, who seeks to restore night to its rightful place as a wonderland of nature and renewal in her latest book, Night Magic. Tell us about your Science News experience Help us improve by taking our 15-question reader survey. Henion pursues nighttime journeys as a balm, searching…

Symptoms of depression fluctuate over time, but many brain imaging studies of the condition only study one point in time. That’s made it hard to connect networks of brain activity to various symptoms and mood changes. Now, a new study using long-term brain imaging data shows one brain network involved in guiding attention is nearly two times larger in patients with depression than in people not experiencing depression symptoms, and stays larger even as depressive symptoms ebb and flow. “Honestly, when we started this project, we weren’t expecting necessarily to find stable, traitlike differences in brain [activity patterns] in people…

One of the widest hurricanes on record slammed into Florida’s Gulf Coast on September 26 as a powerful Category 4 storm, inundating Florida’s coast with meters-high storm surge and sending tropical storm–force winds as far as 500 kilometers from its eye. Helene — like so many hurricanes in recent years — seemed to spin up out of nowhere. Just three days earlier, it was a disorganized cluster of thunderstorms off the eastern coast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. A mere “tropical disturbance,” it was dubbed PTC9 for tracking purposes. But on September 24, the U.S. National Hurricane Center released a startling…

Republicans are trying to tie New York Democrats to New York City Mayor Eric Adams in the wake of his indictment on federal corruption charges, hoping the association will be a liability for those running in tight Empire State races that could determine control of the chamber next year. The effort — which has spanned top GOP lawmakers, Republican candidates and the House GOP’s campaign arm — has sought to link New York Democrats to the “cult of corruption” surrounding Adams, who is facing five counts including bribery, wire fraud and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national. He…

Three former police officers have been found guilty of witness tampering in the death of a 29-year-old man who was beaten during a traffic stop last year in Memphis, Tennessee.Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith were among five officers who punched, kicked and hit Tyre Nichols on 7 January 2023. The other two already pleaded guilty.Bean, Haley and Smith were all found guilty of one count of obstructing justice by witness tampering, but all three were cleared of the most serious counts of civil rights violations that could have resulted in life in prison.All officers fired and charged in…