A 13,800-year-old Alaskan home, and a brain enzyme that guards memory

The earliest layer, about 13,800 years old, holds a hearth, a small pit, and a dirt stain where a wooden post once stood, probably the remains of a lean-to or early tent house 5. Nearby were bone needles, an antler pendant, and an earth oven full of charcoal and animal bones, likely used to slow-cook meat for a large family group 5. The team also found what may be the earliest domesticated dog bones in the Americas, and stone tools of a distinctive diamond-shaped style that links central Alaska to cultures across the Bering Land Bridge 5. "I expected we'd find hunting tools and knapping debris surrounding a hearth or two, but I had no idea that we'd stumble into a base camp with tens of thousands of artifacts," said lead author Kelly Graf of the University of Kansas 5. The study appeared Oct. 14 in Science Advances 5.

They examined 36 warriors from a single excavation pit, documenting 91 fingerprints; 12 were set aside because they seemed to come from individuals who left multiple prints, leaving 79 for the full analysis 38. The researchers conclude the work likely involved men, women and children together, calling it "the first quantitative biological evidence for a diverse workforce" 38. For decades the working assumption had been adult male labor, though nobody could say where the idea came from 38.

They started from the observation that its gene switched on when connections between some neurons in mouse brains were disrupted 10. Mice engineered to lack the gene showed a surge of inflammation and neuron degradation as they aged, while mice with extra Pla2g2f had less inflammation and better-connected neurons 10. On spatial memory tests, middle-aged mice without the gene scored lower than controls, and older mice with a boosted gene scored higher 10. The work appeared Oct. 15 in Nature Neuroscience 10.

In mice put into a remission-like state, psychological restraint stress brought severe joint inflammation back quickly 52. The route runs from the sympathetic nervous system to β3-adrenergic receptors on brown fat, which releases the inflammatory signal IL-6 52. IL-6 reaches synoviocytes in previously affected joints, which release a chemokine called CXCL1 that calls in neutrophils 52. The classic autoimmune lymphocytes are bypassed entirely 52. The study was published Oct. 16 in Science Advances 52.

Among those starting with very mild disease, 47% saw it regress and 27% saw any progression; for mild disease it was 36% regression and 34% progression 18. Patients averaged 56 years old, had lived with diabetes about 13 years, and had a mean HbA1c of 8.8% 18. Lower HbA1c went with higher odds of regression in both groups, and shorter diabetes duration helped among the very mild group 18.

Transportation officials had projected 90% 177. The bridge is 200 feet wide and 209 feet long, with five underpass tunnels for smaller or shyer animals and long runs of fencing that funnel creatures toward it 177. Bears, elk and moose use it, along with pronghorn, northern leopard frogs and rabbits 177. A pronghorn recorded crossing was the first documented in 30 years on that corridor 177.

That is 41.8% less than the year before and the lowest reading since the series began in 1988, and it is down 71.2% since 2022 195. The previous record low was beaten by 1,236 square kilometers 195. The government credits enforcement and money restored to the agencies that issue fines 195. Pará accounted for 33.9% of clearance, Mato Grosso 25.5% and Amazonas 15.7% 195.

It lets nearby phones exchange messages and calls over Bluetooth, and messages can "hop" from phone to phone until they reach the recipient 179. It also includes SOS beacons, a compass and an ultra-high frequency digital whistle 179. Relaying is off by default to save battery and can be switched on in an emergency 179.