In Manot, a karstic cave in the North of Israel close to the Lebanese border, excavations that began in 2010 have documented the peopling of the cave for over 100,000 years.

Around 30,000 years ago, the roof of the cave collapsed and sealed the archaeological layers until the 21st century. Beside stone tools and animal bones, some few human remains were preserved. The most spectacular finding was made on an elevated shelf within a small chamber of the cave: a very well preserved "calotte", the upper part of a braincase.

The facial bones which contain a lot of diagnostic traits were missing.

A collaborative study led by scientists from the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has revealed the mechanical forces that drive epithelial wound healing in the absence of cell supporting environment. This research was published in Nature Communications in January 2015.

Skin not only provides an essential protective barrier against foreign materials and pathogens, but it also helps the body retain various fluids and electrolytes. When this barrier is damaged, the consequences can be devastating. Ulcers, bleeding and bacterial infections may result and the chances of these occurring increases the longer wounds remain open.

Both weight gain and weight loss in older (postmenopausal) women are associated with increased incidence of fracture, but at different anatomical sites, finds a study published in The BMJ this week.

The findings also challenge the traditional view that weight gain protects against fractures.

The influence of body weight on the risk of fracture is complex. Low body weight is a well recognised risk factor for fracture, but obesity also increases the risk of fracture at some sites. How fracture patterns differ after intentional and unintentional weight loss in postmenopausal women is also unknown.

Sicily 1943: whose blood was this US soldier getting? NARA

In December 1941, a few days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into World War II, a Detroit mother named Sylvia Tucker visited her local Red Cross donor center to give blood.

Having heard the “soul-stirring” appeals for blood donors on her radio, she was determined to do her part. But when she arrived at the center, the supervisor turned her away. “Orders from the National Offices,” he explained, “barred Negro blood donors at this time.”

Children obtain better and more age-appropriate sleep in the presence of household rules and regular sleep-wake routines, according to sleep researchers.

The researchers found that well-established rules for getting good sleep, such as limited caffeine and a regular bedtime, led to sufficient sleep quantity and adequate sleep quality. In contrast, when parents and children had electronic devices on in the bedroom after bedtime, sleep deficiency was more likely.

Reducing the encroachment of technology and media into sleep time and supporting well-known sleep hygiene principles should be a focus of public health intervention goals for sleep health, the researchers said.

Some of the coldest air of the 2014-2015 winter season is settling over the eastern two-thirds of the U.S., an Arctic air mass that brought wind chills from below zero to the single numbers from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic.

It is certainly cold on the surface, but infrared NASA satellite imagery revealed even colder temperatures in cloud tops associated with the air mass.

There may be a new explanation for why fad diets tend to cluster in pockets - and it may help companies spend their marketing money a little smarter also.

Many of us have asked ourselves in the past few days: can you really falsely remember something as significant as being in a helicopter that was shot down?

And many of us probably think “No way,” and quickly conclude that NBC news anchor Brian Williams invented this story to embellish his public image as a news anchor who put his life in danger.

But before condemning Brian Williams as a narcissistic liar, let’s take a closer look at what memory research has to say about false memories and memories of traumatic experiences. This work suggests it’s plausible that Williams is truthfully describing what he remembers.