Luck of the Vikings: Their Arrival Reversed Ireland's Decline, Say Archaeologists
Study debunks notion that Ireland had been populous when the Nordic migrants arrived in the 10th century: The island had been in decline for 200 years by then
Ruth Schuster
Ruth Schuster is Senior Editor at the Haaretz-TheMarker English Edition.
Schuster has worked in writing, editing and translation for English and Hebrew-language publications for more than two decades. She holds a BSc in biology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
She lives in Tel Aviv with her daughter and multiple pets and in her spare time, promotes animal rights.
Climate Change Will Endanger the Hajj, New Study Warns
Extreme weather – including intolerable heat and unexpected cold snaps –could pose extreme dangers for pilgrims visiting Saudi Arabia, cautions MIT study
Scientists Discover Previously Unknown Species of Horseshoe Bats
The world might think that one was quite enough, but bat species number beyond 100, scientists say
Miracle of the Multiplication Mosaic Found on ‘Wrong’ Side of Sea of Galilee
The mosaic in the Burnt Church of Hippos-Sussita shows five loaves and two fish, like the ones Jesus used to feed 5,000 men, but the depicted fish look Nilotic, not local
As Fracking Poisons the Air, Israeli Scientists Propose to Engineer Cows
Tackling methane emissions is the ‘low-hanging fruit to slow global warming,’ says scientist behind Cornell fracking study
Israeli Village Excavates Itself, Finds Biggest Winery in the Crusader World
King Baldwin III built a castle in Mi’ilya from which he ruled his Galilean lordship in the 12th century. Watching it crumble before their eyes, latter-day villagers teamed up to find the treasures buried beneath their very own homes
Rare Jewel Found on Mt. Zion Reveals Babylonian Destruction of Jerusalem
First Temple-era Jerusalem was bigger than thought, archaeologists say, adding: ‘Nobody abandons golden jewelry and nobody has arrowheads in their domestic refuse’
Prehistoric Art or Doodle? 110,000-year-old Engraved Bones Create New Mystery
There’s no question that the bones found in eastern China were deliberately decorated, by some archaic human type. But was it art? A form of early human communication? Or a supremely bored Denisovan doodling?
Animals Can Be Engineered to Have Only Girls. That Won’t Help Crazy Dictators
Prof. Udi Qimron and his Tel Aviv University team mutate mice to have single-sex offspring; female or male. He explains why despots couldn’t use the technique to create an army
Fossil Micro-monkey the Size of a Hamster Discovered in Amazon Rain Forest
Peewee primate, classified by one single tooth the size of two pinheads, doesn’t seem to have been a gummivore like today’s South American micro-monkeys
Beautiful Mosaics and Misspelled Inscriptions Uncovered at Archaeological Site in Northern Israel
Findings discovered in the 'Burnt Church,' which was built in the late fifth century. Ironically, the ash from the church's destruction preserved its artifacts
One of the Earliest Rural Mosques in the World Found in Israel
Built soon after the advent of Islam, the mosque in the Negev town of Rahat indicates how fast the new religion swept through the countryside
Church of the Apostles Found by Sea of Galilee, Archaeologists Claim
A bishop trekking around the lake in 725 saw and described the Church of the Apostles — exactly where this one has been found, archaeologists say
Artifacts From Across Mideast Found in 9,000-year-old City by Jerusalem
New findings show the Motza mega-site was part of a vast network of barter, but huge town may have exhausted its resources very fast
Ancient Trove May Attest to Lost Civilization in Puerto Rico
University of Haifa use-wear lab called in to verify hidden cache of ancient figurines, proving they really are pre-Columbian
Revealed: Israel Is Dangerously Unprepared for Global Food Shortages
As climate change hits world crops, Israel’s stocks are based on war breaking out and governed by the policy: In God we trust
We Sleep Like the Fishes and Have Done for 450 Million Years
Zebrafish turn out to have the same deep sleep and dream patterns as reptiles — and ourselves
Biblical City of Ziklag Where Philistines Gave Refuge to David Found, Researchers Claim
Finds from the Philistine period and 10th century B.C.E., the time of King David, signal Khirbet al-Rai as the site of Ziklag and place boundaries on the kingdom he ruled
Tel Aviv Scientists Could Make Root Canals History
New nano-filling prevents the secondary tooth decay that takes place beneath cavities; could reach trial stage in a year or two
There's a Spider on the Catwalk: New Arachnid Species Named for Fashion Icon Karl Lagerfeld
The frisky arachnid and deceased designer shared a subdued color scheme in black and white, the scientists explain
Humans Have Been Recycling for Half a Million Years, Israeli Archaeologists Show
Before our species even evolved, archaic hominins were reusing flint tools left behind by even earlier hominins, and then the trail went cold — until archaeologists found recycled flints from the Neolithic and Bronze Age in Israel
Mysterious Biblical-era Stronghold Was Actually a Phoenician Snail Dye Factory, Archaeologists Say
Tel Shikmona contains the ruins of a powerful edifice built where one shouldn’t have been, given the absence of harbor or beach – but the snails from which purple dye was made were there in droves
Mars-quakes May Be Caused by Auto-fracking, Scientists Suggest
ISS meanwhile comes clean about mold problem, inadvertently resurrecting the eternal question: Is there life on Mars? Maybe, but maybe we put it there
What Made Human Beings the Fat Ape
We may bemoan the human predisposition toward pudginess, but it may also be the key to our specialness
Sushi and Sashimi Lovers, That Tingling on Your Tongue Might Be Bad for You
A very special feeling in your mouth: Since when has risking tapeworm infection been irresistibly alluring?
Israeli Archaeologists Discover How Ancient Romans Pulled Off Their Monumental Architecture
Ikea didn’t invent the DIY diagram: Ancient stonecutters wanted credit for their efforts just like any artist, signed their work — and also marked the stone blocks with building instructions
Sperm in Space: Unlike Astronauts, It Can Survive if Frozen
Freezing can preserve sperm’s effectiveness even after 15 years, says separate Chinese study - but if Dad smoked, Junior may have fertility issues
Scientists Reconstruct Dinner Party From 550 Million Years Ago
Ernietta the gregarious Ediacaran: How exactly did these early animals eat? Together, scientists discover using fossils and computational fluid dynamics
Israeli Soldiers Dig Up Watchtower From King Hezekiah’s Time in Their Firing Zone
Somewhere by an army base in southern Israel, 2,800 years ago, Judahite soldiers could keep an eye on the Philistines, and communicate by smoke and fire
Bush Tomato Classified as World’s First Gender-fluid Plant
After decades of perplexity over its nonbinary flowering forms, botanists finally figure out what the Solanum plastisexum of Australia’s Outback really is