Hidden Maya complexes hint that the famous calendar was already in use 3,400 years ago

Hidden Maya complexes hint that the famous calendar was already in use 3,400 years ago | FDA panel recommends Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 | Henry VIII's favorite ship has a bacteria problem, and now scientists have ID'ed the culprits Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( October 27, 2021 CONNECT WITH LIVESCIENCE  [Facebook]( [Twitter](  [LIVESCIENCE]( [LIVESCIENCE]( Amazing science every day [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [WEBSITE](  [] Top Science News [] [Hidden Maya complexes hint that the famous calendar was already in use 3,400 years ago]( [Hidden Maya complexes hint that the famous calendar was already in use 3,400 years ago]( (Takeshi Inomata) Ancient Central American people may have designed their cities around an early iteration of the Maya calendar. A new study of ancient population centers in western Guatemala and southern Mexico reveals 478 separate complexes, many of which seem based on a prototype city built around 1400 B.C. Many of these complexes have never been discovered, surveyed or excavated until now. But their shapes, detectable from above with a technology called lidar — which stands for "light detection and ranging" — suggest many were oriented with the sunrise on certain important days and seemed to use the number 20, — the basis of later written calendars, — as their fundamental unit. Full Story: [Live Science]( (10/27) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] COVID-19 [] [FDA panel recommends Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11]( [FDA panel recommends Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11]( (Shutterstock) A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel of experts voted to recommend authorizing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. In a live broadcast session, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee met on Tuesday (Oct. 26) to discuss safety and efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in young children. After a day of discussions on the risks and benefits of making the vaccine available for young kids, the panel overwhelmingly voted to recommend an emergency use authorization for this age group; 17 out of 18 experts on the panel voted yes and one abstained from voting. Full Story: [Live Science]( (10/26) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] History & Archaeology [] [Henry VIII's favorite ship has a bacteria problem, and now scientists have ID'ed the culprits]( [Henry VIII's favorite ship has a bacteria problem, and now scientists have ID'ed the culprits]( (Mary Rose Museum/Photo by Johnny Black) Powerful X-rays have revealed what's eating the wreck of King Henry VIII's favorite warship, the Mary Rose. After the ship sank in a 1545 battle against the French, sulfur-producing marine bacteria spent the next few centuries munching on the wood of the submerged wreck, leaving behind residues that could turn to acid when exposed to air and harm the historic shipwreck today, researchers recently discovered. Full Story: [Live Science]( (10/27) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Your Health [] [Rise in H5N6 bird flu may be explained by more-infectious variant, experts worry]( [Rise in H5N6 bird flu may be explained by more-infectious variant, experts worry]( (Shutterstock) China has reported 21 cases of the H5N6 subtype of bird flu this year, compared with only five last year, leaving experts concerned that the strain currently circulating is more infectious than past versions of the virus, Reuters reported. Scientists first identified H5N6 avian influenza in poultry in Laos in 2013, according to a 2020 report in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID). And since 2014, a total of 49 confirmed cases of humans infected with H5N6 have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the WHO's Avian Influenza Weekly Update. Full Story: [Live Science]( (10/26) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Astronomy & Astrophysics [] [Sorry folks: 'Alien' signal from Proxima Centauri was likely just a broken computer on Earth]( [Sorry folks: 'Alien' signal from Proxima Centauri was likely just a broken computer on Earth]( (ESO/M. Kornmesser) A strange radio signal once thought to be a possible sign of alien intelligence in a nearby star system was likely created by a broken piece of human technology, according to new research. On April 29, 2019, astronomers detected a signal beaming toward Earth, it seemed, from Proxima Centauri — the nearest star system to our sun (at about 4.2 light-years away) and home to at least one potentially habitable planet. Because the signal fell into a narrow band of 982 MHz radio waves that are rarely made by human aircraft or satellites, researchers interpreted it as a possible sign of alien technology. Full Story: [Live Science]( (10/26) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [1st exoplanet outside the Milky Way possibly discovered]( [1st exoplanet outside the Milky Way possibly discovered]( (NASA/CXC/M. Weiss) For the first time in history, scientists may have just discovered a planet in another galaxy. The potential exoplanet, called M51-ULS-1b, lies 28 million light-years away in the spiral galaxy Messier 51 (M51), also known as the Whirlpool galaxy. This discovery could be just the tip of the iceberg, revealing many other exoplanets outside the Milky Way. "We are trying to open up a whole new arena for finding other worlds," Rosanne Di Stefano, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who led the study which found this object, said in a statement. Full Story: [Live Science]( (10/26) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Curious Creatures [] [Parasitic birds 'exercise' in their eggs, hatch … and then pulverize their nestmates]( [Parasitic birds 'exercise' in their eggs, hatch … and then pulverize their nestmates]( (Stephanie McClelland) Newly hatched birds might seem like delicate, feeble creatures, but some chicks burst out of their eggshells ready to brawl. These little fighters exercise in their eggs before hatching to build up the strength needed to maim and murder their nestmates, a new study suggests. The baby birds are part of a group of species known as brood parasites, whose moms lay their eggs in other birds' nests, leaving them for other bird parents to raise. Rather than expending the energy and time to rear their own offspring, brood parasite parents use both clever tricks and brute strength to give their babies a fighting chance with their foster family. Full Story: [Live Science]( (10/26) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Daily Quiz [] POLL QUESTION: What is the physics term for places where mathematics "misbehave," typically by generating infinitely large values? Hint: The center of a black hole is an example of this. (Learn the answer [here]() [Vote]( [Gravitational spins]( [Vote]( [Singularities]( [Vote]( [Redshifts]( [Vote]( [Alternating currents](   [Sign Up]( | [Update Profile]( | [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Policy]( | [Cookies Policy]( | [Terms and Conditions]( CONTACT US: [FEEDBACK](mailto:livescience@smartbrief.com) | [ADVERTISE]( © Future US, Inc. 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004