http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Anyone who has spent time in the tropics knows that the diversity of species found there is astounding and the abundance and diversity of ants, in particular, is unparalleled. Scientists have grappled for centuries to understand why the tropics are home to more species of all kinds than the cooler temperate latitudes on both sides of the equator. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the higher species numbers in the tropics, but these hypotheses have never been tested for the ants, which are one of the most ecologically and numerically dominant groups of animals on the planet. http://phys.org/news285830311.html Biology Mon, 22 Apr 2013 06:18:38 EST news285830311 A joint expedition of scientists led by Chapurukha M. Kusimba of The Field Museum and Sloan R. Williams of the University of Illinois at Chicago has unearthed a 600-year-old Chinese coin on the Kenyan island of Manda that shows trade existed between China and east Africa decades before European explorers set sail and changed the map of the world. http://phys.org/news282397926.html Other Sciences Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:52:13 EST news282397926 The Field Museum has acquired six pieces of an extremely important Martian meteorite that was hurled into space about 700,000 years ago when Mars collided with an asteroid. http://phys.org/news279813199.html Space & Earth Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:53:26 EST news279813199 (Phys.org)—Scientists found treasure when they studied a meteorite that was recovered April 22, 2012 at Sutter's Mill, the gold discovery site that led to the 1849 California Gold Rush. Detection of the falling meteorites by Doppler weather radar allowed for rapid recovery so that scientists could study for the first time a primitive meteorite with little exposure to the elements, providing the most pristine look yet at the surface of primitive asteroids. http://phys.org/news275229109.html Space & Earth Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:00:01 EST news275229109 Chicago's renowned Field Museum, a major center of global scientific research, has announced plans to cut staff scientists and curators, overhaul operations and limit its research scope because of a high debt load and the recent U.S. recession. http://phys.org/news275137500.html Other Sciences Wed, 19 Dec 2012 11:05:13 EST news275137500 Shifts in exchange patterns provide a new perspective on the fall of inland Maya centers in Mesoamerica approximately 1,000 years ago. This major historical process, sometimes referred to as the "Maya collapse" has puzzled archaeologists, history buffs, and the news media for decades. The new research was published online today in the journal Antiquity. http://phys.org/news256998034.html Other Sciences Wed, 23 May 2012 13:23:59 EST news256998034 Once again, science and anthropology have teamed up to solve questions concerning the fascinating, brilliantly hued pigment known as Maya Blue. Impervious to the effects of chemical or physical weathering, the pigment was applied to pottery, sculpture, and murals in Mesoamerica largely during the Classic and Postclassic periods (AD 250-1520), playing a central role in ancient Maya religious practice. This unusual blue paint was used to coat the victims of human sacrifice and the altars on which they were dispatched. http://phys.org/news252586888.html Other Sciences Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:01:48 EST news252586888 The Nasca civilization is perhaps best known for the drawings its people etched onto the desert floor in southwest Peru, a massive and mysterious body of simple and intricate works that span several hundred square miles. http://phys.org/news150654634.html Other Sciences Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:30:34 EST news150654634 The mystery of why ancient South American peoples who created the mysterious Nazca Lines also collected human heads as trophies has long puzzled scholars who theorize the heads may have been used in fertility rites, taken from enemies in battle or associated with ancestor veneration. http://phys.org/news150373491.html Other Sciences Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:24:51 EST news150373491 The largest ever study of bird genetics has not only shaken up but completely redrawn the avian evolutionary tree. The study challenges current classifications, alters our understanding of avian evolution, and provides a valuable resource for phylogenetic and comparative studies in birds. http://phys.org/news133708671.html Other Sciences Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:17:51 EST news133708671