🌏 **Characterizing the American Upper Paleolithic**

"_We suggest a group with a similar lithic technology became isolated somewhere in the vicinity of the Paleo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido-Kuril region, developing genetically into ancestral American populations. Between ~22,000 and ~18,000 cal yr B.P., a subset of this population migrated along the southern Beringian and Northwest coasts into the Americas. By ~16,000 to ~15,000 cal yr B.P., they had become widely dispersed across North America._"

David B. Madsen et al., Characterizing the American Upper Paleolithic. Sci. Adv.11, eady9545 (2025). DOI: doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ady9545.

📚 **History Day 2025 reading list**

"_To celebrate History Day 2025 at London’s Senate House this week, we’ve put together a reading list of essential open access books in history._"

🔗 uclpress.co.uk/history-day-202.

🧬 **Unveiling the origins and genetic makeup of the “forgotten people”: A study of the Sarmatian-period population in the Carpathian Basin**

"_We have shown that the CB Sarmatians are descendants of the Sarmatians from the Ural and Kazakhstan regions, who migrated from the Carpathian foothills in present-day Romania. The descendants of the substantial CB Sarmatian population formed a significant portion of the population during the subsequent Hun era._"

Schütz, O. et al. (2025) 'Unveiling the origins and genetic makeup of the “forgotten people”: A study of the Sarmatian-period population in the Carpathian Basin,' Cell, 188(15), pp. 4074-4090.e11. doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.05.

**Experimental evidence of the effects of large language models versus web search on depth of learning**

"_Results from seven online and laboratory experiments (n = 10,462) lend support for these predictions, and confirm, for example, that participants reported developing shallower knowledge from LLM summaries even when the results were augmented by real-time web links._"

Shiri Melumad, Jin Ho Yun, Experimental evidence of the effects of large language models versus web search on depth of learning, PNAS Nexus, Volume 4, Issue 10, October 2025, pgaf316, doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf.

**Possible Maps: Newfoundland, 1763–1829**

_This article uses four overlapping maps to tell four overlapping stories: James Cook’s circumnavigation of the island in 1763–8; Lt David Buchan’s trek into the interior to contact the Beothuk in 1811 and 1820; William Eppes Cormack and Joseph Sylvester’s trek across the island in 1822; and finally, a series of story-maps created by Shanawdithit, who is apocryphally known as ‘the last of the Beothuk’._

Laite, J. (2025) ‘Possible Maps: Newfoundland, 1763–1829’, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, pp. 1–32. doi: doi.org/10.1017/S0080440125100.

**Attachment Anxiety and Problematic Use of Conversational Artificial Intelligence: Mediation of Emotional Attachment and Moderation of Anthropomorphic Tendencies**

"_Individuals with high attachment anxiety urgently need relatively perfect partners to reduce negative emotions. While the emergence of conversational artificial intelligence meets their needs, there is a risk of excessive dependence._"

Heng S, Zhang Z. Attachment Anxiety and Problematic Use of Conversational Artificial Intelligence: Mediation of Emotional Attachment and Moderation of Anthropomorphic Tendencies. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2025;18:1775-1785 doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S531805.

📖 **Settler Colonialism as a Structure? Structural Logics, Long-Term Patterns, and Critical Reflections**

"_Drawing on diverse case studies – from ancient Mediterranean societies to contemporary visions of settling Mars – contributors critically examine key questions: What defines settler colonialism? How does access to land shape its dynamics? What socio-political and cultural forces underpin settler expansion?_"

Pelgrom, J. and Six, C. (2025) 'Settler Colonialism as a Structure? Structural Logics, Long-Term Patterns, and Critical Reflections,' books.ugp.rug.nl doi.org/10.21827/68db7d21df8a1.

**Lost Data in Electron Microscopy**

"_Of the more than 150,000 electron microscopy images evaluated in this study, only approximately 3500 (just over 2%) were made available in publications. For the analyzed dataset, the amount of lost data in electron microscopy can be estimated as >90% (in terms of data being recorded but not being published in peer-reviewed literature)._"

Ivanova, Nina M., Alexey S. Kashin, and Valentine P. Ananikov. 2025. "Lost Data in Electron Microscopy" Chemistry 7, no. 5: 160. doi.org/10.3390/chemistry70501.

📖 **Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ **

"_Writing in 93/4 ce, Josephus composed an account of Jesus known as the Testimonium Flavianum. Despite this being the oldest description of Jesus written by a non-Christian, scholars have long doubted its authenticity due to the alleged pro-Christian claims it contains. The present book, however, authenticates Josephus’ authorship and then reveals a startling discovery._"

Schmidt, T C, Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ (Oxford, 2025; online edn, Oxford Academic, 5 May 2025), doi.org/10.1093/9780191957697., accessed 15 Oct. 2025.

**When knowing more means doing less: Algorithmic knowledge and digital (dis)engagement among young adults**

"_A new survey of U.S. young adults finds that while higher algorithmic awareness and knowledge are linked to greater concerns about misinformation and filter bubbles, individuals with greater algorithmic awareness and knowledge are less likely to correct misinformation or engage with opposing viewpoints on social media—possibly reflecting limited algorithmic agency._"

Chung, M. (2025). When knowing more means doing less: Algorithmic knowledge and digital (dis)engagement among young adults. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review. doi.org/10.37016/mr-2020-186

**Active night-time tweeting is associated with meaningfully lower mental wellbeing in a UK birth cohort study**

"_We found strong evidence the average hour participants posted Tweets was associated with depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and mental wellbeing. Average hour explained almost 2% of the variation in mental wellbeing, comparable to reports of the impact of binge drinking and exercise._"

Joinson, D., Haworth, C.M.A., Simpson, E. et al. Active night-time tweeting is associated with meaningfully lower mental wellbeing in a UK birth cohort study. Sci Rep 15, 34301 (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-147.

**Why did Endurance sink?**

"_Endurance was not designed for compressive conditions in the Antarctic pack ice, but for easier conditions at the ice edge in the Arctic. The weakest part of its hull was the engine room area, which was not only larger than in other early Antarctic ships but also lacked beams to give strength against compression by ice._"

Tuhkuri, J. (2025) ‘Why did endurance sink?’, Polar Record, 61, p. e23. doi: doi.org/10.1017/S0032247425100.

**Life without sex: Large-scale study links sexlessness to physical, cognitive, and personality traits, socioecological factors, and DNA**

"_Lifelong sexless individuals are, on average, higher educated, use less substances, and feel lonelier and unhappier. Sexless men tend to live in regions with fewer women, and sexlessness was more prevalent in regions with higher income inequality._"

Abdellaoui, A. et al. (2025) 'Life without sex: Large-scale study links sexlessness to physical, cognitive, and personality traits, socioecological factors, and DNA,' Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(38). doi.org/10.1073/pnas.241825712.

🇬🇧 **Corpus-pragmatic perspectives on the contemporary weakening of fuck: The case of teenage British English conversation**

"_Our observations are interpreted in the context of delexicalization and related long-term diachronic processes, whereby contemporary usage of fuck among teenagers is characterised in terms of semi-delexicalized, pragmatically strengthened usage with weakened taboo status._"

Love, R. and Stenstrom, A.-B. (2023) 'Corpus-pragmatic perspectives on the contemporary weakening of fuck: The case of teenage British English conversation,' Journal of Pragmatics, 216, pp. 167–181. doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2023..

**Abraham Bäck, Scarcity, and the Racial Anatomy of Skin**

"_Bäck’s case illustrates not only how European anatomists often wrote accounts of skin colour which best showcased their medical skills but also how the production of racial pseudoscience became increasingly driven by the authoritative rise of empiricism, the expansion of the slave trade, and the Enlightenment’s fascination with human differences._"

Roy-Di Piazza, V. (2025) ‘Abraham Bäck, Scarcity, and the Racial Anatomy of Skin’, The Historical Journal, pp. 1–21. doi: doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X25101.

**Tall talk about elephants: Hannibal’s crossing through disciplines**

"_The enigma of Hannibal’s Alpine crossing has captivated minds and sparked debates across centuries, much like an elusive puzzle that resists a definitive solution. This article explores the fierce and often acrimonious scholarly debates surrounding Hannibal’s journey, where the quest to separate historical fact from romantic myth has turned into a battleground for competing disciplines._"

William Bainbridge, Stefano Cracolici, Tall talk about elephants: Hannibal’s crossing through disciplines, Historical Research, 2025;, htaf020, doi.org/10.1093/hisres/htaf020.

📚 **Cambridge and Max Planck announce OA book agreement**

"_Under this new model, new Cambridge books by authors at Max Planck Institutes will be eligible for open access publishing. Backlist titles will also be eligible for open access conversion on a case-by-case basis, and Max Planck researchers will be granted unlimited access to books on Cambridge Core._"

🔗 researchinformation.info/news/.

🌳 **Forest soils accumulate microplastics through atmospheric deposition**

"_We conclude that forests are good indicators for atmospheric microplastic pollution and that high microplastic concentrations in forest soils indicate a high diffuse input of microplastics into these ecosystems._"

Weber, C.J., Bigalke, M. Forest soils accumulate microplastics through atmospheric deposition. Commun Earth Environ 6, 702 (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-027.

**A Key Palaeolithic Site Bridging Anatolia and the Aegean: Biber Deresi, Assos**

"_Biber Deresi is identified as a key site, facilitating hominin movement and communication between Asia and Europe, and providing a novel contribution to the Palaeolithic map of the Aegean._"

Karahan, G. and Arslan, N. (2025) ‘A Key Palaeolithic Site Bridging Anatolia and the Aegean: Biber Deresi, Assos’, European Journal of Archaeology, 28(3), pp. 281–303. doi: doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2025.10.

@archaeodons @academicchatter

**Raising concerns on the dangers of linking biological invasions to human migration**

"_In summary, in the current political climate, as invasion discourses about migrants are indeed a global trend from Europe and the US to South Africa, India or Hong Kong, drawing parallels between biological invasion and human migration risks facilitating the misappropriation of invasion science research by political ideologies, potentially criminalising migrant communities and legitimising exclusionary measures of migrants._"

Barbulescu, R. et al. (2025) ‘Raising concerns on the dangers of linking biological invasions to human migration’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 48(13), pp. 2496–2501. doi: doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2025..

@science @academicchatter

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