Dead Sea Scrolls possibly even older than scholars thought
The Dead Sea Scrolls are among the most remarkable and revolutionary archeological discoveries ever made. Researchers uncovered the first documents within the West Bank's Qumrum Caves in 1946, eventually amassing around 15,000 scrolls and parchment fragments over the next decade. Historians and religious studies experts have spent years examining the trove believed to date to the Second Temple era (516 BCE–70 CE), in the process learning invaluable details about ancient Jewish and early Christian life. The scrolls also include some of the oldest complete biblically canonical books known to exist, and helped confirm the era's rabbinic culture to maintain remarkably standardized written texts over a roughly 1,000-year period.
Although ancient manuscripts occasionally feature written dates, many others are missing them. This often makes it difficult to easily pinpoint their provenance, but experts have ways to narrow down the possibilities. In addition to radiocarbon dating, scholars frequently study the evolution of ancient handwriting—a field of study known as paleography. Understanding these stylistic shifts can help indicate when authors penned certain documents, and thus fill in historical gaps.
However, there's a catch to this approach. In order to get a sense of a written artifact's age from its script, paleographers require enough accurately dated manuscripts to serve as a reference. Add in the many nuances to historical documentation, and it can get very tricky, very quickly.
Knowing this, a group of experts from universities across the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and Italy recently collaborated on a new machine learning program specifically designed to analyze and evaluate scanned images of biblical writings. Enoch, named after the Book of Genesis prophet who 'did not experience death,' is built on two primary datasets—an index of radiocarbon dated historic biblical texts, and an analysis of each manuscript's handwriting. By combining these two databases, Enoch could then analyze a sample text in order to more accurately date it.
Once Enoch was built, the team had it scan 135 non-dated Dead Sea Scrolls and offer an age estimate for each one. A group of paleography experts then compared those results to their own evaluations. They concluded Enoch offered 'realistic' dating estimates for nearly 80 percent of the scrolls, while the remaining conclusions were either too young, too old, or indecisive.
Interestingly, researchers noted that some of Enoch's 'realistic' estimates meant that certain Dead Sea Scroll samples were actually older than scholars previously theorized. These revisions were further reinforced by additional radiocarbon testing. In one example, Enoch and scholars agreed a scroll fragment likely dated to the first half of the second century BCE—roughly 100 to 150 years older than existing estimates. What's more, two scroll fragments were dated to the time of their assumed authors, implying they may be primary texts.
While more validation and testing is needed, the team believes Enoch may offer experts a new tool to help investigate, correlate, and date ancient texts.'It is very exciting to set a significant step into solving the dating problem of the Dead Sea Scrolls and also creating a new tool that could be used to study other partially dated manuscript collections from history,' the study's authors said in a statement. 'With the Enoch tool we have opened a new door into the ancient world, like a time machine, that allows us to study the hands that wrote the Bible.'
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Scientific American
20 hours ago
- Scientific American
Pessimistic Dogs Are Better at Smelling Cancer—And Other Keys to Disease-Sniffing Success
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Researchers are increasingly finding that disease-sniffing prowess may come down to individual dogs' personality—and how well their handlers know them. New research efforts are focused on figuring out which dogs would be best for the job and on interpreting dogs' behaviors during a smell test. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. Sharyn Bistre Dabbah, a veterinary scientist now at the University of Bristol in England, set out with colleagues at the U.K. charity Medical Detection Dogs to learn how the animals' personalities—especially their level of optimism or pessimism—affect disease-detection skills. Their results appeared recently in PLoS One. The researchers first showed the dogs what lay behind two screens at one end of a room: a 'positive' location with a tasty treat and a 'negative' one with an empty bowl. On subsequent visits to the room, the dogs typically bounded happily toward the former but trotted very slowly when they went to check out the latter—or simply didn't go there at all. The scientists then placed bowls behind two new screens between the positive and negative spots, and they classified the dogs as 'optimistic' or 'pessimistic' based on how quickly they investigated these new locations. Next, the team evaluated how accurately each dog could pick out a disease scent it was trained to detect among other smells. On average, the pessimistic dogs turned out to be more discerning. Pessimistic dogs are more cautious, and 'a more cautious dog might be better at not making mistakes,' Dabbah says. 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Based on how confidently the dogs move, as analyzed with computer vision–based machine-learning tools, the team can spot successful detections. 'One of our dogs sniffs and then very confidently somersaults to go to the feeder,' Kulgod says. 'They each have their own unique quirks—but all of it can be quantified because it's all related to this reward expectation that you have from the past sessions.' In a pilot study with 200 test samples involving 10 cancer types, presented at this year's American Society of Clinical Oncology conference, Dognosis dogs detected 96 percent of cancers. Next, the Dognosis team will scale up its study with 1,500 test samples. Doctors currently diagnose many kinds of cancers by using a combination of blood tests and biopsies. Researchers are always on the lookout for less invasive methods—including options directly involving our canine companions, as well as electronic noses inspired by them. Dogs can currently outperform electronic sniffers. 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In a study published in PLoS One, Mershin and his team used machine-learning models to spot and analyze patterns of different odorants in urine samples from confirmed prostate cancer patients. Their findings, which built on work with diagnosis data from Medical Detection Dogs, suggest that focusing on this type of 'scent character' might work as a scalable alternative to dogs, even if it's currently much slower. Meanwhile, back on the test platform, floppy-eared Billy quickly detects the subtle scent of cancer in one of the masks she has been sniffing—and confidently bounds back to get her reward. Such tests show strong potential, says postdoctoral researcher Amritha Mallikarjun of the University of Pennsylvania: 'The dogs, because of their amazing sense of smell and detection capabilities, are demonstrating to us what technology could look like 10 to 15 years from now.'
Newsweek
a day ago
- Newsweek
Blowing Conch Shell Linked to Improvement in Dangerous Sleep Condition
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The ancient practice of blowing through a conch shell could help to reduce dangerous symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)—offering an alternative to medication and machines. People with a moderate form of the snoring condition who practice the method—also known as shankh blowing—were found to feel more alert during the day and have fewer breathing interruptions at night, according to a small but promising trial. "Shankh blowing is a traditional practice in Indian culture, often used in religious rituals and yoga. It symbolizes auspiciousness and is believed to purify the environment," Dr. Krishna K Sharma, study author of the Eternal Heart Care Centre and Research Institute in India, told Newsweek. This is thought to date back to around 1,000 BCE, with conch shells (belonging to sea snails) typically large and spiraled. "Yogic texts also describe it as a breathing exercise that strengthens the lungs and throat," added Sharma. Hindu man blowing conch shell. Hindu man blowing conch shell. Getty Images OSA is a common sleep disorder—affecting around 30 million Americans—with which breathing repeatedly stops during the night as a result of blocked airways. The condition leads to loud snoring, restless sleep, daytime sleepiness and increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Conch blowing may represent a surprising yet simple, comfortable and low-cost intervention to help people with OSA. "In our clinical practice, several patients reported sleeping better and feeling less fatigued after regularly blowing a conch shell. One even improved on a sleep study without continuous positive airway pressure [CPAP, a current treatment device]," explained Sharma. "These experiences inspired us to test this ancient yogic breathing technique through a formal clinical trial." The study assessed 30 people with moderate OSA, aged between 19 and 65, in the period between May 2022 and January 2024. They were tested with polysomnography, which means they were monitored throughout a night's sleep and then asked questions about the quality of their sleep and how sleepy they felt during the day. The participants were randomly assigned to either be trained to practice blowing through a conch shell (16 patients) or to practice a deep breathing exercise (14 patients). Both groups were trained trained in person at the clinic by a study team member before beginning home-based practice—with the conch-blowing participants provided with a traditional shankh used in yogic practices. Participants were encouraged to practice at home for a minimum of 15 minutes, five days per week. They were reassessed after six months. Man sleeping while using a CPAP machine. Man sleeping while using a CPAP machine. Artit_Wongpradu/Getty Images Compared to those who practiced deep breathing, the people who took part in the shankh blowing were 34 percent less sleepy during the daytime, reported sleeping better and the polysomnography test revealed they had four to five fewer apneas (where breathing stops during sleep) per hour on average. They also had higher levels of oxygen in their blood during the night. The outcomes among the conch blowers were significantly better than the control group who did deep breathing, according to the researchers. "Shankh blowing involves deep inhalation and forceful exhalation through pursed lips, creating vibrations and resistance. This likely tones upper airway muscles (like the soft palate and throat), helping keep the airway open during sleep. Its unique spiraled structure might also enhance acoustic and mechanical stimulation," Sharma explained. 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With more research, it could become a validated, low-cost tool to support sleep apnea care—especially in underserved communities or where CPAP access is limited." While the researchers have already received ethical approval for a larger multicenter trial in India, future research will assess how shankh blowing affects airway muscle tone, oxygenation and sleep architecture over time, as well as how it compares directly to CPAP. "This is an intriguing study that shows the ancient practice of shankh blowing could potentially offer an OSA treatment for selected patients by targeting muscle training," professor Sophia Schiza—head of the European Respiratory Society's group on sleep disordered breathing in Greece—said in a statement. "A larger study will help provide more evidence for this intervention, which could be of benefit as a treatment option or in combination with other treatments in selected OSA patients." Do you have a tip on a health story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about sleep apnea? Let us know via health@ Reference Sharma, K. K., Gupta, R., Choyal, T., Sharma, K. K., Sharma, D., & Sharma, T. (2025). Efficacy of blowing shankh on moderate sleep apnea: A randomised control trial. ERJ Open Research.
Gizmodo
4 days ago
- Gizmodo
After Mount Vesuvius Demolished Pompeii, People Returned to Live Among the Ruins
In 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius erupted in what would become one of humanity's most infamous ancient tragedies. Tens of centuries later, archaeologists eagerly dug through the ash and pumice to rediscover the buried Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in all their preserved glory. In their eagerness, however, they may have missed an important layer of history. While working in the Insula meridionalis—the southern quarter of Pompeii's ancient urban center—archaeologists uncovered evidence confirming the hypothesis that, after 79 CE, people returned to live among Pompeii's ruins for hundreds of years. The team's findings, which they describe in a study published this week in Pompeii's excavation's E-Journal, shed light on events that have long lived in the shadow of better-studied history. 'The epochal episode of the destruction of the city in 79 AD has monopolized memory,' Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director general of Pompeii's archaeological park and co-author of the study, said in a park statement. 'In the enthusiasm of reaching the levels of '79, with wonderfully preserved frescoes and still-intact furnishings, the faint traces of the site's reoccupation were literally removed and often swept away without any documentation.' Not all survivors of that terrible day would have had the means to start over somewhere else. According to the researchers, this could explain why some may have returned to the destroyed city, whose upper levels were still visible above the ashes. Soon enough, vegetation would have also grown back. The returning former residents may have also been joined by other people 'with nothing to lose,' according to the statement. After all, there were riches to be found among the ashes and victims' bodies. As such, life returned to Pompeii. People lived among the ruins of the buildings' upper floors, using the former ground floors as cellars and caves to set up fireplaces, ovens, and mills. Archaeological evidence suggests that the new community was likely a precarious settlement without the usual ancient Roman infrastructure and services. Nonetheless, the settlement lasted until the 5th century CE. Another devastating volcanic eruption may have played a role in the city's final abandonment. 'Thanks to the new excavations, the picture is now clearer: post-79 Pompeii re-emerges,' Zuchtriegel explains. 'Instead of a city, [it's] a precarious and grey agglomeration, a kind of camp, a favela among the still-recognizable ruins of the Pompeii of old.' Footprints Reveal Ancient Escape From Vesuvius—1,800 Years Before Pompeii's Destruction Emperor Tito had actually tasked two ex-consuls with promoting the re-founding of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Needless to say, the mission was a failure. 'In these cases, we archaeologists feel like psychologists of memory buried in the earth: we bring out the parts removed from history,' concluded Zuchtriegel. 'This phenomenon should lead us to a broader reflection on the archaeological unconscious, on everything that is removed or obliterated or remains hidden, in the shadow of other apparently more important things.'
