Scientists digitally dissect ancient Egyptian ‘screaming’ mummy

By Katie Hunt, CNN

(CNN) — Ancient Egypt’s pyramids, pharaohs and artifacts delight the imagination, reigniting wonder of the distant past in every generation.

Today, archaeologists are still making captivating discoveries in the Nile Valley. An expedition in Damietta, Egypt, recently unearthed 63 tombs from more than 2,500 years ago, alongside a trove of coins, gold objects and pottery.

Experts are also using the latest techniques to spill secrets hidden within discoveries made decades ago, with new research this week “digitally dissecting” an unusual mummy found in 1935.

A long time ago

With her mouth agape, the mummified woman appears to be locked for eternity in an agonizing scream — a feature noted by the archaeologists who originally found her remains in a tomb near Luxor during an expedition nearly a century ago led by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

What could have caused this disturbing facial expression?

Aiming to solve the mystery, Sahar Saleem, a professor of radiology at Kasr Al Ainy Hospital at Cairo University, used CT scans to reveal details about the woman’s morphology, health conditions and preservation. Infrared imaging and other advanced techniques also helped shed more light on her life.

The woman was 48 years old when she died, and curiously her organs were still in the body contrary to typical funerary rites, Saleem found. While Saleem couldn’t determine an exact cause of death, the information she gathered led to a grisly hypothesis.

Other worlds

Scientists believe the solar system’s smallest planet could be hiding a layer of diamonds up to 18 kilometers (11 miles) thick. It might have formed soon after Mercury coalesced into a planet about 4.5 billion years ago, according to a recent study.

To understand how the diamonds could have been created, researchers conducted an experiment using a huge machine called an anvil press and a synthetic mixture of elements that mimicked the theorized composition of Mercury’s early interior.

The study team found that one of the ingredients, graphite, a form of carbon, turned into diamond crystals under those conditions. With no samples from the planet’s surface, it’s not possible to know for certain whether the same process happened there.

However, a mission led by the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency called BepiColombo, expected to begin orbiting Mercury next year, could tell scientists more.

Discoveries

Venus, sometimes called Earth’s evil twin for its surface temperatures that can melt lead and clouds made of corrosive sulfuric acid, is perhaps the place most hostile to life in the solar system.

However, scientists have detected two gases, phosphine and ammonia, that on Earth would be considered biomarkers for life.

Four years ago, when phosphine was first unexpectedly discovered in Venusian clouds, the finding triggered controversy. Now, scientists say they have stronger proof that phosphine is present and have detected ammonia.

The results are only preliminary and require independent confirmation, but they make upcoming missions and flybys to Venus such as the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer and DAVINCI particularly important and exciting.

We are family

Homo sapiens, our own species, shared the planet with Neanderthals, the archaic humans who lived in Europe and much of Asia, for at least 250,000 years.

An enduring mystery is why Neanderthals became extinct while early modern humans went on to dominate and inhabit every corner of Earth.

A new analysis of ancient DNA suggests there were multiple waves of interbreeding between the two groups, and these population dynamics may have meant that the Neanderthal population grew smaller and less diverse over time as their gene pool was absorbed into the modern human population.

Some of the genes inherited from our Neanderthal forebears still have an impact on lives today.

Once upon a planet

“Every rose has its thorn,” sang glam metal band Poison in its famous 1980s power ballad. But a new discovery by geneticists may open the door to prickle-free roses.

Protruding from stems to ward off animals looking for a snack, the spiky features are a defense mechanism, shared by many plants such as tomatoes, eggplants, barley and rice shoots, that evolved over the course of 400 million years.

A new study has identified an ancient family of genes responsible for the trait, referred to as Lonely Guy, or LOG, that could be targeted with gene-editing techniques. Removing prickles could allow for easier picking and harvesting and bring lesser-known produce to grocery stores.

Explorations

Take a deep dive into these fascinating findings.

— A buglike marine creature that lived half a billion years ago looked a bit like a taco and had a key feature that many animals share today and another one that still puzzles researchers.

— Scientists have spotted unexpected X- and C-shaped structures in the atmosphere, and they are struggling to explain them.

— To keep swimmers and beachgoers safe, scientists are using artificial intelligence to detect juvenile sharks, which like to hang out near the shore.

— A forest complex in Thailand is offering new hope for endangered tigers in Southeast Asia.

Like what you’ve read? Oh, but there’s more. Sign up here to receive in your inbox the next edition of Wonder Theory, brought to you by CNN Space and Science writers Ashley Strickland and Katie Hunt. They find wonder in planets beyond our solar system and discoveries from the ancient world.

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