Archaeology News: Elephant bone found at Spanish archaeological site may have marched on Rome with Hannibal - study

 Elephant bone found at Spanish archaeological site may have marched on Rome with Hannibal - study

The finding represents the first elephant skeletal remains found to possibly confirm Hannibal’s historical march from Carthage to Italy during the Second Punic War.

By Miriam Sela-Eitam, Jerusalem Post, February 7, 2026

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-885833

A member of staff of the Natural History Museum in Berne, Switzerland, checks the skeleton of an elephant on show at the museum's Skeleton Hall, September 16, 2005. (photo credit: REUTERS/RUBEN SPRICH)

A “baseball-sized” bone discovered in Spain may have belonged to one of famed Carthaginian general Hannibal’s war elephants, according to a new study published in the February edition of Journal of Archaeological Science.

The finding represents the first elephant skeletal remains found to possibly confirm Hannibal’s historical march from Carthage to Italy during the Second Punic War.

The bone, identified as a wrist bone from an elephant's right forefoot, was originally found during archaeological digs at the site of a fortified Iberian village in Córdoba, Spain, in 2020.

In the same layer of earth, archaeologists also discovered artillery ammunition, a heavy bolt from a siege weapon, and a Carthaginian coin minted between 237-206 BCE.

According to the study, similar findings have been uncovered at other Spanish sites linked to the Second Punic War.

A general view of the ancient ruins of the Greek and Roman city of Cyrene where the recent Storm Daniel has hit Libyan town of Shahhat, Libya, September 29, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/ESAM OMRAN AL-FETORI)

Exact species of elephant is unclear

According to researchers, the exact species of elephant cannot be determined. 

The study noted that the debate lies between the possibility of an Asian elephant, the same species used by the Greek king Pyrrhus against the Romans during the First Punic War, or a now-extinct species of African elephant, which the Carthaginians preferred to use during battle.

Even so, the discovery “may constitute one of the scarce instances of direct evidence on the use of these animals during Classical Antiquity, not only in the Iberian Peninsula but also in Western Europe,” archaeologist and first author of the study, Rafael Martínez Sánchez, wrote. 

“While it would not represent one of the mythical specimens Hannibal took across the Alps, it could potentially embody the first known relic − so sought after by European scholars of the Modern Age − of the animals used in the Punic-Roman wars for the control of the Mediterranean.”

Hannibal's Elephants vs Roman Genius

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Space News: Weizmann Institue, NASA discover Jupiter is smaller and flatter than previously believed

 Weizmann Institue, NASA discover Jupiter is smaller and flatter than previously believed

“This research helps us understand how planets form and evolve… by studying what’s happening inside Jupiter, we get closer to understanding how planets like ours came to be.”

By Esther Davis, Jerusalem Post, February 5, 2026

https://www.jpost.com/science/space/article-885393

A VIEW of Jupiter's moon Europa created from images taken by NASA's Galileo 

spacecraft in the late 1990's, according to NASA, obtained by Reuters May 14, 2018.

(photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute/ Handout via REUTERS )

The planet Jupiter is smaller and flatter than astrophysicists have believed for 

over 50 years, the Weizmann Institute of Science and NASA discovered.  

The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Astronomy on February 2, 2026, found that Jupiter is about 8km less wide at the equator, and 24km flatter at the poles.

It doesn’t sound like much difference for a planet that is approximately 143,000km wide and 134,000km pole-to-pole, but “these few kilometers matter,” explained Dr. Eli Galanti, a senior staff scientist on the research team.

“Shifting the radius by just a little lets our models of Jupiter’s interior fit both the gravity data and atmospheric measurements much better.”

Why are these measurements different from previous ones?

Lead researcher Prof. Yohai Kaspi explained that earlier measurements didn’t account for Jupiter’s powerful winds. As previous calculations included the extreme winds in their measurements of Jupiter, there were long-standing discrepancies in the measurements.

Elbit Systems' JUPITER space camera launches aboard the NAOS Satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. (credit: ELBIT SYSTEMS)

The new research carried out by the Weizmann team utilized radio signals to map Jupiter’s atmosphere. As the radio waves pass through its atmosphere, they bend, allowing the team to create detailed maps of Jupiter’s temperature and density.

The team used Juno, a NASA spacecraft that was launched in 2011 and has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016. In 2021, NASA extended Juno’s mission, expanding its path and allowing it to pass along the far side of Jupiter from Earth.

This creates new opportunities to measure Jupiter as radio signals from Juno now have to pass directly through Jupiter to reach Earth.

Juno’s Principal Investigator Dr Scott Bolton, explained that “when the spacecraft passes behind the planet, its radio communication signal is blocked and bent by Jupiter’s atmosphere. This enables an accurate measurement of Jupiter’s size.”

The Juno team at the Weizmann seized the opportunity to create the clearest picture yet of the giant gas planet’s size and shape.

This research is an exciting scientific collaboration between the US and Israel to advance our understanding of our solar system.

What’s the significance of this discovery?

Jupiter stands as the largest planet in the solar system, with a surface gravity of approximately 25m/s². Its gravitational pull helps protect Earth from comets and asteroids that could otherwise collide with our planet.

Its gravitational field is also considered to have halted the inward migration of other planetary bodies, allowing Earth to form at its current location.

Prof. Kaspi said, “This research helps us understand how planets form and evolve - Jupiter was likely the first planet to form in the solar system, and by studying what’s happening inside it, we get closer to understanding how the solar system, and planets like ours, came to be.”

The techniques developed in these studies will serve the team in future analyses. The European Space Agency launched Juice, an unmanned mission to explore Jupiter’s icy moons, in 2023, and the techniques developed for this research will be used in combination with the Israeli technology onboard Juice to gain a deeper view into the planet’s atmosphere.

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Archaeology News: Archaeologists discover 5,000-year-old evidence of ancient Egyptian conquest in Sinai desert

 Archaeologists discover 5,000-year-old evidence of ancient Egyptian conquest in Sinai desert

The carving of a boat, erased name of a Pharoah, and two depictions of the Egyptian deity Min were also found nearby.

By Miriam Sela-Eitam, Jerusalem Post, February 2, 2026

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-885294

With redrawing for visibility: Rock carvings discovered in Wadi Khamila, Sinai Desert, believed to depict ancient Egypt’s conquest of the region, January 31, 2026. (photo credit: Photo: M. Nour El-Din/redrawing: E. Kiesel)

Archaeologists have discovered 5,000-year-old rock carvings in Wadi Khamila, a dry valley in the southwestern Sinai, depicting ancient Egypt’s conquest of the region, the University of Bronn shared in a Tuesday statement. 

The carvings, which show a large man with his arms raised and another figure kneeling with an arrow piercing their chest before him, was first found by Egyptian archeologist Mustafa Nour El-Din during an “exploratory trip” to the area.

The carvings were later interpreted by Egyptologist Prof. Dr. Ludwig Morenz.

According to Morenz, the “fear-inducing Egyptian standing in a victor’s pose in front of a kneeling, injured Sinaite” depicts the ancient Egyptian’s conquest and subjugation of the locals.

While several ancient Egyptian rock carvings have been discovered in other dry valleys in the Sinai, finding 5,000-year-old evidence of an ancient Egyptian presence in the Wadi Khamila area “suggests that the Egyptians had a kind of colonial network,” according Morenz.

Rock carvings discovered in Wadi Khamila, Sinai Desert, believed to depict ancient Egypt’s conquest of the region, January 31, 2026. (credit: M. Nour El-Din)

“The southwest of the Sinai is the region in which we can find economically motivated colonization using images and inscriptions, some of which are over 5,000 years old,” Morenz explained, noting that this Wadi Khamila carving is “one of the oldest known scenes of killing with an accompanying inscription.”

More carvings to be found in the area

A carving of a boat was also found alongside the killing scene.

According to a study on the carving published by El-Din and Morenz in the 2025 edition of the journal Blätter Abraham, there used to be the carving of a name near the carving of the boat, possibly of the pharaoh, which was deliberately erased. 

Though who removed the name, when it was removed, and why, remains unclear.  An inscription referring to the Egyptian deity Min as the “divine protector of the Egyptians in areas beyond the Nile Valley,” was also found nearby, the study claimed.

El-Din later discovered a second depiction of the deity Min in Wadi Khamila.

Both El-Din and Morenz believe that “even more rock drawings” could be found in the area, noting that “research has just begun, and we are planning for a first bigger campaign.”

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Defense News: ParaZero Secures Two New DefendAir Counter-Drone Deals in NATO and Global Defense Markets

 

ParaZero Secures Two New DefendAir Counter-Drone Deals in NATO and Global Defense Markets

Israeli aerospace firm expands Western European footprint and receives follow-on order from major defense contractor

By Eyal Bouguslavsky, israeldefense.co.il, 01/02/2026

https://www.israeldefense.co.il/index.php/en/node/67673

ParaZero screenshot - official YouTube video

Israeli ParaZero Technologies, an aerospace defense company pioneering smart, autonomous solutions for the global manned and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) market, has reported two additional deals for the supply of its DefendAir Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS).

The first deal was signed with a customer from a NATO country in Western Europe and includes an initial purchase order for DefendAir training kits. The order follows a strategic distribution agreement with a leading Western European distributor, as well as live demonstrations of the DefendAir platform conducted for senior officers from multiple NATO countries.

ParaZero screenshot - official YouTube video

The second deal is a follow-on order from a major global defense corporation for operational net-pods designed to counter a wide range of aerial drone threats. The system provides reliable kinetic interception capabilities while minimizing collateral damage in complex operational environments.

ParaZero CEO Ariel Alon described the Western European deal as a reflection of growing demand for reliable, mission-proven counter-drone technologies amid evolving security challenges. “The company continues to expand its presence in NATO markets, delivering innovative solutions that support operational readiness and national defense priorities,” Alon said.

According to ParaZero, DefendAir is a multi-layered C-UAS solution featuring patented net-launching technology that enables safe interception of hostile drones with minimal collateral damage. The system has demonstrated a 100% interception success rate in multiple field trials and is designed to protect troops, critical infrastructure, and urban environments from evolving unmanned aerial threats.

DefendAir vs Fast Incoming FPV Attack Drone | Operational C-UAS Interception of High-Speed Threats

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Space News: Habitable worlds may be far more common than thought, Israeli study says

Habitable worlds may be far more common than thought, Israeli study says

Published in the peer-reviewed The Astrophysical Journal, the research focuses on tidally locked planets, worlds that always show the same face to their star.

By Pesach Benson/TPS, January 22, 2026

https://www.jpost.com/science/article-884256

Life beyond Earth may exist in far stranger places than scientists once thought, a new study suggests. January, 22.

                                                  (photo credit: SHALEV SHALOM/TPS)

Life beyond Earth may exist in far stranger places than scientists once thought, a new study suggests. Worlds previously dismissed as too hot, too cold, or permanently dark could still host liquid water, the key ingredient for life.

For decades, astronomers have searched for planets in the “habitable zone,” a narrow ring around a star where temperatures allow water to remain liquid. Within the solar system, the habitable zone extends roughly from Earth's orbit to Mars's orbit. Yet many exoplanets now being discovered do not fit neatly into this framework.

Some orbit stars very different from the sun, while others lie far closer or farther from their star than the traditional habitable zone allows.

A new study by Prof. Amri Wandel, an astrophysicist at the Hebrew University, questions the assumptions behind this classical definition. Published in the peer-reviewed The Astrophysical Journal, the research focuses on tidally locked planets, worlds that always show the same face to their star.

One side experiences permanent daylight, while the other remains in eternal night. Until now, the dark side was assumed to be frozen, making it unlikely to support water or life.

An artist's illustration of the six newly discovered planets circling their star in resonance. Image by Roger Thibaut. (credit: NCCR PlanetS)

Wandel’s analysis suggests otherwise. Using a model that tracks temperatures across a tidally locked planet, the study finds that heat from the day side can flow to the night side, keeping some regions warm enough for liquid water. This could occur even on planets orbiting very close to cooler stars, such as M- and K-dwarfs, previously thought too hot for surface water.

Water can exist on dark side of tidally locked planets

“Our results show that liquid water can exist on the dark side of tidally locked planets,” Wandel said. “This expands the environments where life-friendly conditions may exist, well beyond what the traditional habitable zone predicts.”

The research also extends the habitable zone outward. On planets far from their star, once considered too cold, liquid water could survive beneath thick ice sheets in subglacial or intraglacial lakes.

“Planets that appear frozen on the surface could hide liquid water below,” Wandel explained. “These hidden reservoirs could be potential habitats for life, dramatically widening the number of worlds worth investigating.”

The findings also help make sense of recent observations by the James Webb Space Telescope, which detected water vapor and other gases in the atmospheres of warm, close-in Super-Earths orbiting M-dwarf stars, planets previously thought outside the safe range for water.

By challenging the old rules for where life-friendly conditions can exist, Wandel’s study reframes the search for habitable worlds. “The universe may be far more accommodating to life than we’ve imagined,” he said.

Planets once considered too extreme, too hot, too cold, or facing permanent darkness may now be regarded as promising candidates in the hunt for life beyond the solar system. As astronomers continue exploring distant worlds, the findings suggest the cosmic map of potential habitats could be far larger than previously believed. 

The findings could help astronomers focus their search for life by identifying planets that were previously dismissed as too hot, too cold, or permanently dark. By refining models of planetary climates, the study provides a clearer picture of how heat and water might behave on these unusual worlds, improving predictions of which planets could support life. The study may also shed new light on extreme climate dynamics on Earth.

Scientists Discover Planets More Habitable Than Earth

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Archaeology News: Ancient Roman tombs, shrine to Hercules discovered in Rome suburb dig

Ancient Roman tombs, shrine to Hercules discovered in Rome suburb dig

While the tombs and the shrine were found within the modern city's boundaries, they would have been situated outside the ancient walls of Rome.

By Miriam Sela-Eitam, Jerusalem Post, January 25, 2026

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-884500

The two tombs date from the time of Rome's Republic and were found near that city's northeast Via Pietralata.

(photo credit: Italian Culture Ministry, screenshot)

Two Roman Republic-era tombs were discovered during preventive archaeological excavations ahead of an urban planning program near Via Pietralata on the northeastern side of modern-day Rome, the Italian Culture Ministry announced on January 14. 

One of the tombs contained a stone sarcophagus and three cremation urns, while the second contained a male skeleton, which, according to archaeologist Fabrizio Santi, supports the idea that the area was occupied by a wealthy family.

Alongside the two tombs, a shrine believed to be dedicated to the deified Greek hero Hercules, a prominent symbol of protection to the Romans who had been worshiped in the area, was also discovered. 

A stretch of an ancient road and two large "monumental pools" further indicated to archaeologists that the shrine may have belonged to Hercules, according to the ministry's statement.

A shrine believed to belong to the Greek hero Hercules. (credit: Italian Culture Ministry)

Two tombs discovered in Roman suburb

Santi noted that further scientific study is needed to properly understand the function of the pools, and that the two pools may have been connected to "ritual activities or, less likely, productive or water collection."

While the tombs and the shrine were found within the modern city's boundaries, they would have been situated outside the ancient walls of Rome, highlighting the "narrative of archaeological Rome as a sprawling city," according to Italian Special Superintendent Daniela Porro.

"Modern suburbs thus reveal themselves to be repositories of profound memories, yet to be explored," Porro went on, noting the importance of preventative archaeology in urban development as a tool to further knowledge and "appreciation of our heritage."

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Health & Wellness News: 'Zombie' cells may cause common form of epilepsy - study

 'Zombie' cells may cause common form of epilepsy - study

The researchers found that clearing away damaged but undying brain cells (known as zombie cells) in mouse models of epilepsy reduced the number of seizures and improved the rodents’ memory.

By Esther Davis, Jerusalem Post, January 23, 2026

https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-884311

High-resolution 3D illustration of a human neuron with glowing axons and synaptic signals, symbolizing brain activity, 

neuroscience, and neural communication (photo credit: DRMEK/shutterstock)

In a peer-reviewed study published in the Annals of Neurology, researchers found that “zombie” cells may be responsible for a common form of epilepsy.

The study, “Senescent Cell Clearance Ameliorates Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and Associated Spatial Memory Deficits in Mice” was published in December 2025, and studied temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in mice.

The researchers found that clearing away damaged but undying brain cells (known colloquially as zombie cells) in mouse models of epilepsy reduced the number of seizures and improved the rodents’ memory.

These findings could help researchers develop the first disease-modifying medications for TLE.

TLE is the world’s most common seizure disorder, affecting around 50 million people globally, and has previously been treated with medication to treat symptoms through reducing seizures, rather than targeting the root cause. Many patients require brain surgery or nerve-stimulation devices.

                                                                 Brain scans (credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)

The study researched the role of “zombified” cells in epilepsy. Typically, when cells are damaged, they undergo cell death, causing them to self-destruct.

These cells, however, don’t undergo cell death as normal, instead entering a stage called senescence. In senescence, they stop dividing as healthy cells do but refuse to die, earning them the nickname' zombie cells'.

The team noticed that these zombie cells behaved similarly to brain cells at the start of a seizure, leading to tissue scarring known as fibrosis.

TLE-affected brains possess five times as many zombie cells

The researchers searched for signs of zombified cells in TLE-affected brains, comparing brain tissue samples from patients with autopsied samples from people without TLE. Despite the non-TLE group being significantly older than the TLE group, the epilepsy group had, on average, five times as many senescent cells in their tissue samples, according to lead researcher Patrick Forcelli.

The study found that mice with seizures showed more signs of brain senescence than those without seizures. The team then attempted to remove the zombie cells from the mice using a combination of a leukemia-fighting drug and an anti-inflammatory plant.

The treatment, known as a senolytic, reduced the number of senescent cells in the mice’s brains. Trials will need to be carried out to test this treatment combination as a senolytic in humans. 

Removing senescent cells helped reduce, or even eliminate, symptoms in the mice.

"We were able to normalize the memory function of the mice and significantly reduce their seizures,” Forcelli said.

The researchers also noted that targeting senescent cells could benefit the treatment of other conditions, not just TLE.

Clinical trials suggest that up to 70 conditions could be delayed or prevented entirely with senolytics.

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