New research shows children’s reading ability is driven more by auditory processing and comprehension-knowledge than by intelligence or visual skills. For decades, people have largely explained children’s reading struggles the same way. Strong readers were seen as naturally intelligent, while children who had difficulty reading were often viewed as less capable. Many also assumed that [...]

While building a terrace in their backyard, a homeowner in Denmark discovered the treasure of a lifetime: more than 40 pounds (18.5 kilograms) of thousand-year-old silver buried in the ground. An analysis revealed that the finding is the country's largest Viking Age (793 to 1066) silver hoard known to researchers. The hoard has approximately 700 silver objects, including silver bars, jewelry, 47 whole coins and coin fragments, and a small Thor's hammer, an object that was often interpreted as a sign of protection and a clue that its owner believed in the Norse pantheon of gods. About 320 of those objects were contained in a clay vessel, while the rest lay in the soil nearby. The treasure is nearly three times larger than the previous largest silver hoard from Denmark's Viking Age, according to a translated statement. One of the silver bars is engraved with runes, a writing system used by people in Scandinavia during the Viking Age. The inscription might say "hutu," which may represent a person's name or an owner's mark, according to the statement. The anonymous individual found the roughly 1,100-year-old hoard while building a terrace in the municipality of Rebild this past spring. Unexpectedly, they hit something that emitted a strange sound. "It should have just been a few hours of hard gardening work removing stubborn grass, stones and gravel for a new tiled terrace, but it turned out to be the biggest surprise of my life," they said in the statement. The coins include two Anglo-Saxon silver pennies minted during the reign of King Edward the Elder (ruled from 899 to 924), according to the statement. This suggests that the hoard dates to sometime in the 10th century. North Jutland MuseumsNorth Jutland MuseumsThere are also Islamic coins in the hoard, and together with the Anglo-Saxon coins, they offer evidence that Viking Age Denmark had strong connections with vast regions of Europe as well as with distant eastern regions, according to Torben Sarauw, cultural heritage manager at the North Jutland Museums. There is already ample evidence of the Islamic world's connections with Scandinavians during the Viking Age, including a recent discovery that Viking pennies in a hoard found in Denmark were made from melted Islamic money.The newfound hoard sheds light on how people in Viking Age Denmark could store, organize and hide their wealth. "When we analyze the weight of the silver objects, the treasure reveals information about the economic practices of the Viking Age," Sarauw said. "The treasure does not only consist of beautiful objects. Most of them are part of a structured value system by weight." Some of the objects discovered in the person's backyard were inside a clay vessel. (Image credit: North Jutland Museums)In fact, all the silver bars and some of the bracelets and silver fragments can be organized into specific weight groups. This indicates that the collection represented an important storage of wealth and not a random assortment. Related stories'The detectors never stopped beeping!' Nearly 3,000 coins discovered in field are Norway's largest Viking hoard on recordRare, 1,000-year-old Viking Age iron hoard found in basement in Norway1,000-year-old Viking Age hoard has a pendant that may be a cross or Thor's hammer"The treasure so clearly shows how silver functioned as wealth and a means of payment in the Viking Age," Sarauw added in the statement. "It's like finding a safe from the Viking Age." It's unclear why the hoard was buried. It may have been hidden close to a Viking settlement, along a now-bygone road, or placed in a more remote, secret location, according to the statement. Answering that question would require major archaeological investigations, which are impossible in the developed area where the hoard was discovered. The hoard is now being submitted for assessment at the National Museum of Denmark.See how much you know about ancient norsemen with our Viking quiz!

Prior to its launch, astronomers were uncertain what the powerful JWST would find in the ancient, early Universe. One of its surprising findings was Little Red Dots, unexplained ancient objects. They're widely considered to be connected to the growth of SMBHs in the Universe. New research suggests that we may be seeing some LRDs before they merge, on their way to becoming SMBH.

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Football is a high-impact sport. A player may take hundreds of hits over the course of their career, including some that cause concussions. Other impacts may seem minor at the time, but there are concerns that repeated head blows can negatively impact long-term brain health. Related storiesCTE may stem from rampant inflammation and DNA damageSpinning egg yolks hint at how concussions warp the brain'Reanimated' herpes viruses lurking in the brain may link concussions and dementiaThose worries gained new attention after a recent study estimated that at least 25% of recently deceased NFL players had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head impacts. Although the study doesn't necessarily mean that 25% of current NFL players have CTE, it does add to the growing evidence that repeated hits may carry serious consequences. The NFL has taken steps to reduce those risks, including strengthening concussion protocols and investing in safer equipment, like Guardian Caps. But are those measures enough? With new research continuing to shed light on CTE, we want to know what you think. Weigh in via our poll below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.