VCU researchers work to learn origins of over 400 human bones found in a well in 1994: "It's horrible to think about"
CBSN
Sarah Rose took a scalpel and carefully scraped off the dark brown outer layer of a 200-year-old femur and collected the specks in a plastic box. By the shape of the bone, she could tell this man or woman - it's hard to say by looking - had well-defined muscles. Maybe this person worked a labor-intensive job, Rose said. Maybe this person was enslaved.
Rose's eyes are focused. This isn't the first time the Virginia Commonwealth University graduate student has worked with human remains.
She's been trained not to think about the tragedies the people endured that led to their bodies being inspected by a forensic scientist. She tries to concentrate on the task at hand, grinding down a small portion of the bone to conduct DNA analysis.

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We share our planet with maybe 10 million species of plants, animals, birds, fish, fungi and bugs. And to help identify them, millions of people are using a free phone app. "Currently we have about six million people using the platform every month," said Scott Loarie, the executive director of iNaturalist, a nonprofit.

At ski resorts across the West this winter, viral images showed chairlifts idling over brown terrain in places normally renowned for their frosty appeal. Iconic mountain towns like Aspen, Colorado, and Park City, Utah, were seen with shockingly bare slopes, as the region endured a historic snow drought that experts warn could bring water shortages and wildfires in the months ahead. In:










