More than 100 years ago, a remarkable set of fossils were discovered at a site in Croatia: the bones of about 80 Neandertals who died more than 120,000 years ago. Today, research is continuing on those fossils, and Elizabeth Culotta surveys some intriguing insights in a post today on the Findings blog of the journal Science.

One especially interesting note: Most of the Neandertals died before 30. More recent fossil findings, from about 30,000 years ago, suggest a much higher proportion of older adults in the culture. "Older adults can care for and transmit culture to the young," Culotta writes, "and more adults means a larger population, which most researchers agree spurs cultural innovation."

According to researchers at AAAS Annual Meeting, the increased life span may help explain the explosion of artistic creativity in the Upper Paleolithic period.

At the Findings blog, you can also read how climate change may encourage the spread of malaria, about the prospects for U.S. endangered species, and more.