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11,000-year-old dog skulls reveal a hidden origin story
Dogs began diversifying thousands of years earlier than previously believed, with clear differences in size and shape appearing over 11,000 years ago. A massive global analysis of ancient skulls shows that early dogs were already adapting to different roles in human societies. This challenges the idea that dog diversity is mainly a product of recent breeding. Instead, it points to a long process of coevolution between humans and their earliest canine companions.
This ancient fossil could rewrite the story of human origins
Scientists may have cracked the case of whether a seven-million-year-old fossil could walk upright. A new study found strong anatomical evidence that Sahelanthropus tchadensis was bipedal, including a ligament attachment seen only in human ancestors. Despite its ape-like appearance and small brain, its leg and hip structure suggest it moved confidently on two legs. The finding places bipedalism near the very root of the human family tree.
The Year in Neanderthal Discoveries
They drew with crayons, possibly fed on maggots and maybe even kissed us: Forty millenniums later, our ancient human cousins continued to make news.
Fossilized bones are revealing secrets from a lost world
Researchers have uncovered thousands of preserved metabolic molecules inside fossilized bones millions of years old, offering a surprising new window into prehistoric life. The findings reveal animals’ diets, diseases, and even their surrounding climate, including evidence of warmer, wetter environments. One fossil even showed signs of a parasite still known today. This approach could transform how scientists reconstruct ancient ecosystems.
Scientists just found the best places to look for ancient life on Mars
Mars once had sprawling river systems that rivaled major watersheds on Earth, and scientists have now identified the biggest ones for the first time. Researchers mapped 16 massive drainage basins where water likely flowed long enough to support life. Even though these areas cover just 5% of ancient Martian terrain, they account for a huge share of erosion and sediment movement. That makes them some of the most promising places to search for ancient life.
Earth’s worst extinction was followed by a shockingly fast ocean comeback
A spectacular fossil trove on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen shows that marine life made a stunning comeback after Earth’s greatest extinction. Tens of thousands of fossils reveal fully aquatic reptiles and complex food chains thriving just three million years later. Some predators grew over five meters long, challenging the idea of a slow, step-by-step recovery. The find rewrites the early history of ocean ecosystems.
Performative Cruelty and the Politics of Fear: From Vienna to the US Border
Performative cruelty is an ancient practice, even though the phrase itself is new. Gladiatorial fights (Ancient Rome, c. 264 BCE–5th century CE) in arenas like the Colosseum were intentionally staged...
2025: The science stories that stopped us in our tracks
From ancient footprints to planet parades, 2025 science amazed us with discoveries on Earth and beyond.
What are asteroids really made of? New analysis brings space mining closer to reality
Scientists are digging into the hidden makeup of carbon-rich asteroids to see whether they could one day fuel space exploration—or even be mined for valuable resources. By analyzing rare meteorites that naturally fall to Earth, researchers have uncovered clues about the chemistry, history, and potential usefulness of these ancient space rocks. While large-scale asteroid mining is still far off, the study highlights specific asteroid types that may be promising targets, especially for water extraction.
Science history: Anthropologist sees the face of the 'Taung Child' — and proves that Africa was the cradle of humanity
Over a century ago, anthropologist Raymond Dart chipped an ancient skull out of some rock from an ancient quarry — and revealed the face of an ancient human relative.
Scientists Extract Metabolic Molecules From Million-Year-Old Fossils for the First Time
Fossils can reveal far more than the shapes of ancient creatures. Molecules preserved inside old animal bones provide clues about past diseases, what those animals ate, and the climates they lived in. For the first time, researchers have examined metabolism-related molecules preserved in fossiliz
Book examines life purpose, from ancient wisdom to emerging science
In a new book, “Purpose in Life as Ancient but Nascent,” psychology professor Anthony Burrow and colleagues explore purpose through the lens of psychology, philosophy and human development to help readers cultivate a sense of purpose.
Global warming could trigger the next ice age
Scientists have uncovered a missing feedback in Earth’s carbon cycle that could cause global warming to overshoot into an ice age. As the planet warms, nutrient-rich runoff fuels plankton blooms that bury huge amounts of carbon in the ocean. In low-oxygen conditions, this process can spiral out of control, cooling Earth far beyond its original state. While this won’t save us from modern climate change, it may explain Earth’s most extreme ancient ice ages.
Ancient oceans were ruled by super predators unlike anything today
Long before whales and sharks, enormous marine reptiles dominated the oceans with unmatched power. Scientists have reconstructed a 130-million-year-old marine ecosystem from Colombia and found predators operating at a food-chain level higher than any seen today. The ancient seas were bursting with life, from giant reptiles to rich invertebrate communities. This extreme complexity reveals how intense competition helped drive the evolution of modern marine ecosystems.
Ancient burrowing bees made their nests in the tooth cavities and vertebrae of dead rodents, scientists discover
Scientists made a unique discovery in a cave on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola: dozens of fossilized bee nests inside rodent bones that were deposited by owls thousands of years ago.
Ancient bees laid eggs inside bones
A 20,000 year old fossil uncovered in a tarantula-filled cave has paleontologists stunned.
The Search for Life Tops NASA's Science Goals for the First Human Mars Mission
A new report identifies searching for life as the top science priority for humanity's first landing on Mars, ranking it above understanding water cycles, mapping geology, or even studying how the Martian environment affects astronaut health. The report outlines four possible exploration campaigns, with the highest ranked approach calling for missions totalling 330 sols at a single scientifically rich site where crews could investigate everything from ancient lava flows to active dust storms. By placing the search for extraterrestrial life at the centre of human Mars exploration, the report reimagines the first crewed mission not just as a milestone for spaceflight but as humanity's best chance to answer whether we're alone in the universe.
Stand Against Mephisto: Pre-Purchase Lord of Hatred
Make your final stand against the Prime Evil Mephisto in a rich new campaign, master two new classes, and discover the ancient region of Skovos.
James Webb telescope spots 'monster stars' leaking nitrogen in the early universe — and they could help solve a major mystery
Researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope spotted huge stars leaking nitrogen in an early galaxy, hinting that such 'monster stars' might have been the source of ancient supermassive black holes.
Scientists say thousands of tiny black holes may be passing through your home every day | - The Times of India
Trending News: Physicists reveal that thousands of primordial black holes may drift through your home every year, undetected. Learn how these tiny, ancient black holes could be linked to dark matter and what that means for us.
Humans were making fire 350,000 years earlier than previously thought, study finds
LONDON (AP) — Scientists in Britain say ancient humans may have learned to make fire far earlier than previously believed, after uncovering evidence that deliberate fire-setting took place in what is now eastern England around 400,000 years ago. The findings, described in the journal Nature, push back the earliest known date for controlled fire-making by roughly 350,000 years. Until now, the oldest confirmed evidence had come from Neanderthal sites in what is now northern France
Ancient Humans Were Making Fire 350,000 Years Earlier Than Scientists Realized
Making fire on demand was a milestone in the lives of our early ancestors. But the question of when that skill first arose has been difficult for scientists to pin down
Ancient 'dirty dishes' may have led archaeologists astray for decades
A new study questions if Bronze Age dishes really do have traces of olive oil.
Earth’s early oceans hid the secret rise of complex life
Scientists have discovered that complex life began evolving much earlier than traditional models suggested. Using an expanded molecular clock approach, the team showed that crucial cellular features emerged in ancient anoxic oceans long before oxygen became a major part of Earth’s atmosphere. Their results indicate that early complexity developed slowly over an unexpectedly long timescale.
When Ancient Scribes Accidentally Became Scientists
On a summer day in 709 BCE, scribes at the Lu Duchy Court in ancient China looked up to witness something extraordinary. The Sun vanished completely from the sky, and in its place hung a ghostly halo. They recorded the event carefully, noting that during totality the eclipsed Sun appeared
'An extreme end of human genetic variation': Ancient humans were isolated in southern Africa for nearly 100,000 years, and their genetics are stunningly different
Ancient genomes from southern Africa show that people evolved in isolation for upward of 100,000 years.
2,500-Year-Old Chronicle Is Oldest Known Record Of A Total Solar Eclipse And Reveals Some Surprises
Because this record survived, we know more about ancient Chinese history, the rotation of the Earth, and past solar activity than we would otherwise.
Winter in Saudi Arabia: Where Ancient Heritage Meets Modern Entertainment
Saudi Arabia's winter season features the "Winter Is Alive" campaign with more than 1,000 cultural and entertainment events.
Scientists Uncover New Evidence of Ancient Airbursts That Ravaged Earth Without Leaving Craters
Scientists are uncovering signs that Earth has been hit by powerful cosmic blasts that leave little trace on the surface yet unleash extraordinary heat and pressure.
New league aims to drag ancient Olympic sport into entertainment era
Fencing may be one of the Olympics' oldest events, but three-time Olympian Miles Chamley-Watson says it urgently needs a reboot, hoping his new World Fencing League (WFL) will drag the sport into the modern entertainment age.