Humans news stories

African rock art depicting a mythical tusked creature may mirror the look of fossils of real-life ancient mammal relatives called dicynodonts. See the study here.

Scientists have discovered what they call a ‘third state’ between life and death, where some cells of an organism survive even after the organism dies. They don’t just survive – they develop new capabilities they didn’t have in the organism’s life, according to a study published in the Physiology journal.

When modern humans emerged from Africa, they explored far more than just new places. They encountered other human species, and in the Zagros Mountains of Iran, they did a heck of a lot more than just say hello. This research was published in Scientific Reports.

Remember to look skyward to see the moon when it will be about 27000km closer to Earth than usual

A recent study published in Translational Psychiatry adds a new layer to this understanding by investigating how ketamine impacts brain function, specifically focusing on high-order interactions in brain activity.

In an article recently published in Latin American Antiquity, Dr. Jill Mollenhauer argues that the Gulf Lowland Olmec, one of Mesoamerica’s earliest major civilizations, sometimes incorporated aesthetic and ritual practices associated with their rock art into their sculptures…

Some chapters of human history are more poignant to revisit than others…But other chapters, like those describing the loss of our ancient ancestors, are harder to recover as time passes. A chance finding of bones in a cave is revealing clues of a much older tragic mystery.

Researchers in Gabon studied tropical plants eaten by wild gorillas – and used also by local human healers – identifying four with medicinal effects. Laboratory studies revealed the plants were high in antioxidants and antimicrobials. One showed promise in fighting superbugs. The research is published in the journal PLOS ONE.

The discovery, published September 11 in the journal Cell Genomics, could shed light on the still-enigmatic reasons for the species’ extinction and suggests that late Neanderthals had more population structure than previously thought.

Archaeologists investigating caves in Malaysia ahead of their flooding for a hydroelectric reservoir have discovered more than a dozen prehistoric burials they think are up to 16,000 years old.

An international team of geneticists has found evidence that this famous cautionary tale never actually happened. The study was published in Nature.

The plot has thickened on the mystery of the altar stone of Stonehenge, weeks after geologists sensationally revealed that the huge neolithic rock had been transported hundreds of miles to Wiltshire from the very north of Scotland.

In their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, the group describes how they used ecological niche modeling and a geographic information system to identify the locations of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens living in parts of Southeast Europe and Southwest Asia and the places where they most likely interacted.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active ingredient in cannabis, has been shown to reverse conventional signs of brain aging in mice – a discovery that could help in finding ways to keep our brains healthier and sharper for longer as we get older. The research has been published in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science.

An interdisciplinary research team from the University of Cologne’s Institute of Geophysics and Meteorology and the Department of Prehistoric Archaeology has developed a new model, the “Our Way Model.”…the results have been published in an article titled “Reconstruction of human dispersal during Aurignacian on pan-European scale” in Nature Communications.

A recent study published in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics challenges conventional wisdom about the interaction between cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), revealing that it may be not only incorrect but actually the opposite of what is commonly believed.