Humans news stories

Sand samples examined by National Trust experts indicate hillside chalk figure was created in the 10th century.

A recent case study by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers provides evidence that a promising option for patients with chronic itch may already be available: medical marijuana (cannabis).

Here’s another blow to the popular image of Neanderthals as brutish meat eaters: A new study of bacteria collected from Neanderthal teeth shows that our close cousins ate so many roots, nuts, or other starchy foods that they dramatically altered the type of bacteria in their mouths.

New technologies and techniques are searching for signs of alien life as never before. What and where will that potential life be?

In a new article published in the journal Bioacoustics, primatologist and UCLA anthropology graduate student Sasha Winkler and UCLA professor of communication Greg Bryant take a closer look at the phenomenon of laughter across the animal kingdom.

Italian archaeologists have unearthed the bones of nine Neanderthals who were allegedly hunted and mauled by hyenas in their den about 100km south-east of Rome.

For millennia, humans in the high latitudes have been enthralled by auroras—the northern and southern lights. Yet even after all that time, it appears the ethereal, dancing ribbons of light above Earth still hold some secrets.

Fields of rust-colored soil, spindly cassava, small farms and villages dot the landscape. Dust and smoke blur the mountains visible beyond massive Lake Malawi. Here in tropical Africa, you can’t escape the signs of human presence. How far back in time would you need to go in this place to discover an entirely natural environment?

Vancouver-based company Halugen has recently launched a genetic test that purportedly screens for genetic variants influencing how a person may respond to certain psychedelic drugs. But some researchers are skeptical there is any evidence to suggest genetic screening can predict how a person will response to psychedelics.

‘Quite spectacular’ discovery shows three-year-old child was carefully laid to rest nearly 80,000 years ago.

The Brazilian Amazon released nearly 20 percent more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the last decade than it absorbed, according to a stunning report that shows humanity can no longer depend on the world’s largest tropical forest to help absorb human-made carbon pollution.

In an important step toward medical approval, MDMA, the illegal drug popularly known as Ecstasy or Molly, was shown to bring relief to those suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder when paired with talk therapy.

We reveal some of the ways that planet Earth has been changing against the backdrop of a warming world. Here, we look at the effects of global heating on Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world – and how Sub-Saharan Africa is learning to cope with the climate crisis.

Researchers have discovered the world’s first-known pregnant mummy, dating from the first century in Egypt. The find was unexpected, as inscriptions on the mummy’s coffin suggested the remains inside belonged to a male priest, according to a new study.

Thousands of monumental structures built from walls of rock in Saudi Arabia are older than Egypt’s pyramids and the ancient stone circles of Britain, researchers say – making them perhaps the earliest ritual landscape ever identified.

Archeologists have learned a lot about our ancestors by rummaging through their garbage piles, which contain evidence of their diet and population levels as the local flora and fauna changed over time.