Humans news stories

James Webb telescope spies record-breaking hoard of stars hiding in a warped ‘dragon’ galaxy
8th January 2025 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

The newly imaged stars are located within the “Dragon Arc,” a spiral galaxy roughly 6.5 billion light-years from Earth when the universe was around half its current age. Normally, such distant stars are too far away to be seen in detail.

Earliest Known 3D Map Found in Prehistoric French Cavern, Say Experts
8th January 2025 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans

In the cramped confines of a small cavern to the south of Paris, scientists have ‘read between the lines’ on the floor and discovered what could be the oldest surviving three-dimensional map of a hunter-gatherer territory. The study was published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology.

Archaic Humans Might Actually Be The Same Species as Us, Study Suggests
7th January 2025 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans

New research suggests at least some key distinctions date back earlier than previously estimated, hinting that modern and archaic humans – including our close, extinct relatives – have more in common than we ever thought. The study has yet to be peer-reviewed but is available on the preprint server bioRxiv.

Archaeological study challenges ‘paleo’ diet narrative of ancient hunter–gatherers
7th January 2025 phys.org | Ancient, Animal Life, Humans

The findings suggest that contrary to popular belief, the diet of early hominids was not solely focused on animal protein, but rather featured a diverse range of plant-based foods, including acorns, cereals, legumes, and aquatic plants. This multidisciplinary study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS),

Neuroscience study reveals shared processing of human and dog facial expressions
7th January 2025 | psypost.org | Animal Life, Humans

Researchers recently examined how human brains respond to emotional facial expressions from both humans and dogs, uncovering similarities in how these expressions are processed. The study was published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.

Willy Myco Just Released the First-Ever Video Demonstrating How to Synthesize LSD
5th January 2025 doubleblindmag.com | Humans, Misc.

The process for synthesizing Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), more commonly known as “acid,” has long been shrouded by complex chemistry jargon, not to mention laws discouraging anybody from posting the process online lest they incur serious legal consequences. As such, learning how to make LSD has long been a process known only to a select few. Until now, anyway.

AI could crack unsolvable problems — and humans won’t be able to understa
5th January 2025 | livescience.com | Humans, Tech

AI promises to accelerate scientific discovery, but if scientists aren’t careful public trust may be left behind.

The Genetic Book of the Dead
5th January 2025 cosmosmagazine.com | Animal Life, Earth, Humans

Richard Dawkin’s new book is woven with beautiful metaphors and rich descriptive language. Not so much conversational as poetic, settle in for an elaborate exploration of evolution. It raises some new and curious questions, including whether it’s worth thinking of our ‘own’ genes as a gigantic colony of cooperating viruses.

Rock art acoustics: South African study suggests that a distinct echo attracted ancient artists back to one site
3rd January 2025 phys.org | Ancient, Earth, Humans

Petroglyphs, engraved on rocks, have an obvious visual attraction. What is important and exciting about this study is the discovery that these images have an acoustic aspect as well.

Dark Energy May Not Exist: Something Stranger Might Explain The Universe
3rd January 2025 | sciencealert.com | Humans, Space, Weird

There might not be a mysterious ‘dark’ force accelerating the expansion of the Universe after all. The truth could be much stranger – bubbles of space where time passes at drastically different rates.

Quadrantid meteor shower to light up northern hemisphere sky
2nd January 2025 | theguardian.com | Humans, Space

Taking its name from a now obsolete constellation known as Quadrans Muralis, the event is best viewed in the northern hemisphere, with the meteors appearing to radiate from the constellation Boötes, which is found near the collection of stars often dubbed the Plough or the Big Dipper

Study reveals Rujm el-Hiri’s ancient observatory role unlikely
2nd January 2025 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

A new study…challenges the widely held theory that the structure was used as an astronomical observatory, as the original alignment of the walls and entrances does not correspond to celestial observations, as previously hypothesized.

The genomic journey of modern and archaic humans may be older than we thought
22nd December 2024 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

Research conducted at the Department of Biology, University of Padova, has identified critical genomic milestones in the evolution of Homo sapiens, including key chromosomal rearrangements and specific gene variants that contributed to the development of current modern human traits.

More than 1,300 prehistoric burial mounds in western Azerbaijan systematically surveyed for the first time
19th December 2024 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

They have now published the results of their latest research campaign in the international journal Antiquity. The article is a follow-up of an overview of the results of the 2021 field campaign, which was published in the journal Archaeological Prospectionearlier this year.

13 ancient Egyptian mummies found with gold tongues to help them talk in the afterlife
19th December 2024 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

More than a dozen ancient gold tongues have been discovered in a cemetery at the site of Oxyrhynchus in Egypt.

When will MDMA be approved for therapy? Major trial issues may stand in the way, psychiatrist Dr. Albino Oliveira-Maia says.
18th December 2024 | livescience.com | Humans, Misc.

Psychedelics are being tested as add-ons to psychotherapy, but in trials, there’s little detail about how the therapy is actually conducted, Dr. Albino Oliveira-Maia says.

News stories covering humans, psychology and health.