Paleo in the News

Compact ruddy galaxies seen by the James Webb telescope confound astronomers. Having very little spin at birth may explain the galaxies’ small sizes.

A groundbreaking study suggests that the famous Cambrian explosion—the dramatic burst of diverse animal life—might have actually started millions of years earlier than we thought. By analyzing ancient trace fossils, researchers uncovered evidence of complex, mobile organisms thriving 545 million years ago, well before the traditionally accepted timeline. These early creatures likely had segmented bodies, muscle systems, and even directional movement, signaling a surprising level of biological sophistication. Their behavior and mobility, preserved in fossil trails, offer new insight into how complex life evolved, potentially rewriting one of the most important chapters in Earth’s evolutionary history.

A groundbreaking study suggests that the famous Cambrian explosion—the dramatic burst of diverse animal life—might have actually started millions of years earlier than we thought. By analyzing ancient trace fossils, researchers uncovered evidence of complex, mobile organisms thriving 545 million years ago, well before the traditionally accepted timeline. These early creatures likely had segmented bodies, muscle systems, and even directional movement, signaling a surprising level of biological sophistication. Their behavior and mobility, preserved in fossil trails, offer new insight into how complex life evolved, potentially rewriting one of the most important chapters in Earth’s evolutionary history.

The origin of red beans — also called adzuki — has been murky. A new study says Japan is where it all started.

DNA sequencing shows young trees are more likely to have gene variants that confer partial resistance to a fungus that has been wiping out ash trees across Europe

If the new age of these Canadian rocks is solid, they would be the first and only ones known to have survived Earth’s earliest, tumultuous time.

A newly discovered species of dinosaur is now on display at London’s Natural History Museum . Researchers have named this new species Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae, a speedy, two-legged herbivore, 64 centimetres tall and 180 cm long that lived about 145 million to 150 million years ago, during the Late Jurassic Period. New Scientist spoke to  Susannah …

An egg-shape trend found among birds shows up in miniature with very protective bug parents. Elongated eggs fit more compactly under mom.

Art and literature hint at past people’s psyches. Now computers can identify patterns in those cognitive fossils, but human expertise remains crucial.

The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

Natural history museums teach us about our world, but they aren’t telling us the whole story, writes curator Jack Ashby in Nature's Memory

Special quantum states allow computers to perform the most difficult class of quantum computing operations.

Finding a Saturn-sized world around the young star TWA 7 could pave the way for the Webb space telescope’s direct observation of other exoplanets.

The shift from lizard-like sprawl to upright walking in mammals wasn’t a smooth climb up the evolutionary ladder. Instead, it was a messy saga full of unexpected detours. Using new bone-mapping tech, researchers discovered that early mammal ancestors explored wildly different postures before modern upright walking finally emerged—much later than once believed.

The shift from lizard-like sprawl to upright walking in mammals wasn’t a smooth climb up the evolutionary ladder. Instead, it was a messy saga full of unexpected detours. Using new bone-mapping tech, researchers discovered that early mammal ancestors explored wildly different postures before modern upright walking finally emerged—much later than once believed.

The shift from lizard-like sprawl to upright walking in mammals wasn’t a smooth climb up the evolutionary ladder. Instead, it was a messy saga full of unexpected detours. Using new bone-mapping tech, researchers discovered that early mammal ancestors explored wildly different postures before modern upright walking finally emerged—much later than once believed.

Too little Bifidobacterium, used to digest breast milk, in babies' gut microbiomes can increase their risk of developing allergies and asthma.

The night lizards may have been the only terrestrial vertebrates that survived in the region of the asteroid impact 66 million years ago, which led to the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs

Enigmacursor darted around North America in the Late Jurassic 145-150 million years ago and its skeleton now be on display in London’s Natural History Museum

Squash’s killer “nick shot” has a formula. It’s all about height and timing, a new study shows.