Paleo in the News

Long before humans built cities or wrote words, our ancestors may have faced a hidden threat that shaped who we became. Scientists studying ancient teeth found that early humans, great apes, and even Neanderthals were exposed to lead millions of years ago. This toxic metal can damage the brain, yet modern humans developed a tiny genetic change that protected our minds and allowed language and intelligence to flourish.

Blazes sparked in wild lands are devastating communities worldwide. The only way to protect them, researchers say, is to re-engineer them.

Chilli powder is touted as a cheap, easy, safe option to protect your garden from foxes and squirrels. James Wong casts a scientific eye on this popular remedy

Our bond with cats – which has seen them go from hunter to house pet – may be more diverse than with any other animal. And Jerry D. Moore's Cat Tales: A history rounds up the lot, says Bethan Ackerley

Insects have long pollinated plants, but evidence of ancient pairing is rare. Fossils now show bees and linden trees goes back 24 million years.

A 230-million-year-old fossil found in Argentina shows that the evolution of sauropod dinosaurs’ long necks began earlier than previously thought

The fossil wrist and thumb bones suggest Paranthropus boisei could grasp tools around 1.5 million years ago.

Normal cellular processes in living things — from germinating plants to our own cells — create biophotons, though escaping light isn’t visible to us.

Researchers used methods from paleontology to analyze the quirky local landmark, created when a rodent of a certain size fell into wet concrete.

In The Water Remembers, Amy Bowers Cordalis shares her family’s account of the Indigenous-led fight to restore the Klamath River in the Pacific Northwest.

By weaving Kevlar or polyethylene nanofibers into standard neoprene in wetsuits, researchers found ways to limit injury during rare encounters with sharks.

Researchers in Italy discovered 400,000-year-old evidence that ancient humans butchered elephants for food and tools. At the Casal Lumbroso site near Rome, they found hundreds of bones and stone implements, many showing impact marks from butchery. The findings reveal a consistent prehistoric strategy for resource use during warmer Middle Pleistocene periods.

The global die-off of coral reefs signals a critical shift in Earth’s climate system with global environmental consequences along with economic ones.

New research along Turkey’s Ayvalık coast reveals a once-submerged land bridge that may have helped early humans cross from Anatolia into Europe. Archaeologists uncovered 138 Paleolithic tools across 10 sites, indicating the region was a crucial migration corridor during the Ice Age. The findings challenge traditional migration theories centered on the Balkans and Levant, suggesting instead that humans used now-vanished pathways across the Aegean.

Researchers have unearthed South America’s first amber deposits containing ancient insects in an Ecuadorian quarry, offering a rare 112-million-year-old glimpse into life on the supercontinent Gondwana. The amber, found in the Hollín Formation, preserved a diverse range of insect species and plant material, revealing a humid, resin-rich forest teeming with life.

Researchers have unearthed South America’s first amber deposits containing ancient insects in an Ecuadorian quarry, offering a rare 112-million-year-old glimpse into life on the supercontinent Gondwana. The amber, found in the Hollín Formation, preserved a diverse range of insect species and plant material, revealing a humid, resin-rich forest teeming with life.

Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia discovered over 170 ancient rock engravings that may be among the earliest monumental artworks in the region. Created between 12,800 and 11,400 years ago, the massive figures were carved when water and life returned to the desert. The art likely marked territories and migration routes, revealing social and symbolic sophistication. Artifacts found nearby show early Arabian peoples connected to distant Neolithic communities.

The growth spurt hints that the free-floating object evolves like a star, providing clues about rogue planets’ mysterious origins.

The findings show the insula fuses taste and certain smells into the sensation of flavor.

The advance hints at the possibility of portable muon-making devices that could help peer through solid materials for hidden contraband.