Paleo in the News

Age and gender bias in online images feeds into AI tools, revealing stereotypes shaping digital systems and hiring algorithms, researchers report.

Researchers confirmed that Rapa Nui’s moai statues could “walk” upright using a rocking motion, aided by rope and just a few people. Experiments with replicas and 3D models revealed design features like a forward lean and curved bases that made movement possible. Concave roads across the island further supported this transport method. The findings celebrate the innovation and intelligence of the ancient islanders.

Ultraprocessed foods can create powerful pulls similar to those of alcohol, nicotine or opioids, with worrisome consequences for our health.

Ancient humans crossing the Bering Strait into the Americas carried more than tools and determination—they also carried a genetic legacy from Denisovans, an extinct human relative. A new study reveals that a mysterious gene called MUC19, inherited through interbreeding between Denisovans, Neanderthals, and humans, may have played a vital role in helping early Americans survive new diseases, foods, and environments.

Ancient humans crossing the Bering Strait into the Americas carried more than tools and determination—they also carried a genetic legacy from Denisovans, an extinct human relative. A new study reveals that a mysterious gene called MUC19, inherited through interbreeding between Denisovans, Neanderthals, and humans, may have played a vital role in helping early Americans survive new diseases, foods, and environments.

Antarctic krill don’t just sequester carbon in their poop; they also make carbon-rich pellets out of leftovers. But microplastics may throw a wrench in the works.

In the 1980s, John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis demonstrated quantum effects in an electric circuit, an advance that underlies today’s quantum computers.

A nearly 20,000-year-old woolly rhino horn reveals the extinct herbivores lived as long as modern-day rhinos, despite harsher Ice Age conditions.

Shimon Sakaguchi discovered T-reg immune cells. Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell identified the cells’ role in autoimmune disease.

GLP-1 injections use needles and require refrigeration. Pills that work in a similar way could be a cheaper, simpler solution.

Some conservation groups are calling for an effective ban on genetic modification, but others say these technologies are crucial for preserving biodiversity

Researchers in Alberta uncovered a fossil fish that rewrites the evolutionary history of otophysans, which today dominate freshwater ecosystems. The new species, Acronichthys maccognoi, shows early adaptations for its unusual hearing system. Evidence suggests otophysans moved from oceans to rivers more than once, leaving scientists puzzled about their ancient global journeys.

Researchers in Alberta uncovered a fossil fish that rewrites the evolutionary history of otophysans, which today dominate freshwater ecosystems. The new species, Acronichthys maccognoi, shows early adaptations for its unusual hearing system. Evidence suggests otophysans moved from oceans to rivers more than once, leaving scientists puzzled about their ancient global journeys.

Researchers in Alberta uncovered a fossil fish that rewrites the evolutionary history of otophysans, which today dominate freshwater ecosystems. The new species, Acronichthys maccognoi, shows early adaptations for its unusual hearing system. Evidence suggests otophysans moved from oceans to rivers more than once, leaving scientists puzzled about their ancient global journeys.

A personal reflection recalls Jane Goodall’s quiet pragmatism, her deep bond with Gombe’s chimps and the scientific legacy of her skeletal collection.

Spiking milk with live ants makes tangy traditional yogurt. Researchers have identified the ants' microbial pals and enzymes that help the process.

The Nobel Prize might be the most famous science prize but it celebrates just a narrow slice of science and very few scientists.

A strange Jurassic lizard discovered on Scotland’s Isle of Skye is shaking up what we know about snake evolution. Named Breugnathair elgolensis, the “false snake of Elgol” combined hook-like, python-style teeth and jaws with the short body and limbs of a lizard. Researchers spent nearly a decade studying the 167-million-year-old fossil, revealing that it belonged to a newly defined group of squamates and carried features of both snakes and geckos.

A strange Jurassic lizard discovered on Scotland’s Isle of Skye is shaking up what we know about snake evolution. Named Breugnathair elgolensis, the “false snake of Elgol” combined hook-like, python-style teeth and jaws with the short body and limbs of a lizard. Researchers spent nearly a decade studying the 167-million-year-old fossil, revealing that it belonged to a newly defined group of squamates and carried features of both snakes and geckos.

A strange Jurassic lizard discovered on Scotland’s Isle of Skye is shaking up what we know about snake evolution. Named Breugnathair elgolensis, the “false snake of Elgol” combined hook-like, python-style teeth and jaws with the short body and limbs of a lizard. Researchers spent nearly a decade studying the 167-million-year-old fossil, revealing that it belonged to a newly defined group of squamates and carried features of both snakes and geckos.