Many people are familiar with the existence of Neanderthals, the humanoid species that was a precursor to modern humans, but far less is known Denisovans, a similar group that were contemporaries to the Neanderthals and who died out approximately 50,000 years ago. Researchers have now made a reconstruction of a Denisovan girl based on patterns of methylation (chemical changes) in their ancient DNA.
Read moreA new study suggests that the extinction of Neanderthals may be tied to persistent, life-long ear infections due to the structure of their Eustachian tubes, which are similar to those of human infants.
Read moreNear an old mining town in Central Europe, known for its picturesque turquoise-blue quarry water, lay Rudapithecus. For 10 million years, the fossilized ape waited in Rudabánya, Hungary, to add its story to the origins of how humans evolved. What Rudabánya yielded was a pelvis — among the most informative bones of a skeleton, but one that is rarely preserved.
Read moreHow do humans affect forest fires? An international team of researchers has now shown for a region in north-eastern Poland that forest fires increasingly occurred there after the end of the 18th century with the change to organized forestry. The increased number of fires subsequently made it necessary to manage and maintain the forests differently. In the wake of climate change, the researchers suggest new strategies for the fight against forest fires.
Read moreEarly rice growers unwittingly gave barnyard grass a big hand, helping to give root to a rice imitator that is now considered one of the world's worst agricultural weeds.
Read morePalorchestid marsupials, an extinct group of Australian megafauna, had strange bodies and lifestyles unlike any living species.
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