Humans

A 31,000-year-old Stone Age skeleton has been found with the lower part of its leg cleanly removed, and the bones reveal that the child survived for several years after it happened

Humans

7 September 2022

By Clare Wilson
The left tibia and fibula end suddenly (on the left) where they were cutTim Maloney
A Stone Age child living 31,000 years ago in what is now Borneo seems to have had their leg carefully amputated above the foot and survived for several years afterwards.
This suggests that the hunter-gatherer community the person was part of had the medical skills to stop someone bleeding to death or dying from infection – both common hazards of amputation before modern medicine, says Maxime Aubert at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia.
Before the latest finding, … More

The search for the direct ancestor of humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans has been protracted and puzzling. Now, fresh clues are adding a surprising twist to the tale

Humans

31 August 2022

By Colin Barras
Martin O’Neill
THE year is 1933, and China is partly under the control of invading Japanese forces. During construction of a bridge near Harbin in the north-east, a local man working for the Japanese makes a stunning discovery: an ancient human skull. He recognises the skull’s value right away. Determined not to hand the fossil over to the occupiers, he buries it in an abandoned well.
There the skull remained until 2018, when, shortly before his death, the man told his family of its existence. In due course, the Harbin skull came into scientific hands. It was worth the wait, not least for the clues it offers those searching for the enigmatic Ancestor X – the species that gave rise to humanity.
For as long as researchers have been finding ancient human-like fossils, one question has been nagging away in the back of their minds: how are we related to other prehistoric groups and species? In particular, how do we fit in with the Neanderthals and Denisovans who shared Earth with us for most of our existence? It is this question that the discovery of Ancestor X promises to answer. However, the hunt for it has been fiendish, with major twists and turns along the way. In recent years, it has also led to some surprising discoveries, including the revelation that we had misunderstood the way our species, Homo sapiens, evolved. Now, with the re-emergence of the Harbin skull, the search for Ancestor X looks set to get easier in some ways – and a lot more difficult in others.
When it comes to the big picture of human evolution, universal consensus … More

The fruit of Synsepalum dulcificum, a plant native to West Africa, doesn’t taste sugary on its own, but any sour food you eat afterwards will turn miraculously sweet

Humans

31 August 2022

By Sam Wong
Wirestock, Inc./Alamy
MOST people find sugar hard to resist, and with good reason. Our big brains need lots of energy and sugary foods provide plenty of it. But when calories are too readily available, it is easy to overdo it.
There has been no shortage of research on sugar substitutes that trigger a sweet sensation without the calories, such as aspartame and sucralose, but these compounds also taste slightly bitter for many people. What’s more, evidence from animal and human studies has linked some to glucose intolerance and weight gain.
One promising alternative is found in the fruit of Synsepalum dulcificum … More

Gaia Vince’s new book, Nomad Century: How to survive the climate upheaval, argues that mass migration caused by Earth’s climate crisis could be turned into a plus. Could her plan work?

Humans

31 August 2022

By James McConnachie
Megacities in the near future could be built on vast swathes of Russia, Canada and ScandinaviaAndriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images
Nomad CenturyGaia Vince (Allen Lane)
GAIA VINCE is something of a star in climate science writing. Her debut, Adventures in the Anthropocene, was a compelling blend of climate science reporting and travelogue. Transcendence, her second book, sought to explain human evolution in ambitious “big history” terms – think Yuval Noah Harari meets Matt Ridley.
Her latest, Nomad Century: How to survive the climate upheaval, offers more big history, though it tackles the future. Vince … More

Five people in recovery from psychosis guide artist Marcus Coates as he recreates aspects of their experience in this series of disorienting and sometimes very frightening short films, finds Simon Ings

Humans

31 August 2022

By Simon Ings
Recreating experiences of psychosis leads Marcus Coates to dark placesArtangel/Marcus Coates
The Directors
Five short films by Marcus Coates
At venues in London from 4 September to 30 October
IN A flat in a social housing block in London’s Pimlico, artist Marcus Coates is being variously nudged, bullied and shocked out of his sense of what is real.
Controlling the process is Lucy Dempster, a teenager in recovery from psychosis. In his ear, Coates hears Dempster prompt him in how to behave, when to sit, what to touch and what to think … More

From working out a dead person’s last meal to the possible poisoning of the Buddha, a new book from David J. Gibson has some great tales about how plants help solve crimes – and are used to commit them

Humans

31 August 2022

By Kate Douglas

Forensic botany can be a key witness in cases of murder or rapemladenbalinovac/Getty Images
Planting Clues: How plants solve crimesDavid J. Gibson (Oxford University Press)

THEY called him the Sherlock Holmes of France – and, in fact, his antics did inspire the novelist Arthur Conan Doyle.

When Edmond Locard established his forensic science lab in 1912, the world had never seen anything like it. The place wasn’t much to look at – cramped quarters on the fourth floor of the Palais de Justice in Lyon – but there Locard set about laying … More

New Scientist’s weekly round-up of the best books, films, TV series, games and more that you shouldn’t miss

Humans

31 August 2022

Ast Freelancer/Alamy
Visit
The Science of Middle Earth is a live talk, based on the eponymous book, that explores the role of science in the writing of J. R. R. Tolkien. Take an unexpected journey to the Royal Institution in London at 7pm BST on 8 September.

Read
Sweet in Tooth and Claw is a new attempt to rebalance our view of evolution. Author Kristin Ohlson argues that, despite appearances, cooperation plays as big a role in survival and adaptation as competition. On sale from 8 September.

Read
Seasons of Storm and Wonder by nature writer … More

Giving a TED talk wasn’t easy, but I wanted to make sure my audience came away with a better understanding of dark matter, writes Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Humans

| Columnist

31 August 2022

By Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein speaks at SESSION 5 at TED2022Gilberto Tadday/TED
TED talks are increasingly ubiquitous in pop culture. TED’s motto is “ideas worth spreading” and it has become famous for accessible, pristinely produced 10 to 15-minute presentations on big ideas.
Of course, this makes them a prime target for satire. Sometimes this will take the form of a short, tweeted statement, such as “Black cats are the best cats!”, followed by the note: “Thank you for coming to my TED talk!” I have definitely been an active participant in this satirical TED talk … More