1.5 million-year-old bone tools discovered in Tanzania rewrite the history of human evolution: The ancestors of humans started making tools about 3.3 million years ago. First they made them out of stone, then they switched to bone as a raw material. Until recently, the earliest clear evidence of bone tool making was from sites in …
What the unique shape of the human heart tells us about our evolution: Human hearts differ from those belonging to our closest relatives like the chimpanzee. anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock Mammals, from the mighty blue whale to the tiny shrew, inhabit nearly every corner of our planet. Their remarkable adaptability to different environments has long fascinated scientists, with …
Earth’s early evolution: fresh insights from rocks formed 3.5 billion years ago: The Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains look peaceful today – but 3.5 billion years ago the earth there was roiled by volcanoes. Instinctively RDH/Shutterstock Our Earth is around 4.5 billion years old. Way back in its earliest years, vast oceans dominated. There were frequent volcanic …
Human intelligence: how cognitive circuitry, rather than brain size, drove its evolution: wikipedia/Foley, CC BY-SA It’s one of the great paradoxes of evolution. Humans have demonstrated that having large brains are key to our evolutionary success, and yet such brains are extremely rare in other animals. Most get by on tiny brains, and don’t seem …
Life on Our Planet: evolution experts review this ‘hugely entertaining’ Netflix docuseries: Netflix’s beautifully realised historical biography of life certainly has ambition. Perhaps 4 billion species have existed in as many years of Earth’s history: an embarrassment of riches for eight 50-minute episodes. To make sense of this, Life on Our Planet focuses on some …
Evolution revolution: how a Cape Town museum exhibit is rewriting the story of humankind: Picture your typical human evolution museum display. You walk into a dimly lit space with glass boxes on white plinths or roped off areas. There are lots and lots of bones. Maybe a bit of history on how those bones were …
Wild plants may edit their genomes in the same way we make GM crops – and it could be crucial to evolution: zhukovvvlad/Shutterstock Genetically modified (GM) crops may be controversial, but similar processes happen naturally with wild plants. However, scientists have long been puzzled about how these processes happen. Our recent study may help researchers …
The Evolution of Home Lighting: Embracing Smart Switches: In the age of smart homes and IoT (Internet of Things), the way we interact with our living spaces has transformed dramatically. One of the most significant advancements in this domain is the introduction of smart switches. These innovative devices have redefined convenience, energy efficiency, and home …
Kindness has persisted in a competitive world – cultural evolution can explain why: Many people return lost wallets. Dobo Kristian/Shutterstock Recently, I was walking with some fellow parents after nursery drop-off when we came across a five-pound note lying on the pavement. We stood around it for a moment, a bit awkwardly, until someone suggested …
The Evolution of Skyworth TVs: A Journey Through Time: Introduction In the realm of television technology, few brands have made as significant an impact as Skyworth TV. With its roots deeply embedded in innovation and a commitment to excellence, Skyworth has carved a niche for itself in the global TV market. But what is the …
Safety First: The Evolution of the Smart Home Security System: In an age where technology touches every facet of our lives, ensuring the safety of our homes has taken on a new dimension. Gone are the days when a simple lock and key sufficed. Today, with the advent of the smart home security system, homeowners …
AI: evolution is making us treat it like a human, and we need to kick the habit: shutterstock The artificial intelligence (AI) pioneer Geoffrey Hinton recently resigned from Google, warning of the dangers of the technology “becoming more intelligent than us”. His fear is that AI will one day succeed in “manipulating people to do …
Easter eggs: their evolution from chicken to chocolate: A lot of Easter traditions – including hot cross buns and lamb on Sunday – stem from medieval Christian or even earlier pagan beliefs. The chocolate Easter egg, however, is a more modern twist on tradition. Chicken eggs have been eaten at Easter for centuries. Eggs have …
What the complicated social lives of wasps can teach us about the evolution of animal societies: The yellowjacket wasp has a reputation as a British picnic invader Denis Vesely/Shutterstock It’s spring in England. The daffodils are in full bloom. A queen yellowjacket (Vespula) wasp emerges from your loft, dopey with hibernation and hungry for nectar. …
Bones like Aero chocolate: the evolution adaptation that helped dinosaurs to fly: Dinosaurs once dominated Earth's landscapes AmeliAU/Shutterstock It’s sometimes difficult to imagine how the planet we call home, with its megalopolis cities and serene farmlands, was once dominated by dinosaurs as big as buses and five-storey buildings. But recent research has helped deepen our …
Large mammals shaped the evolution of humans: here’s why it happened in Africa: That humans originated in Africa is widely accepted. But it’s not generally recognised how unique features of Africa’s ecology were responsible for the crucial evolutionary transitions from forest-inhabiting fruit-eater to savanna-dwelling hunter. These were founded on earth movements and aided physically by …
8 billion people: how evolution made it happen: One in 8 billion oneinchpunch/Shutterstock November 15 2022 marks a milestone for our species, as the global population hits 8 billion. Just 70 years ago, within a human lifetime, there were only 2.5 billion of us. In AD1, fewer than one-third of a billion. So how have …
The study of evolution is fracturing – and that may be a good thing: Darkdiamond67/Shutterstock How will life on Earth and the ecosystems that support it adapt to climate change? Which species will go extinct – or evolve into something new? How will microbes develop further resistance to antibiotics? These kinds of questions, which are …