New Atlas

Biology Audio available

New study suggests humans and Neanderthals split off earlier than we thought

Michael Irving May 16, 2019

It’s not known exactly when humans and Neanderthals split off from their last common ancestor, but the estimated window is very wide, between 300,000 and 800,000 years ago. Now a new study has found evidence that this split took place towards the earlier end of that range, or even longer ago still.

New research suggests humans and Neanderthals split off from their last common ancestor earlier than we ...

Science Audio available

New species of human discovered in cave in Philippines

Michael Irving April 10, 2019

A new species of human has been discovered in a cave in the Philippines. Named Homo luzonensis after the island of Luzon where it was found, the hominin appears to have lived over 50,000 years ago, painting a more complete picture of human evolution.

The bones of Homo luzonensis were discovered in Callao Cave, on the island of Luzon in ...

Medical Audio available

3D-printed material is designed to treat difficult bone injuries

Ben Coxworth March 29, 2019

For some time now, we've been hearing about implantable scaffolding-like material that helps heal injuries to bones. Scientists have now developed a new type of that material, aimed specifically at difficult-to-treat osteochondral injuries.

The material replicates the structure of both cartilage and hard bone

Medical

Implant uses copper to fight bone infection

Ben Coxworth January 30, 2019

Resulting from bone-breaks, deep puncture wounds, severe tooth decay or other causes, osteomyelitis is a bone infection that in serious cases may lead to amputations or even death. It's also notoriously difficult to treat, although a newly-developed implant could help change that.

An X-ray showing osteomyelitis in a young person's tibia

Science Audio available

Ancient elephant-sized mammal ancestor gave dinosaurs a run for their money

Michael Irving November 22, 2018

While dinosaurs were the biggest land animals ever, mammals were mostly rat-sized critters running around underfoot. But now palaeontologists have described a mammal ancestor from the Triassic Period that grew to the size of an elephant, giving those early dinosaurs a run for their money.

An artist's reconstruction of Lisowicia bojani, an elephant-sized ancestor of mammals that lived during the Triassic

Science Audio available

Roman "vampire burial" tells tale of ancient undead fears

Michael Irving October 14, 2018

To us vampires are the stuff of movies, but for many ancient cultures the undead were seen as a very real threat. Now archaeologists excavating a children’s cemetery in Italy have uncovered the skeleton of a child with a large stone jammed into its mouth, to prevent the body returning from the dead.

The researchers say that the stone was deliberately placed in the child's mouth between death and ...

Science

Height, bone density, and more can be predicted using new DNA analysis algorithm

Rich Haridy October 7, 2018

A team of scientists from Michigan State University claims to have built a computer algorithm that can analyze a person's complete genome and accurately predict how tall they are with only around a one-inch (2.5-cm) margin of error.

A new computer model could accurately predict a person's height to within one inch just by ...

Science

Genome study of cave bones reveals early human hybrid

Michael Irving August 23, 2018

Early hominins were known to have cross-bred when they crossed paths, and now the most direct evidence of those meetings has been found. By sequencing the genome of a hominin bone from a Siberian cave, anthropologists have discovered the direct descendant of a Neanderthal and a Denisovan.

Genetic analysis on an ancient bone fragment has revealed the direct descendant of a Neanderthal and ...

Science Audio available

Double denim: How old jeans might gain a new life as artificial bone cartilage

Nick Lavars August 9, 2018

Scientists have developed a method that reduces discarded denim to the building blocks for artificial cartilage, something that, with further development, could become an advanced tool for performing joint reconstructions in humans.

New research from Deakin University could see denim repurposed as artificial cartilage

Science

Oldest evidence of bone found in 400 million-year-old fish fossils

Michael Irving August 1, 2018

Paleontologists have long wondered about the skeletons of a strange, ancient fish family called heterostracan. But now UK scientists say they’ve cracked it, declaring the 400 million-year-old fossils to be the oldest examples of bone ever found.

A fossil heterostracan, whose puzzling skeleton has finally been identified as the oldest example of bone ...