Human

Scientists have discovered the earliest evidence of cooking food through controlled use of fire, dating back 780,000 years. An archeological site in Israel contains fish remains that, on closer examination, show clear signs of having been cooked.

Scientists have sequenced the genomes of two ancient skeletons and found the oldest human DNA in the British isles. The data reveals the story of two separate migrations of early humans into what is now the UK, and how these different cultures lived.

New research has provided unprecedented insights into the genetics and social structures of Neanderthals. Scientists have sequenced the genomes of 13 individuals that lived in a close-knit community, revealing some specific family ties.

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to geneticist Svante Pääbo for tracing human evolution by constructing the genomes of extinct hominins. Pääbo sequenced the Neanderthal genome and discovered a brand new human relative.

Archeologists have discovered the oldest evidence of a surgical procedure in humans. A Stone Age hunter-gatherer, who lived more than 30,000 years ago, had a carefully amputated leg, making it the earliest known surgery by tens of thousands of years.

A new experimental treatment could help treat end-stage liver disease – by growing tiny new livers elsewhere in the patient’s bodies. The technique, pioneered by cell therapy company LyGenesis, is due to begin human clinical trials within weeks.

Cold sores are for life – but how long has the virus itself been with humanity? Cambridge scientists have now sequenced the genome of the facial herpes virus, including samples taken from several ancient human remains, and traced it back 5,000 years.

An international team of scientists has published the first complete, gap-free sequence of the human genome. The new reference genome adds hundreds of millions of base pairs to earlier drafts, filling in crucial gaps to improve studies of disease.

A newly discovered fossil may change what we know about an ancient human relative. Vertebrae from the lower back of an Australopithecus sediba reveal it was surprisingly well adapted to walking upright like a human, while also climbing like an ape.

Exactly when humans first set foot in North America remains a mystery, but archeologists have now uncovered the oldest unambiguous evidence. Human footprints have been found at White Sands National Park in New Mexico, dated to about 22,000 years ago.

Anthropologists have discovered a new species of human, known from a single fossil skull. Named Homo longi, or “Dragon Man,” the species appears to be our closest known relative, pipping even Neanderthals.

Scientists have analyzed the fossilized dental plaque of Neanderthals to sequence their oral microbiome, including the oldest ever at 100,000 years old. By comparing them to humans and other primates the study reveals new insights into our evolution.