Scientists dissolved a boulder in acid – and a thylacine jumped out
Exclusive
Palaeontology

Scientists dissolved a boulder in acid – and a thylacine jumped out

The bone-crushing fossilised jaws were one of three Tasmanian tiger ancestors uncovered by palaeontologists,amid a contentious effort to resurrect the marsupial carnivore.

  • byAngus Dalton

Latest

No more ‘Homo stupidus’:Why Neanderthals are getting a makeover
Explainer
Palaeontology

No more ‘Homo stupidus’:Why Neanderthals are getting a makeover

They were shrewd,complex and creative,and we shared the planet with them (and other types of humans) for thousands of years. So why did the Neanderthals die out and not us?

  • byAngus Holland
Asteroid that killed dinosaurs was a ‘big bang’ for bird evolution

Asteroid that killed dinosaurs was a ‘big bang’ for bird evolution

Australian scientists have helped redraw the “tree of life” for almost every bird on earth,with a study finding their ancestors emerged after the dinosaurs disappeared.

  • byAngus Dalton
Are you a morning person? You may be a Neanderthal descendant

Are you a morning person? You may be a Neanderthal descendant

Using artificial intelligence to analyse genetic variants,researchers have found some humans could have obtained their circadian rhythm from their ancestors.

  • byAdela Suliman
‘T-Rex of the sea’ had a two-metre-long skull

‘T-Rex of the sea’ had a two-metre-long skull

The 150-million-year-old fossil was found in Dorset,England. Sir David Attenborough said it was “one of the greatest predators the world has ever seen”.

  • byAlex Barton
Apocalyptic dust plume killed off the dinosaurs in spring,says study

Apocalyptic dust plume killed off the dinosaurs in spring,says study

Scientists have known for some time that a giant asteroid smashed into Earth causing mass extinctions. But precisely how it happened was until now not understood.

  • byCarolyn Y. Johnson
Advertisement
Life on Mars? This tiny South American mouse might hold the answer

Life on Mars? This tiny South American mouse might hold the answer

Mummified mice found on mountain summits on the Chile-Argentina border have re-defined what we know about the limits of mammals – and they may help the search for life on other planets.

  • byAngus Dalton
Pollen count helps prove humans left footprints in the Americas much earlier than believed

Pollen count helps prove humans left footprints in the Americas much earlier than believed

The footprints were discovered at the edge of an ancient lakebed in White Sands National Park and date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago.

  • byChristina Larson
8.7-million-year-old skull suggests we didn’t evolve in Africa after all

8.7-million-year-old skull suggests we didn’t evolve in Africa after all

An intriguing find is challenging the long-standing assumption that humans evolved in Africa and instead suggests that human origins may actually lie in Europe.

  • bySarah Knapton
Scientists finally identify chicken farmer’s 240 million-year-old fossil
Exclusive
Palaeontology

Scientists finally identify chicken farmer’s 240 million-year-old fossil

Nearly 30 years ago a retired farmer found a salamander-like prehistoric amphibian in a sandstone block. It hasn’t been formally identified – until now.

  • byAngus Dalton
More cinematic tales of woe
Opinion
Column 8

More cinematic tales of woe

As pictures give movies the flick.