Ghost cousins:DNA hints at a missing African population

Ghost cousins:DNA hints at a missing African population

Scientists have tracked down a gene in living people from Nigeria and Sierra Leone that does not fit previously discovered branches of humans.

  • byCarl Zimmer

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State tells students to return to class,as private schools crack down on coronavirus risk

State tells students to return to class,as private schools crack down on coronavirus risk

Victoria's Education Department says only students who are confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus or had close contact with anyone who was infected need to stay away from school for 14 days.

  • byMadeleine Heffernan andAdam Carey
Researchers say volcanoes on Venus might still be smoking

Researchers say volcanoes on Venus might still be smoking

It turns out our neighbouring planet may be even more Earth-like than we knew.

  • byShannon Hall
Three species of early humans lived in same era in close proximity

Three species of early humans lived in same era in close proximity

Only a few years ago,scientists believed modern humans evolved in Africa,and then left to colonise the human-free world.

  • byLiam Mannix
Discovery of ancient cave paintings rewrites history of spirituality

Discovery of ancient cave paintings rewrites history of spirituality

Dating back at least 44,000 years,the Indonesian images depict half-human,half-animal figures and are older than any cave art found in Europe.

  • byStuart Layt
Was this 18,000-year-old Siberian puppy a dog or a wolf?

Was this 18,000-year-old Siberian puppy a dog or a wolf?

The animal was buried in a lump of frozen mud in Russia,its fur,whiskers and body fully intact. It could help bridge the connection between dogs and wolves.

  • byLaura M. Holson
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Frozen dog:18,000-year-old puppy may reveal secret of species'evolution

Frozen dog:18,000-year-old puppy may reveal secret of species'evolution

Researchers at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm,Sweden,announced this week that extensive DNA tests have so far been unable to confirm whether the animal was a dog or a wolf.

  • byRozina Sabur
Prehistoric ape from Germany was first two-legged walker

Prehistoric ape from Germany was first two-legged walker

Fossils unearthed in Germany of a remarkable ape that lived about 11.6 million years ago may dramatically alter the understanding of our evolutionary origins.

  • byWill Dunham
A homecoming story for all humanity:Australian scientists claim to have found birthplace of modern humans

A homecoming story for all humanity:Australian scientists claim to have found birthplace of modern humans

The remarkable potential discovery of the ancestral homeland of modern humans is being hailed as a new chapter in the story of us.

  • byLiam Mannix
Disrupting death:The billionaire who wants to extend our lifespans

Disrupting death:The billionaire who wants to extend our lifespans

What could a man with millions in the bank,a private jet and high-flying friends possibly want from life? More of it.

  • byMatthew Field
Billion-year-old organism discovery points way to finding life on Mars

Billion-year-old organism discovery points way to finding life on Mars

An"astonishing"discovery in WA's Pilbara region has shed light on some of the earliest forms of life on Earth,and pointed the way to finding life elsewhere.

  • byStuart Layt