New evidence from fossils representing two groups of human ancestors—Australopithecus and early Homo—adds an important piece to the puzzle about when our ancestors transitioned from a life often spent in trees to a life spent almost exclusively on the ground. An international research team led by the Keck School of Medicine of USC analyzed fossil data from seven human ancestors ranging from about 1.5 million to 3.7 million years old. The researchers measured the strength of arm and thigh bones, which adapt to the forces placed on them during life, to learn about how human ancestors used their bodies and moved through their environments. Animals that spend more time moving in trees tend to have relatively strong arm bones, while humans who walk upright on the ground tend to have stronger thigh bones. The team found that Australopithecus, an early ancestor that lived roughly two to four million years ago, had a distinct approach that resembles both modern apes and humans. These individuals had strong arms, suggesting they spent substantial time in trees, while the strength of their leg bones showed a more human-like pattern, suggesting they walked like humans on the ground. The early Homo individuals, descendants of Australopithecus that lived about 1.8 to 2.3 million years ago, had relatively strong leg bones and weaker arm bones—a pattern more similar to modern humans. The findings suggest that the transition from Australopithecus to Homo included a major shift in how human ancestors moved and lived. The team proposes that that relative limb strength is a ‘threshold trait,” a difference that marks an important and fundamental shift in behavior between Australopithecus and Homo.

Scientists have discovered several 518-million-year-old fossils that reshape the origins of the group of animals that contains starfish, and found that they ate their food using tentacles, and not passively using their gills as previously thought.

The biopolymer lignin – one of the most important carbon reservoirs in plants and soils – not only decays through fungi or bacteria but can also be chemically attacked by iron linked with reactive oxygen species, without the involvement of microorganisms. When this happens, the lignin is converted into methanol and subsequently into formaldehyde. That is shown by a study conducted at Heidelberg University’s Institute of Earth Sciences. The researchers also proved that this conversion takes place in natural soils – solely through wetting and without adding chemicals. This form of lignin degradation shines a light on a previously overlooked abiotic process that is related to Earth’s carbon cycle and can have implications for trace gas fluxes and atmospheric chemistry.

Eighteen early-career scientists have been named Finalists for the 2026 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, competing for three unrestricted $250,000 Laureate prizes

Since 2007, the Awards have invested more than $20 million in over 500 scientists worldwide

The investment has led to the founding of more than 50 companies, five of which are publicly traded and collectively valued at over $40 billion

A 178-year-old mystery surrounding one of the earliest recorded examples of space weather affecting technology has been solved by an international team led by Lancaster University.

 

The first practical electric telegraph networks were deployed during the 1840s, and as solar activity increased during the following years, Victorian telegraph operators began to experience unexplained electrical effects caused by geomagnetic disturbances.

Professor Jim Wild from Lancaster University with scientists from the British Geological Survey, Natural Resources Canada, Baylor University, RMIT University, and STFC RAL Space, re-examined a widely cited account of a train delay in Exeter that was reportedly caused by geomagnetic disturbance from the sun interfering with railway’s telegraph systems.

The event has previously been cited as potentially the earliest recorded example of space weather affecting human technology but the team’s research published in the American Geophysical Union journal Space Weather contradicts this assumption.