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The story of how humans evolved is a long and winding one—and grows more complex with each passing year.
Discoveries in the past two decades have added new branches to the human family tree, including species such as Homo floresiensis and Strongly built homo naledi.
A pinky bone recovered from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia in 2010 also led to the idea of a distinct ancient population called Denisovans, which some people share with them today.
Now, researchers are trying to solve the puzzle presented by a group of human-like fossils that have defied explanation for decades.
We are a family
Digitally reconstructed crania depict fossilized remains found at Xujiayao (left) and Xuchang. The large, low, and broad shape distinguishes it from the skulls of other known hominin species. – Courtesy Xiujie Wu
Skull fragments, teeth and jaws found at various sites in China have led some researchers to believe they have found the remains of a previously unknown ancient human relative.
Scientists suggest that the human ancestor, who had Very big brain Larger than modern humans, they are called homo juluensis.
The newly identified species designation appears controversial to some experts.
But researchers Christopher Pai, a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and his colleague Wu Xiujie, a senior professor at the Beijing Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleontology, believe the species may also include the elusive Denisovan — although the switched-species trace back to the people residing have not been found. The cave.
Across the universe
Astronomers have been trying to determine what causes mysterious fast radio bursts from space since their discovery in 2007. The bursts release more energy per millisecond than the Sun does in a day.
Now, the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Radio Telescope has helped researchers identify the sources of two recently described bursts.
Scientists traced one of them to the magnetically active turbulent region around A A rapidly spinning star is called a magnetar. The other is a pulsar from the outskirts of a distant, ancient galaxy that no longer produces stars, according to a new study.
The vastly different points of origin have led astronomers to believe that flashes can occur in diverse environments. Revelation can help unlock what causes this phenomenon.
Wild Kingdom
Native to Australia, Brush-Taileds are small kangaroo-like terriers. – WWF-AUS/Think Mammoth
The Brush-Tailed Bettong could be mistaken for a miniature kangaroo based on its appearance and the pouch it carries its young.
But Little Mars has a not-so-warm and fuzzy side: he will Get rid of the baby, called Joeyin the pouch and bounce when threatened by predators. The brutal strategy is necessary to survive in a species that has seen its population decline by 90% – and even disappear for a period from the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia.
Conservation efforts return the Bettong tael to its native land, where it plays a major ecological role. While the marsupials dig for their primary diet of underground fungi, they humiliate the soil and encourage the growth of plants that other animals depend on.
Search for
A ring doorbell camera captured the moment meteors slammed into the front driveway of a home on Canada’s Prince Edward Island – where local professor Joe Villadom had been standing just moments before.
Scientists have now confirmed that the sample, called Charlottetown just a stone’s throw from nearby D.C., is actually a space rock that fell to Earth in July.
Although videos have documented meteor strikes before, this is the first time Seen at this close range, with sound.
The Space Rock likely spent millions of years around our solar system before ending up in its new home: the University of Alberta’s Meteorite Collection.
Other worlds
Thousands of hills cover the Martian lowlands, and they may hold the key to understanding the Red Planet’s past.
The towering features are similar to the Buttes and Mesas of Monument Valley along the Arizona-Utah border. Ancient water flows that existed 4 billion to 3.8 billion years ago likely eroded and sculpted the formations, according to a new analysis of orbital images.
the The hills include layers of minerals This could reveal the history of water on Mars, and may be investigated by ESA’s Exomars Rosalind Franklin Rover, expected to launch in 2028.
The formations also provided insight into one of the biggest mysteries on Mars — why the planet has a marked boundary between the soaring highlands of the Southern Hemisphere and the shallow plains of the Northern Hemisphere.
Curiosity
Expand your knowledge with these interesting reads:
Molten metals in the Earth’s core generate a constantly moving magnetic field, which means that the magnetic north pole is not fixed. It’s closer to Siberia now than it was five years ago — and still going Drifting towards Russia.
– Camera traps have helped scientists discover rare species, including the sun bear and the first recorded sighting in Cambodia of an endangered deer species called Big sparkling muntjacin an almost unexplored part of the Southeast Asian nation.
– Archaeologists in Denmark have discovered hundreds of discs bearing signs of carvings from the sun. Researchers believe Stone Age farmers buried “sun stones” A response to a devastating volcanic eruption nearly 5,000 years ago.
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