66 million years ago, a great big rock hit the Earth and killed off all the dinosaurs (except birds). Turns out the killer chunk originally formed in the outer solar system, beyond the orbit of Jupiter. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02647-4 #science #scientist

Geologists have spent decades figuring out when plate tectonics began - and got wildly contradictory results. As one said: “You can have 30 people with 30 different specialisms and we will probably come up with 30 different numbers." https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02602-3 #science […]

Scientists had long suspected that the Chicxulub impactor, which caused the end-Cretaceous extinction, was an asteroid from the outer Solar System. New geochemical observations bolster the case. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02647-4 #science #scientist

In early October 1993, local researchers were exploring Lamalunga cave in Italy when they stumbled upon a hominin skeleton. It’s 31 years later and the skeleton is still there, still entombed. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2443397-why-the-amazing-altamura-man-fossil-remains-a-mystery/ […]

So many studies try to pin down the date when plate tectonics began on Earth. But in fact it probably started in a stepwise way, so there is no single date. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02602-3 #science #scientist

You know the object that smashed into Earth and kick-started the extinction that wiped out almost all dinosaurs 66 million years ago? It was an asteroid that originally formed beyond the orbit of Jupiter. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02647-4 #science #scientist

Researchers have spent decades hunting for clues about the origins of plate tectonics, the process that moves the continents around. Now a new kind of answer is coming into focus. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02602-3 #science #scientist

A tiny chunk of plant resin shows humans were living on an island in eastern Indonesia at least 55,000 years ago – revealing the likely route that modern humans took when migrating to Australia […]

We know that modern humans took one of two routes to first reach Australia. Now an ancient chunk of plant resin has tipped the evidence towards the northern option. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2443538-ancient-plant-artefact-reveals-humanitys-epic-journey-to-australia/ #science #scientist

This tiny 700,000-year-old arm bone from the island of Flores in Indonesia may have belonged to an ancestor of the "hobbits", Homo floresiensis, that lived on the island more recently […]

Hominins living on an Indonesian island 700,000 years ago were even smaller than Homo floresiensis, the so-called hobbits that lived on the same island much more recently. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2442686-hobbit-hominins-from-indonesia-may-have-had-even-smaller-ancestors/

An arm bone from an ancient human that lived 700,000 years ago on the island of Flores is the smallest ever found from an adult hominin. The bone adds a new piece to the puzzle of the "hobbits" Homo floresiensis […]

For the New Scientist exercise special, I asked: Is it possible to do too much exercise, to the point that it shortens your life expectancy? https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26335011-600-what-is-the-optimal-amount-of-exercise-and-how-much-is-too-much/ #science #scientist

Here's the annual report of the @IFRC Capacity Building Fund, which supports Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies to increase the scale, quality and sustainability of their humanitarian services. https://www.ifrc.org/document/capacity-building-fund-report-2023 #science #scientist

Meet the National Society Investment Alliance Part of the Red Cross, they fund RC National Societies operating in "fragile contexts" like warzones This is their annual report, which I've helped write for the second year in a row https://www.ifrc.org/document/nsia-annual-report-2023 #science […]

The extreme exercise hypothesis suggests that too much vigorous, high-intensity exercise might actually be bad for you, shortening your life expectancy But like so much sports science, the evidence is weak […]

I helped write the annual report for the National Society Investment Alliance, part of the Red Cross. It's about how NSIA helps RC National Societies operating in extreme situations (think: Ukraine, Syria) to improve how they work. https://www.ifrc.org/document/nsia-annual-report-2023 […]

Sahelanthropus is the oldest known hominin and the oldest known to walk on two legs. OR IS IT? @NewScientist https://www.newscientist.com/article/2438905-when-did-human-ancestors-start-walking-on-two-legs/ #science #scientist

Ancient humans known as Denisovans hunted a wide range of animals on the Tibetan plateau, including blue sheep, yaks and snow leopards https://www.newscientist.com/article/2437993-ancient-denisovans-hunted-snow-leopards-on-the-tibetan-plateau/ #science #scientist

Sign up for Our Human Story, my monthly newsletter on human evolution for New Scientist Do it quick so you get next Tuesday's instalment, which is a sequel to the first OHS from November 2020: it's basically the Blade Runner 2049 of email newsletters […]

New for New Scientist: A Neanderthal child with Down’s syndrome survived until at least the age of 6 The find adds to the evidence that Neanderthals routinely showed compassion for other members of their society […]

Editorial in this week's New Scientist: We need to protect children from the dangers of the online world, but how? Bans and restrictions would be counter-productive Instead, let's imagine what a smartphone utopia would look like […]

Editorial in this week's New Scientist: Taking digital media away from children would be a misstep comparable to abstinence-only sex education Instead, we need to give children access, even from a young age, but in a controlled and considered manner […]

Children and adolescents now spend a lot of time on screens, and supposedly it's terrible for their mental health For New Scientist, I dug into the evidence and found a much more nuanced picture […]

Oh gods, the first episode of season two of #houseofthedragon repeats the *exact* mistake the finale of season one made It’s not dramatic to horrifically kill off a character if we don’t know their name or anything about them It has shock value but it's ultimately empty #science #scientist

Editorial in this week's New Scientist: Creating "walled gardens", much like TV channels do, would provide children better tools to navigate a lifetime of social media than banning smartphones altogether […]

There are many scary claims about excess time on digital devices for children and teenagers In this story for New Scientist, I tried to find out what the real risks are, and what to do about them […]

We have underestimated just how widespread rock art is I’m not trying to downplay the incredible cave art found in European caves like Lascaux and Chauvet But I want to emphasise that rock art is a truly global phenomenon […]

The study of rock art, especially cave paintings, used to be strongly focused on Europe But in reality, rock art is a truly global phenomenon, with discoveries of cave paintings and etchings on every continent that ancient humans inhabited […]