Neanderthals built mystery underground circles 175,000 years ago

Archæological evidence now suggests Neanderthals were capable of symbolic thought, had a basic knowledge of chemistry, medicine and cooking, and perhaps some capacity for speech. They may even have taught modern humans new artisanal skills when the two species met and interbred.

A reassessment of evidence from Bruniquel cave, near Toulouse in south-west France, suggests even more Neanderthal sophistication. In one chamber, 336 metres from the cave entrance, are enigmatic structures – including a ring 7 metres across – built from stalagmites snapped from the cave floor.

Monkey seen caring for dying mate then grieving after she dies

The alpha male of a group of snub-nosed monkeys and his dying partner spent a final, tender hour together beneath the tree from which she had fallen minutes earlier, cracking her head on a rock. Before she succumbed, he gently touched and groomed her. And after she was dead he remained by her side for 5 minutes, touching her and pulling gently at her hand, as if to try and revive her.

Trees observed resting branches while ‘asleep’

For the first time, trees have been shown to undergo physical changes at night that can be likened to sleep, or at least to day-night cycles that have been observed experimentally in smaller plants.  Branches of birch trees have now been seen drooping by as much as 10 centimetres at the tips towards the end of the night.

Fossils push back date of large multi-celled life by 1 billion years

Seaweed-like fossils found in rocks in China dated to around 1.56 billion years ago are the earliest known examples of larger organisms made up of many cells.

World's oldest fossil micrometeorites hint of oxygen in early Earth's atmosphere

The oldest fossils of cosmic dust ever discovered provide a glimpse into atmospheric conditions above the Earth more than 2.7 billion years ago and could do the same on other planets.

Do newborn babies imitate adults?

Newborn babies do not imitate us.  It is a skill they have to learn — likely by us imitating them, rather than the other way around.

World's oldest known ground-edge stone axe fragments found in Western Australia

A fragment of the world's oldest known ground-edge axe has been found in the remote Kimberley region of northern Australia. The discovery pushes back the technological advance to between 45,000 to 49,000 years ago, and coincides with the arrival of people in Australia. The fragment is 10,000 years older than the previous oldest known fragments found in northern Australia in 2010.

Ancient bubbles in Pilbara rock show Earth had thin atmosphere 2.7b years ago

Air bubbles trapped in 2.7 billion-year-old lava flows in the Pilbara suggest the Earth's atmosphere weighed less than half that of today and was far thinner than previously thought. The discovery has forced a rethink of how the Earth managed to stay relatively ice-free during that period, despite the Sun being much cooler than it is today.

Evidence that early humans in North Africa were eaten by other animals

A large carnivore — most likely a hyena — ate an ancient human 500,000 years ago, according to the discovery of teeth marks on a thighbone found in a Moroccan cave. The fossilised femur provides the first definitive evidence that carnivores ate early humans in North Africa during the Middle Pleistocene era.

Three planets discovered orbiting nearby cool small star TRAPPIST-1

Astronomers have discovered three planets orbiting the habitable zone of an ultra-cool dwarf star just 40 light-years from Earth. The discovery is the first evidence supporting the hypothesis that these very low-mass and low-temperature stars should have Earth-sized or smaller planets orbiting them.