Revealed: first DNA profiles of ancient people who roamed a lush Sahara

The genomes of two women who lived 7,000 years ago in the Sahara when it was a green savannah reveal a remarkably isolated population. These represent the first full Saharan genomes from the African Humid Period — a time between 14,500 and 5,000 years ago when an unusually wet interval transformed the desert into a grassy woodland. The genetic material was taken from the Takarkori rock shelter in southwestern Libya, where it was protected from the high temperatures and strong ultraviolet light that make ancient DNA so rare in the region.

Mathematicians Find Proof to 122-Year-Old Triangle-to-Square Puzzle

A long-standing shape mystery has finally been solved.

Brain implant translates thoughts to speech in an instant

A brain-reading implant has allowed a woman with paralysis to hear what she intends to say nearly instantly. Enhanced with AI algorithms, her brain–computer interface (BCI) can simultaneously decode words from neural signals and turn them into speech within 3 seconds. But there’s still room for improvement. Although the BCI works for short sentences, it still operates with “quite a big delay” compared with a natural conversation.