Latest news with #Homoerectus
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Osteoarchaeologist Uncovers Shocking Link Between Brain Condition and Neanderthals
Modern humans may owe more to Neanderthals than just a few genetic quirks, and in at least one case, that inheritance might come with serious health risks. A new study suggests that Chiari malformation type I, a brain abnormality that affects up to 1 in 100 people, may be tied to DNA inherited from Neanderthals. The condition happens when the lower part of the brain extends into the spinal canal, often causing severe headaches, neck pain, and other complications. Researchers had long suspected that interbreeding between Homo sapiens and ancient hominin species could play a role in the shape mismatch between the brain and skull that leads to this defect. But this new research points a finger squarely at Neanderthals, not other early human relatives like Homo erectus or Homo heidelbergensis. Led by osteoarchaeologist Kimberly Plomp at the University of the Philippines, Science Alert reports the team used 3D modeling and skull shape analysis on more than 100 modern human skulls, comparing those with Chiari malformation to those without. They also examined eight fossil skulls from ancient species, including Neanderthals. Their finding? Only the skulls of Neanderthals showed a similarity to the bone structure of modern people with Chiari malformations, especially in the area where the brain meets the spine. This challenges an earlier theory from 2013 that broadly connected the defect to multiple ancient human species. Instead, researchers now propose what they're calling the Neanderthal Introgression Hypothesis, suggesting the condition may trace specifically back to Neanderthal ancestry. The next step is expanding the study to include more skull samples and testing across different populations. Since African groups have far less Neanderthal DNA than European or Asian groups, future research could reveal patterns in how widespread the condition is based on genetic inheritance. Ultimately, understanding this ancient connection could offer new insight into diagnosing and possibly preventing Chiari malformations. The researchers believe their methods could help unravel the causes of the condition and lead to better treatment Uncovers Shocking Link Between Brain Condition and Neanderthals first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 16, 2025
Newsweek
08-07-2025
- Science
- Newsweek
Newly Released Images Show 3 Early Human Species
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The BBC has released new images showcasing early human species as part of its upcoming science series, Human. Why It Matters This release is significant for both scientists and the public, providing historically accurate reconstructions that bring to life key moments in our ancestry. What To Know The series, presented by paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi, will explore the story of human evolution over the past 300,000 years. The series explores how human beings went from being one of many life forms to being the dominant life form on the planet. Al-Shamahi has been able to tell the story thanks to breakthroughs in DNA technology and fossil evidence. The reconstructions offer both educational value and a window into the evolutionary journey that shaped modern humans' origins and survival strategies. The 3D models revealed depict Homo floresiensis, Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthals), and the earliest known Homo sapiens. New images show scientific reconstructions of, on the left, Homo erectus, and, on the right, Homo floresiensis. New images show scientific reconstructions of, on the left, Homo erectus, and, on the right, Homo floresiensis. BBC Studios Early Human Species Brought to Life: Homo erectus lived between 1.89 million and 110,000 years ago, was the first to walk with a modern gait, and likely used fire. Originally native to Africa, they later migrated into Asia and possibly Europe. lived between 1.89 million and 110,000 years ago, was the first to walk with a modern gait, and likely used fire. Originally native to Africa, they later migrated into Asia and possibly Europe. Homo floresiensis , dubbed "the Hobbit" for its small stature, existed from around 700,000 to 50,000 years ago. Their remains have been found only on the Indonesian island of Flores. , dubbed "the Hobbit" for its small stature, existed from around 700,000 to 50,000 years ago. Their remains have been found only on the Indonesian island of Flores. Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthals) emerged about 430,000 years ago and survived until roughly 40,000 years ago. They adapted to cold Eurasian environments and interbred with Homo sapiens. (Neanderthals) emerged about 430,000 years ago and survived until roughly 40,000 years ago. They adapted to cold Eurasian environments and interbred with Homo sapiens. Earliest Homo sapiens fossils originate from Jebel Irhoud in Morocco, dating to about 300,000 years ago, showing features that bridge earlier hominins and modern humans. On the left, an image of an early Homo sapien, while on the right, an image shows a Neanderthal. On the left, an image of an early Homo sapien, while on the right, an image shows a Neanderthal. BBC Studios The models were crafted using photogrammetry, fossil data, and the latest advances in archaeological science to depict what these species may have looked like tens of thousands of years ago. The series will feature five episodes: The First of Us, Into the Unknown, Last Humans Standing, Discovering the Americas and A Great Gamble. What People Are Saying Paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi told the BBC: "For millennia we have been the most dominant form of life on this planet, so it is easy to think that we were always destined for greatness. But a revolution in ancient DNA technology and the latest fossil finds from dig sites across the world are forcing us to accept that our species' story is far more extraordinary than we could ever imagine." What's Next The series will debut on July 14.
Time of India
01-07-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Dragon Man, scientists find ancient Chinese ethnicity dating back a myriad years
A recent science roundup has drawn attention to new interpretations of the 'Dragon Man' fossil, a remarkably preserved ancient human skull discovered in northeastern China in the 1930s. Previously proposed as a new species named Homo longi , recent research now links it more closely to the Denisovans—a little-understood hominin group known mostly from DNA and fragmentary fossils. This shift is based on both morphological comparisons and genetic evidence, which show that Dragon Man shares key features with known Denisovan remains. Estimated to be over 140,000 years old, the Dragon Man skull could be the most complete Denisovan specimen ever found. Its discovery challenges prior assumptions about the geographic range and diversity of the Denisovans , who are believed to have interbred with early modern humans in Asia. The skull's size, thick brow ridges, and robust jaw align with what little is known about Denisovan anatomy from bone fragments found in Siberia and Tibet. If confirmed, this fossil would help bridge major gaps in the human evolutionary timeline and shed light on the physical characteristics of a group previously known mostly through genetic studies. Live Events It also raises the possibility that other fossils previously assigned to Homo erectus or unidentified archaic humans in Asia may belong to the Denisovan lineage. Further study of the Dragon Man skull could help scientists better understand how Denisovans adapted to diverse climates, interacted with other hominins, and contributed to the genetic makeup of modern human populations in Asia and Oceania.
India.com
31-05-2025
- Science
- India.com
Scientists discover 140000-year-old lost city in..., its history will leave you in fear
Scientists discover 140000-year-old lost city in..., its history will leave you in fear Scientists around the world are constantly exploring the mysteries of the past, and a recent discovery near Indonesia's Java Island has revealed something fascinating. Over 6,000 fossils have been recovered from the ocean floor, including bones of the extinct human ancestor species, Homo erectus. This discovery suggests that there was an unknown population of Homo erectus living in Southeast Asia, possibly interacting with early modern humans. What makes this find even more unique is that it's the first time fossils have been unearthed from the sunken parts of the Indonesian archipelago. Around 140,000 years ago, sea levels were much lower, and islands like Java were connected to the Asian mainland through a region known as Sundaland. This region was rich with grasslands, rivers, and wildlife. Newly found fossils show that those rivers were home to fish, turtles, river sharks, and even hippos. On land, elephants, buffaloes, and a now-extinct elephant-like animal called stegodon roamed the area. Homo erectus likely lived and hunted in these fertile lands, particularly between Java and Madura islands, an area now submerged and known as the Madura Strait. Some of the fossils bear cut marks, indicating that early human relatives in this region hunted turtles and large animals. These marks provide the oldest known evidence of turtle hunting in Southeast Asia. Fossil clues also suggest that these early hominins hunted animals similar to modern cows. Interestingly, this type of hunting was more common among early modern humans living on the Asian mainland. This raises the possibility that Homo erectus may have learned these techniques from other human species they came into contact with. Who Were the Homo Erectus? Homo erectus holds a very important place in the story of human evolution. This ancient species appeared around 2 million years ago and was the first of our ancestors to have a body structure similar to modern humans. They were also the first human species to leave Africa and travel all the way to Southeast Asia. Along the way, other ancient human species like the Neanderthals and Denisovans also appeared in different parts of the world, including parts of Asia. However, scientists still don't know for sure how much interaction happened between these different species. According to research, Homo erectus lived on the Indonesian island of Java until about 117,000 to 108,000 years ago, after which they went extinct. Much later, around 77,000 years ago, our own species Homo sapiens arrived in Southeast Asia.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Farmers Dug Up a 300,000-Year-Old Skull. It's Unlike Any Human Ancestor We've Ever Seen.
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: The fragmented Maba 1 skull, which had previously been described as belonging to a Neanderthal, is not so Neanderthal after all. Researchers reassessed the skull and found resemblances to Homo erectus, Neanderthals, and Homo sapiens, but it didn't exactly fit into any of these species. It is most similar to other debatable hominin specimens. Maba 1 also suffered trauma before death, but the specific cause of the trauma remains unknown. In 1958, in a narrow trench of an eroded limestone cave near Maba Village in Shaoguan City, China, local farmers were digging up bat guano for fertilizer when they came across something unusual. Fossilized fragments of bone surfaced that looked somewhat human, and were later determined to be part of a skull (and several facial bones). But which of our ancestors this skull belonged to has remained a mystery. At a glance, Maba 1 seems like any other skull fragment—and that is the whole problem. Because no other parts of the skull were ever found, it was nearly impossible to positively identify the fragment as having come from a particular species of hominin. The only thing researchers knew for certain is that the bone dates back to the late Middle Pleistocene and is about 300,000 years old. While it had previously been determined to belong to a Neanderthal, a team of researchers who previously studied the skull have now reevaluated it and found contradictory features that aredifficult to ignore. '[Maba 1] is well-known for the Neanderthal-like face, while its neurocranium shows affinities with many hominin taxa, which makes the taxonomic status of Maba 1 controversial,' they wrote in a study recently published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology. Until now, the skull fragments had been observed externally, but much about their internal structures was still unknown. So, the skull was reconstructed using data from micro-CT scans, which can image the inside of a fossil without damaging the actual specimen. The scans made one thing very clear: the skull probably wasn't from a Neanderthal. Channels in the sinuses that veins once used to ferry blood through spongy diploid bone were connected to the parietal foramen towards the back of the skull by tubular structures—a very rare occurence in Homo neandertalensis. The inside of the skull's frontal lobe turned out to be morphologically closer to Homo erectus than Neanderthals or Homo sapiens (though Homo erectus had a smaller brain than its two counterparts), and the cranial capacity of Maba 1 was more like that of Neanderthals and modern humans. But while the researchers agreed that Maba 1 seemed closest to H. erectus, differences from the morphological standards of the species were too obvious to ignore. The frontal lobe was short in comparison, and the bregma—where the coronal (lengthwise) and sagittal (crosswise and perpendicular to the coronal) sutures meet—was thicker than that of H. erectus. Maba 1 also shows signs of trauma—a dark, semicircular lesion on the external right side of the frontal bone, which spans the area from the middle of the head to the bridge of the nose. Signs of healing suggest that the individual suffered this injury while still alive, though it is unclear whether the lesion healed completely and what exactly caused it. There were no signs of infection. While it could have been left behind by an impact such as a fall, it is also possible that such a lesion was the result of anemia, or even a tumor. Strangely enough, the researchers concluded that Maba 1 is more similar to other debatable hominin skulls, such as the LH18 specimen found in Tanzania, which is thought to be an early Homo sapiens skull. There are also resemblances to the Djebel Irhoud skulls from Morocco (first assumed to be Neanderthal remains but now thought to be from some of the earliest known Homo sapiens) and Zambia's Broken Hill skull (a Homo heidelbergensis specimen now at the Natural History Museum in London). 'The internal structures of Maba 1 show a combination of morphological features found in various species,' the researchers concluded. 'These findings further evidence the high morphological variability among Asian hominins in the late Middle Pleistocene. Maba 1 currently cannot be definitely classified in any known hominin taxon.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
