Before the ‘Out of Africa’ migration that led humans into Eurasia and beyond, new research shows that humans expanded their niche to include African forests and deserts. The authors argue that human populations learning to adapt to new and challenging habitats was key to the long-term success of this dispersal.

Archaeologists from the Australian Museum, the University of Sydney and the Australian National University in collaboration with First Nations community members have unearthed 693 stone artefacts dating from the last Ice Age to the recent past. Found in an ancient Blue Mountains cave known as Dargan Shelter, this new evidence provides definitive proof of repeated occupation in this once frozen, high-altitude landscape. The research, funded by the Australian Museum Foundation, is published in Nature Human Behaviour today.   

ETSU scientists uncovered Dynamognathus robertsoni, a massive fossil salamander that sheds new light on the evolution of Appalachian amphibians.

University of Missouri study challenges assumptions about biodiversity near Earth’s first reef systems.