Meet The New Oldest Homo Sapiens — Our Species Evolved Much Earlier Than Thought

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

One of the earliest known members of Homo sapiens was this guy. The composite image, based on micro-CT scans of fossils from a site in Morocco, shows that the modern human face had already evolved by 300,000 years ago, smashing conventional thinking about our evolutionary timeframe. (Credit PhilippGunz, MPI EVA Leipzig) For decades, based on both the fossil record and, more recently, paleogenomic modeling, researchers have generally put the start date for Homo sapiens around 200,000 years ...read more

The 4 Big Discoveries Underpinning Our Knowledge of the Universe

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope assembled a comprehensive view of the evolving universe. (Credit: NASA/ESA) For many, science is nothing more than that class you were required to take in school. However, whether you realize it or not, science is all around us, and it impacts every aspect of our lives. And, the stories behind key scientific discoveries, though not commonly known, are truly inspiring. So, if you want a quick refresher on how the universe works, focus on these four f ...read more

Just Say No To Feathered Tyrannosaurs

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Feathered tyrannosaurs? No, thank you. These dinosaurs didn’t need no stinkin’ feathers, and a new study backs me up on that. (Credit David Monniaux/Wikimedia Commons) It’s a good day here at Dead Things: A new study provides a nice big nail in the coffin of the notion that T. rex and its kin ran around all kitted out in feathers. Lovers of old-school, scaly dinosaur renderings, rejoice! Maybe I’m showing my age, but when I was learning about dinosaurs they were ta ...read more

These Pine Trees Always Point Toward the Equator, But Why?

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Cook Pines line a walkway in Sri Lanka (Credit: eFesenko/Shutterstock) In a world of upright trees, one species dares to be different. Cook pines, a type of tall, slim evergreen native to a remote island in the South Pacific, at first glance appear to be falling over. Many tilt precariously to the side as if caught in a heavy wind, though no breeze ruffles their foliage. Though it may seem the result of chance, observe a stand of Cook pines, especially in locations far from their native habita ...read more