Species was direct ancestor of early humans in Africa and discovery has led to reassessment of epochResearchers have announced the naming of a newly discovered species of human ancestor, Homo bodoensis.The species lived in Africa about 500,000 years ago, during the Middle Pleistocene age, and was the direct ancestor of modern humans, according to scientists. The name bodoensis derives from a skull...

Simon Clarke explained his absence from pre-budget photo op was due to condition that affects thousands in UKA minister has been praised for “leading by example” after he spoke openly about his experience of agoraphobia, a condition that leads to thousands of hospital admissions every year.Simon Clarke, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said on Wednesday he would not take part in the...

Physicist hailed as the father of Pakistan’s atomic weapons industry who confessed to smuggling nuclear secretsThe father of Pakistan’s atomic weapons industry and the greatest proliferator of nuclear weapons in history, Abdul Qadeer Khan, who has died aged 85 after testing positive for Covid-19, was heralded as a hero in his native country, but he left a troubling legacy for the west. Along...

Tuberculosis campaigners tell G20 leaders $1bn is needed annually for vaccine research to reverse decades of underfundingA group of tuberculosis survivors are calling for more funding and action to find new vaccines, after the numbers dying of the infection rose for the first time in 10 years.In 2020, 1.5 million were killed by TB and 10 million infected, according to the World Health...

The clocks go back in the UK this Sunday and many will welcome the extra hour in bed. But research suggests that changing the time like this could be bad for the body. Anand Jagatia speaks to the Guardian’s science correspondent Linda Geddes and chronobiologist Prof Till Roenneberg about how daylight saving time affects our biology – and whether we should get rid of it permanently Continue...

Finds at Richborough include skeleton of cat nicknamed Maxipus and potential evidence of figurative arena panelsA big night out for the people of the Roman settlement at Richborough on the Kent coast about 2,000 years ago might have involved gladiatorial contests, wild beast hunting or the occasional execution of a criminal.Taking place in a vast amphitheatre, seating up to 5,000 people, on the...

Study is the first time DNA from a long-dead person was used to demonstrate a familial link between a living individual and a historical figureA sample of Sitting Bull’s hair has helped scientists confirm that a South Dakota man is the famed 19th-century Native American leader’s great-grandson using a new method to analyse family lineages with DNA fragments from long-dead people.Researchers...