An underwater forest 60 feet below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico may be harboring life-saving secrets. Researchers found that shipworms and other marine organisms living in tree trunks that grew nearly 60,000 years ago could be used to design new pharmaceuticals. The shipworms pulled from the depths were found to be ‘stuffed full … Read more
Human ancestors who lived over three million years ago had an ape-like brain structure but human-like brain growth that showed prolonged periods of care. The findings are based on analysis of eight fossil skulls of Australopithecus afarensis – the species to which the famous early human ancestor ‘Lucy’ belongs. A. afarensis inhabited East Africa more … Read more
After reaching a point of near extinction, Mexican gray wolf populations in the US have begun to rebound, growing 24 percent in 2019. According to new census information from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the number of Mexican gray wolves in the US rose to 163 in 2019, from 131 in 2018. The increase … Read more
Blameless fraud victims were handed back £41.3million by banks in the second half of last year, new figures reveal, as the percentage winning back some money doubled. But in a sign of the mounting risk to people’s finances losses to bank transfer and impersonation scams rose 29 per cent last year to £455.8million. The introduction of … Read more
MEMOIR MY PAST IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY by Zeba Talkhani (Sceptre £9.99, 200pp) Zeba Talkhani’s mother was preparing for one of her many extravagant dinner parties when her daughter heard a scream. ‘Mama’ had caught her hand in the blender. Blood spattered everywhere. She was taken to bed, where her body began to convulse. Zeba … Read more