The genome of a long-extinct ancient human is hiding within us

 

Image courtesy of S. Entressangle/E. Daynes/Science Photo Library

Joel Kontinen

The genome of a long-extinct ancient human is hi A reconstruction of Homo heidelbergensis, which may be a “ghost ancestor” detected in modern human DNA.

What are ghost ancestors in the human line? According to evolution, our ancestors interbred with at least two ancient human lineages in addition to Neanderthals and Denisovans, and now an improved method has given us a much better idea of which bits of our DNA came from them. In fact, it shows that nearly the entire genome of one of these “ghost ancestors” is preserved in small bits spread among all living humans.

But according to Genesis, Eve is the mother of all humans, so that this study is false.

In any person alive today, between 0.5 and 1 per cent of their DNA comes from this ghost ancestor, says Yulin Zhang at the University of California, Berkeley. But different people have different bits of DNA from them and, crucially, they are spread fairly evenly around the genome.

We all have bits of DNA from a long-lost “ghost ancestor” inside us – and by putting all the different bits together, we might be able to reconstruct their genome

Source:

Michael Le Page 2026 The genome of a long-extinct ancient human is hiding within us | New Scientist 30 July 

Mystery hominin left big footprints at ancient lake in Africa

 

Image courtesy of Kevin G. Hatala

Footprints left by eight ancient hominins 1.43 million years ago beside a Kenyan lake have puzzled researchers because they don’t look quite as expected for species known to have lived there at that time.

Altogether, 21 hominin footprints have been found at the Lake Turkana site, known to researchers as GaJi10, part of which was first discovered in 1978. They are not the footprints of homo erectus or Paranthropus boisei,  

 Source:

James Woodford 2026 Mystery hominin left big footprints at ancient lake in Africa | New Scientist 27 July 

 

 

Sabre-toothed cats could crunch through bone

 

Sabre-toothed cats were top predators during the Pleistocene epoch. Image courtesy of Mauricio Anton/Science Photo Library.

Joel Kontinen

In the ice age, the sabre-toothed cats were the top predators, they could bite through hard bones. They are the descendants of the predators that lived after  fall of Man  in Genesis 3, when animals could eat other animals.

An analysis of megafauna remains from Argentina reveals sabre-toothed cats could crunch through bones, reshaping views about their supposedly weak sabres.

The study focuses on the bones of several large South American herbivores uncovered from Salto de Piedra, which lies about 350 kilometres south of Buenos Aires. Prior work has uncovered the skeletons of an abundance of large animals from the site, including giant armadillos, giant land sloths, mastodons and sabre-toothed cats like Smilodon populator. The site is one of the only robustly dated Pleistocene localities in Argentina, allowing researchers to thoroughly track its animal populations over time.

Source:

Taylor Mitchell Brown 2026 Sabre-toothed cats could crunch through bone | New Scientist 22 July 

Having a young biological age could help with weight loss

 

Image courtesy of Shutterstock/Tatiana Bralnina. 

Joel Kontinen

 If one is of young biological age, it could help with weight loss apart from heart disease, cancer and dementia.

A new discovery suggests it may also aid with weight loss, possibly by making the more efficient at switching from using food for energy to using stored fat.

In February 2026, a review of existing research concluded that intermittent fasting – such as the 5:2 diet, where you eat as normal on five days a week and restrict calories on the other two – is probably no more effective for weight loss than doing nothing at all. But fasting can also involve eating no, or very little, food for a single, continuous stretch of time, which is sometimes done for religious reasons.

Source:

Emma Young 2026 Having a young biological age could help with weight loss | New Scientist 24 July

 

Dark energy doesn’t exist, claims controversial paper

 

Image courtesy of NASA/Hubble Heritage, STScI/AURA/R. Fesen, Dartmouth, J. Morse, Univ. of Colorado

Joel Kontinen

Dark energy  dues not exist, says a paper that some have claimed is controversial.  The paper says that the universe is not expanding so there is no need for dark energy,  

Dark energy may not actually exist. This is the conclusion of a controversial analysis that says not only have we got this wrong, but the universe’s expansion isn’t speeding up either, rebuffing a central pillar of modern cosmology. Though many researchers have yet to be convinced.

Since Edwin Hubble’s observations of pulsating stars in 1929, astronomers have known that the universe is expanding. For decades, that expansion was expected to happen at a roughly constant rate, but observations of a type of exploding star called a Type Ia supernova in the 1990s changed this.

Source:

Matt von Hippel 2026 Dark energy doesn't exist, claims controversial paper | New Scientist 23 July 

China is trying to regulate relationships with AI – can it work?

 

The film Ex Machina shows one way in which relationships with AI companions might go wrong. Image courtesy of BFA / Alamy Stock Photo.

Joel Kontinen

China  has begun to negotiate  relation with AI, But earnestly, something might go wrong with it.  Only when individuals speak with others can there be real understanding. We were not taught to communicate with AI but with  human individuals.  

China has begun regulating interactions with artificial intelligence in an attempt to protect its citizens from overreliance and exploitation. While many countries have been looking at rules around harmful content, China is the first to go a step further in legislating what kind of relationships with AI are permissible.

The new rules came into force this month and cover AI systems designed for sustained, human-like emotional interaction, while excluding customer-service bots and productivity assistants like straightforward AI chatbots.

Companies must now inform users they are talking to an AI, encourage them to take breaks and remind them of their usage. They must also monitor interactions to identify if someone is becoming dependent or having a crisis, then direct them to support or halt the conversation altogether.

 Source:

Chris Stokel-Walker 2026 China is trying to regulate relationships with AI – can it work? | New Scientist 22 July 

The animal that does not die

 

The animal that does not die?  Are we in the messianic age? More stories about Israel.