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When life got tough, the Denisovans got tougher. The enigmatic ancient humans hunted birds, rodents, even hyenas, helping them to thrive high on the Tibetan plateau for well over 100,000 years. · Those conclusions emerge from a study of thousands of mostly tiny animal bones that provide an insight into life at Baishiya Karst Cave in China1 — only the second archaeological site known to host Denisovans, after the Siberian cave that gave the…

The United Kingdom has developed its first rules to guide research using human embryo models. Scientists say they are pleased the country has clarified its position on the fast-moving field. · The voluntary code of practice, published today, prohibits researchers from implanting embryo models made from human stem cells into the uterus of a living person or other animal. But it does not set fixed time limits on how long models can be grown in…

Rishi Sunak left the D-Day celebrations early, got caught in the rain and came under fire for some Treasury forecasts of tax rises. The Labour Party droned on about “change” while endlessly repeating some imaginary numbers about “investing” in the NHS and creating “green jobs”. Meanwhile, the Lib Dems sailed through the past six weeks with fun days out at CenterParcs. · Over the course of the election campaign, the main parties have argued…

We can work on having deeper conversations, says the author of a book about connecting in disconnected times · Communication is homo sapiens’ superpower. A pretty ballsy assertion, right? Ballsy because it elevates us from our animal kin. Ballsier still because – well, let’s be frank – most of us are pretty rubbish at it. · The good news is that our face-to-face foibles could be fixable. We all have a silver-tongued Luke Skywalker within us.…

Two new species of hallucinogenic fungi have been identified and officially described, joining the ranks of around 140 known types of these psychoactive gilled mushroom. · Phylogenetic and morphological analysis by researchers at Stellenbosch University and citizen myologists confirmed the two mushrooms were novel species in the Psilocybe genus, and both P. ingeli and P. maluti were uncovered in southern Africa. This takes the continent's…

Coalition Government & Co-Governance · The new coalition government that was elected in 2023 promoted the deletion of co-governance from the statute books as part of the various parties’ campaign promises. · What we are now seeing is the exact opposite; in fact under the new Fast track Approvals Bill they are proposing to cement co-governance into the legislation and to give new legal rights to Iwi only, at the expense of democracy. · One of…

It's better to spot drunk drivers as soon as they get in their car, not once they've already been dangerously driving the roads for some time. A new facial tracking system was created with that fact in mind, and it utilizes a regular in-vehicle video camera. · Although there already are a number of experimental car-integrated setups for detecting intoxication in drivers, many utilize specialized equipment such as mini breathalyzers or even…

On June 29, 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi stood at the podium of the al-Nuri Mosque, in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. · He spoke to the world, declaring the establishment of the ‘Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’ (ISIS), and called for Muslims across the world to escalate a war against what he termed “the enemies of god”. · Just weeks before Al-Baghdadi made his declaration, the terror group had taken Mosul when a few hundred ISIS men chased…

The world’s coral reefs are facing unprecedented threats from climate change. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and International Coral Reef Initiative, coral reefs around the world are experiencing mass coral bleaching for the fourth time. · From February 2023 to April 2024, significant coral bleaching occurred in at least 53 countries. In 2022, bleaching affected 90 percent of coral reefs assessed at Australia’s…

New Zealand & Climate Change · We were told back in 2017, by Jacinda Ardern, that her government is the most open and transparent government we have ever had. · Ardern in her first formal speech to Parliament as Prime Minister pledged: “This government will foster a more open and democratic society. It will strengthen transparency around official information.” · Since that pledge was made by her we have gone down a path of race based…