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Chinese researchers have unveiled an ancient skull that could belong to a completely new species of human. The team has claimed it is our closest evolutionary relative among known species of ancient human, such as Neanderthals and Homo erectus.

high resolution deep zoom This took ~4 weeks to calculate the log(z) plane (or 'side scrolling' plane) and about 1 hour to assemble the video. 1920 points were calculuated per circle 164353 circles were calculated the coloring is my standard histogram equalization in the side scrolling plane before

Can a generation be forgetful? It's certainly true that older generations can fail to remember what it was to be young. With age, there comes a predictable derision of youth that seems to afflict almost every demographic cohort over the age of 35 years or so.

Researchers working in Israel have identified a previously unknown type of ancient human that lived alongside our species more than 100,000 years ago. They believe the remains uncovered near the city of Ramla represent one of the "last survivors" of a very ancient human group.

Astronomers have worked out when the first stars began shining. They say that this period, known as the "cosmic dawn," occurred between 250 to 350 million years after the Big Bang.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that Europe is "on thin ice" as the Delta variant of Covid spreads on the continent. Her warning came as EU health officials said the variant would account for 90% of the bloc's cases by late August.

The attack took place during a disciplinary hearing against the 36-year-old priest on Wednesday afternoon, according to police. Three bishops are being treated in hospital for the burns, mostly on their faces.

At around midday on 11 May, Dario Kopenawa, an indigenous leader, received a desperate phone call from a remote village in the Brazilian Amazon. Palimiú has a population of about 1,000, who live in large communal houses on the banks of a river called Uraricoera.

A highly anticipated US government report on UFOs (unidentified flying objects) has just been released. Here's what we know so far. The unclassified report was demanded by Congress after numerous reports from the US military of vehicles seen moving erratically in the sky.

As we head towards the end of another extraordinary year, BBC Future is taking a look back at some of our favourite stories for our "Best of 2021" collection. Discover more of our picks here.

While some Pentecostal preachers in eastern Nigeria set fire to statues and other ancient artefacts that they regard as symbols of idolatry, one Catholic priest is collecting them instead.

Scientists have found evidence parts of Venus's surface move around like pieces of continent on Earth. And while this activity is probably not driven by plate tectonics, as on Earth, it could be a "cousin" of that process.

For a few weeks in the summer of 2020, if you had been looking up on a clear night, there is a chance you might have spotted a rare visitor to our part of the Solar System.

In 2016 North Korean hackers planned a $1bn raid on Bangladesh's national bank and came within an inch of success - it was only by a fluke that all but $81m of the transfers were halted, report Geoff White and Jean H Lee.

The body of a Belgian soldier with far-right views who went missing in May after taking weapons from a military base has been found, officials say. The body of Jurgen Conings, a shooting instructor, was discovered by walkers in a wooded area near the Dutch border.

Western forces are racing to leave Afghanistan this month. France has signalled a significant scaling back of its military commitment in Mali. In Iraq, British and other Western forces no longer have any major combat role.

“I have water air conditioning too, but I prefer sitting under my natural air conditioning. Reminds me of old times,” Mr Saberi said, gesturing to the badgir (wind catcher) that we were sitting under. “More chai?”

As one of the most famous faces of the 2000s, people think they know the story of Paris Hilton. So, when the 40-year-old released a YouTube documentary about her life last year, many were shocked to learn about her decades-long struggle with trauma.

My New York commute takes less than 25 minutes, but skirts the broad outlines of almost 250 years of American history. On the port side, I can peer across to the Statue of Liberty, that beacon of hope for millions of new immigrants.

image sourceGeneral FusionA company backed by Amazon's Jeff Bezos is set to build a large-scale nuclear fusion demonstration plant in Oxfordshire. Canada's General Fusion is one of the leading private firms aiming to turn the promise of fusion into a commercially viable energy source.

Girls will be accepted for the first time at a church music school attached to one of Germany's most famous boys' choirs - the Regensburger Domspatzen. The Bavarian city of Regensburg has had a boys' choir at its Roman Catholic cathedral since 975. "Domspatzen" means "cathedral sparrows".

The stone - weighing 1,098 carats - was shown to President Mokgweetsi Masisi, two weeks after the diamond firm, Debswana, unearthed it. The huge gem is only slightly less heavy than the world's second-largest diamond which was also found in Botswana in 2015.

Australian entrepreneur Irene Falcone's enthusiasm is as bright as the labels on the non-alcoholic wine and beer that fill the shelves in her ground-breaking store - Sans Drinks - on Sydney's affluent Northern Beaches. The ground is - without question - shifting.

Alberto Sánchez Gómez, 28, was arrested in 2019 after police found body parts around his mother's home - some in plastic containers. The court rejected Sánchez's arguments that he was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time of the killing.