Humans Evolving at Warp Speed

(NEWSER) - Genetically modified mosquitoes that cannot pass on malaria may help reduce the spread of the disease that now causes a million deaths a year, mostly children. A new study shows that the lab-designed bugs could out-breed their natural competition, eventually driving them out altogether and eliminating the route through which humans are infected. More»

Archeologist say they've found earliest evidence of human fire use

(NEWSER) - Scientists believe they've uncovered the earliest known evidence of human fire usage. Charred bones and plant ash sediment found in Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa suggest that Homo erectus was playing with fire a whopping 1 million years ago, more than twice as far back as previous evidence had indicated, according to a study published yesterday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Indeed, these early humans may even have been cooking. More»

They clearly belong to primitive foot of a walking creature

(NEWSER) - Lucy was not alone. Scientists have unearthed fossilized bones that they believe must have belonged to the foot of another pre-human species that walked upright around 3 million years ago, the AP reports. It's the first evidence of such a species during that era since the one made famous by the Lucy skeleton . This foot clearly comes from a different species, but like Lucy its foot was designed to both walk and grab tree branches, with an opposable toe. More»

Dozens of countries poised to eliminate disease

(NEWSER) - Countries across the globe are making giant strides against malaria, the World Health Organization says: The number of deaths from the disease has dropped more than 20% over the last 10 years, and a third of the 108 countries where the illness is endemic could be rid of it in the next decade, the BBC reports. Some 15 million more deaths could be avoided by 2015 if health targets keep being achieved, experts say. More»

Study links language differences to migration route of early humans

(NEWSER) - The thousands of languages spoken in the world today can be traced back to a "mother tongue of mother tongues" that arose in Africa around 50,000 years ago, a new study suggests. The lead researcher, evolutionary psychologist Quentin Atkinson, borrowed a few ideas from genetic researchers, the Wall Street Journal notes. He found that, much like genetic diversity, the number of distinct sounds in a language decreases the further away from Africa populations had to travel in the early days of humanity. More»