The history of human evolution has been rewritten after scientists discovered that Europe was the birthplace of mankind, not Africa. Currently, most experts believe that our human lineage split from apes around seven million years ago in central Africa, where hominids remained for the next five million years before venturing further afield. But two fossils of an ape-like creature which had human-like teeth have been found in Bulgaria and Greece, dating to 7.2 million years ago.

HIV has no cure. It’s not quite the implacable scourge it was throughout the 1980s and 1990s, thanks to education, prophylactics, and drugs like PrEP. But still, no cure.The same ability, though, could be HIV’s undoing. All because of CRISPR. You know, CRIPSR: the gene-editing technique that got everyone really excited, then really sceptical, and now cautiously optimistic about curing a bunch of intractable diseases.

The story of a decades-long lead-poisoning lawsuit in New Orleans illustrates how the toxin destroys black families and communities alike. By Vann R. Newkirk II.

Put cameras and data loggers on 100 motorcycles, follow the riders for 366,667 miles, and here's what you learn about crashing.

Researchers have proposed a method for detecting exotic events in physics by looking for the scars they leave behind on the fabric of space.

Every year, Facebook gathers hundreds of developers, corporate allies, and members of the press to hear CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of our shared near future. The gathering is known as “F8,” and this year’s iteration included some radical plans, one of which could’ve been pulled from a William Gibson novel… By Sam Biddle.

The scientist couldn't have foreseen the crisis his research would touch off.

In “Phenomena,” Annie Jacobsen explores the government’s research into things that go bump in the night. By Dick Teresi.

Using human consciousness as the trigger in a test of ‘spooky action at a distance’ could tell us whether mind is made of different stuff than matter

Far from being the special result of insular evolution, Komodo dragons are the last survivors of a group of huge lizards that ranged over much of Australasia. By Hanneke Meijer.

Paleontologists calculated the bite force of the fearsome prehistoric predators and provided more evidence that they were opportunistic scavengers. By Nicholas St. Fleur.

Clair Patterson determined the age of the Earth—and then he saved it. By Lucas Reilly.

Under current rules, doctors with the Department of Veterans Affairs cannot even discuss marijuana as an option with patients. By Bryan Bender.

Families that reported smoking cigarettes indoors had an average particle level almost double that of non-indoor-smoking families. These particles included nicotine and combustion byproducts, both linked to health issues. Surprisingly enough, marijuana smoking contributed to in-home air pollution about as much as tobacco smoking. Burning candles or incense, frying food in oil, and spraying cleaning products also led to an increase in the number of fine particles.

In 1848, a railroad worker survived an accident that drove a 13-pound iron bar through his head. The injury changed his personality, and our understanding of the brain.

Signals from violent earthquakes are helping reveal the landscape of the planet’s insides. By Paula Koelemeijer.

We now know diesel vehicles pollute more than they should to deadly effect everywhere, but the real scandal is government foot-dragging, says Olive Heffernan

Art historian’s book sheds new light on the Mona Lisa

'Pirate' sites Sci-Hub and LibGen face millions of dollars in damages in a lawsuit filed by Elsevier, one of the largest academic publishers. Elsevier has requested a default judgment of $15 million against the defendants for their "truly egregious conduct" and "staggering" infringement.

Researchers may have an overconfident view of their profession's objectivity

Weatherwatch Ships belch out most of their sulphurous toxins far from land, but they could still be responsible for 60,000 deaths each year

A gene study has shown that incomers could have ousted Stone Age Britons

Despite the lofty reputation of old violins by Italian masters such as Antonio Stradivari, blindfolded listeners in concert halls in New York and Paris say they preferred the sound of newer instruments.

The case of Colombian scientist Diego Gomez — on trial for copyright violation for sharing a research paper — is likely to reach a head later this month.

SCIENTISTS believe they may have discovered evidence of a parallel universe that crashed into our own in a galactic impact mirroring a car crash. Since 2004, when it was first spotted by NASA, scientists have been baffled by the discovery an unusually cold region of space which is 1.8 billion light years across and colder than its surroundings. It was thought the region might have been a trick of light or it was colder because it had 10,000 less galaxies than other areas of the same size.

Japan's fertility problem hit a new low last year: 2016 was the first year since 1899 that fewer than one million babies were born in the country. New data suggests the trend isn't poised to let up anytime soon. Japan's National Institute of Population and Social Security Research predicts that the country's current population of 127 million will decline by nearly 40 million by 2065. Demographic experts point to younger generations' waning interest (and ability) to start families, along with low immigration rates, as the primary causes of the decline.

A Tang Shipwreck & Early Trade In Asia. By Kristin Nord.

A chat with Paul Hawken about his ambitious new effort to “map, measure, and model” global warming solutions. By David Roberts.

The team is making its case after drilling into the asteroid crater that coincides with the animals' disappearance.

Engineers have developed a new way to get toxic micropollutants, including pesticides and pharmaceuticals, out of water.

How different Earth's history might have been if the space rock had struck a different location.

People who are obese run an increased risk of heart failure and stroke even if they appear healthy, without the obvious warning signs such as high blood pressure or diabetes, according to a major new study. The findings, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Porto, Portugal, may be the final death knell for the claim that it is possible to be obese but still metabolically healthy – or “fat but fit” – say scientists.

Part One: Miles of Ice Collapsing Into the Sea. Part Two: Looming Floods, Threatened Cities. Part Three: Racing to Find Answers in the Ice. By Justin Gillis. (May 18, 2017)

This brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "food poisoning." Original list found in Dr. Jayson Calton and certified nutritionist Mira Calton's new book, Rich Food, Poor Food. An old article but still relevant.

A quantum time mirror puts wave packets back together. By Chris Lee.