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CNN —An ancient skull dating back 300,000 years is unlike any other premodern human fossil ever found, potentially pointing to a new branch in the human family tree, according to new research. Scientists believe the late Middle Pleistocene, which started around 300,000 years ago, was a pivotal period for the evolution of hominins — species that are regarded as human or closely related — including modern humans. However, this discovery, along with other recent research, is slowly changing what people know of the evolutionary pattern in the late Middle Pleistocene. It is similarly shaped to the mandible of Homo sapiens, our modern human species that evolved from Homo erectus. “More fossils and studies are necessary to understand their precise position in the human family tree,” she said.

Persons: ”, María Martinón, Torres, “ Organizations: CNN, National Research Center, Martinón Locations: China, Spain, United Kingdom, Hualongdong, Asia

☆ An ancient skull unlike any human ever seen is baffling scientists and could rewrite the story of our evolution
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An ancient skull found in China is like nothing scientists have ever seen. If it is an undiscovered human ancestor, it could rewrite the story of human evolution. The skull has facial features that are similar to early modern humans, which scientists think began to branch away from Homo erectus between 750,000 to 550,000 years ago. Human history is messier than we thoughtThis isn't the first time human remains have shaken up the neat evolutionary path that is thought to have led to humans. Findings of archaic human remains in Israel and Greece over the past few years dating back about 200,000 years also suggested human ancestors may have left Africa a lot earlier than previously thought.

Persons: Xiujie Wu, Maayan Harel, sapiens, Will Oliver Organizations: Service, Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences Locations: China, Wall, Silicon, Hualongdong, East China, East, East Asia, Saharan Africa, Morocco, Israel, Greece, Africa, London, Britain

We met a big leaf magnolia, which produces the largest flowers of any deciduous tree in North America. Its blooms, as big as my head, smelled like a warm Southern evening. It is an ancient species, having evolved 95 million years ago, long before bees existed. Osage oranges evolved in tandem with the giant ground sloths that roamed the earth some 80 million years ago and considered its fruit a delicacy; the sloths died out about 10,000 years ago. It’s one of his favorite trees in the arboretum.

Persons: Marder Locations: North America

☆ Netherlands to return nearly 500 looted objects to Indonesia and Sri Lanka
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Senay Boztas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Dutch government is returning 478 objects looted during colonial times to Indonesia and Sri Lanka. “It’s the first time we’re following recommendations… to give back objects that should never have been brought to the Netherlands. A collection of jewels, precious stones and silver, the "Lombok treasure" was taken from the Indonesian island of Lombok in 1894. “But what changed is our viewpoint: these objects are to tell the stories of our countries, of our shared history of peoples. A ceremonial handover of objects to the National Museum of Indonesia in Jakarta will take place at the Museum Volkenkunde Leiden on July 10.

Persons: Gunay Uslu, Cannon, ” Uslu, “, …, We’re, we’re, Lilian Gonçalves, Ho Kang, William V , Prince of Orange, Smeulders, ”, ” Smeulders, Gert, Jan van den Bergh, Bergh, Sanders, Van den Bergh Organizations: The Art, CNN, State for Culture, Dutch Council for Culture, National Museum of, Netherlands ’, East India Company, Nazi, Naturalis Biodiversity, Guardian, Art Newspaper, Museum Volkenkunde Leiden Locations: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Dutch, Lombok, Bali, Kandy, Netherlands, Indonesian, Europe, Leiden, National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta

☆ 300,000-year-old footprints are some of the oldest in Europe and show how our ancient ancestors co-existed with rhinos and elephants on lake and river shores
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Kelly Burch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Three fossilized footprints belong to an extinct species of ancient humans dating back 300,00 years. The prints are among the oldest in Europe and are the oldest ever found in Germany. The fossilized prints were covered for millennia, until a mining company began clearing the area to access coal deposits. The fossilized prints of ancient humans and animals paints a picture of how these species may have co-existed. Researchers found the first ancient rhino print in EuropeThe human prints were surrounded by many more fossilized footprints from prehistoric animals.

Persons: —, paleobotany, Flavio Altamura, Benoit Clarys, Jordi Serangeli, Serangeli, Altamura, antiquus Organizations: Service, University of Tübingen, Senckenberg Locations: Europe, Germany, Lower Saxony, Heidelberg, Schöningen, Siberia, Asia

☆ Butchery marks on a fossilized bone suggest human ancestors ate each other, shocking researchers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A researcher found what appear to be cut marks on the bone of a human ancestor. I was really not expecting to find these sorts of cut marks." Almost all of the bone's marks could be classified as cut marks with a high degree of confidence, Pobiner said. Not all cut marks mean cannibalismTwo marks (5 and 6) were identified as tooth marks, and the rest were identified as cut marks. Pobiner hopes the findings will inspire other researchers to return to existing collections to look for more cut marks.

Persons: Pobiner, —, Michael Pante, Jennifer Clark Defleshing, it's, Paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey, It's Organizations: Service, Smithsonian's National, of, National Museums, Kenya's, Museum, Colorado State University Locations: Kenya's Nairobi, anvils, Kenya, Gough's Cave, England

☆ Cut marks on fossilized bone may reveal ancient cannibalism
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Nine cut marks on a fossilized shin bone suggest that ancient human relatives butchered and possibly ate one another 1.45 million years ago, according to a new study. “These cut marks look very similar to what I’ve seen on animal fossils that were being processed for consumption,” Pobiner said in a news release. Jennifer ClarkWhat the cut marks revealStudy coauthor Michael Pante, a paleoanthropologist at Colorado State University, created 3D models based on molds of marks on the bone. He said cut marks were reported on the cheek bone of a hominin fossil found in Sterkfontein, South Africa, in 2000 that could be about 2 million years old. Pobiner, however, said the source of the cut marks in that case was disputed.

Persons: Briana Pobiner, Pobiner, ” Pobiner, Marks, Jennifer Clark, Michael Pante, boisei, hominins, ” Silvia Bello, ”, Bello, Chris Stringer, Stringer Organizations: CNN, National Museums, Kenya’s, Museum, National Museum of, Washington DC, Colorado State University Locations: Kenya’s Nairobi, Washington, what’s, France, Sterkfontein, South Africa

☆ Some of the earliest-known cave drawings were from Neanderthals, not humans, and they're 57,000 years old
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

57,000-year-old engravings on the walls of a French cave may have been the work of Neanderthals. The oldest Neanderthal cave engravingsThe markings are made up of lines, squiggles, and dots, likely made by fingers instead of tools. On the left are some curved lines and on the right are more wavy lines that researchers say were made by Neanderthals. Tim Schoon, University of IowaThough early researchers considered Neanderthals less advanced than humans, more recent findings have complicated that view. In 2018, researchers estimated a group of Spanish cave paintings were 65,000 years old and made by Neanderthals.

Persons: —, Claude Marquet, Shara Bailey, Homo sapiens, would've, Tim Schoon, It's, Bailey, sapiens, Cotard, lithics, La Organizations: Service, ONE, University of Tours, New York University, La Roche, University of Iowa Locations: France, La, Europe, Western Europe

☆ French cave markings may be oldest known engravings by Neanderthals
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Made by dragging fingers across relatively soft rock, lines, swirls and dots on the walls of a cave in France are the oldest known engravings by Neanderthals, according to a new analysis of the ancient marks. The finding adds to a growing body of evidence that Neanderthals — who have been characterized as dim-witted cave dwellers — were creative beings and more complex than the stereotype suggests. Neanderthals’ ‘deliberate composition’To understand how the markings were made and whether they were intentional, the researchers made detailed 3D models of the engravings from photographs of the Loire Valley’s La Roche-Cotard cave using a process known as photogrammetry. Based on the shape, spacing and arrangement of these engravings, the team concluded that markings in eight panels in La Roche-Cotard cave were intentional shapes and patterns created by human hands. At some cave sites in Spain, there’s evidence — albeit contentious — that Neanderthals created abstract motifs and hand stencils.

Persons: Jean, Claude Marquet, Cotard, La Roche, JC Marquet Organizations: CNN, University of Tours Locations: France, La Roche, Europe, Bulgaria, Spain

☆ How interbreeding between humans and our Neanderthal cousins 40,000 years ago affects our health today
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Interbreeding with Homo sapiens helps to explain why millions can't straighten their fingers. There is also a Neanderthal gene variant that increases the risk of somebody dying from COVID-19. The study evidences that "intermingling" from Neanderthals and our Homo sapiens ancestors is consequential in examining the prevalence of certain diseases, researchers said. No more than 7% of the human genome is unique to Homo sapiens, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances. Brain development and function are what sets Homo sapiens apart, experts explained.

Persons: sapiens, —, Hugo Zeberg, Nikola Solic, Zeberg Organizations: Service, British Society for Surgery, Karolinska Institute, Times Locations: COVID, Europe, Finland, Africa, Sweden, Asia

☆ The future of medicine may lie in space
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Days after I got my first taste of working at a lab bench, a company set forth to prove scientific research can be successfully done in orbit without any humans present. Look upVarda Space Industries plans to use a small capsule, shown in the rendering above, to conduct pharmaceutical research in space. Varda Space industriesThe future of medicine may take flight in space. Unearthed in Ethiopia in 1974 and representing 40% of a skeleton, the remains revealed an early human relative who lived millions of years before Homo sapiens. Meanwhile, other, more recent fossil discoveries are shaking up what we know about early human migration.

Persons: Varda, Lucy, Dave Einsel, paleoanthropologist Dr, Ashleigh L.A, Wiseman, waddle, Frank Postberg, Jochen Brocks, —, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Logan Science Journalism, Marine Biological, Space Industries, Research, British Antarctic Survey, Sky, University of Cambridge, ATP, Freie Universität Berlin, Australian National University, CNN Space, Science Locations: Woods Hole , Massachusetts, California, Antarctica, Weddell, Ethiopia, Barney Creek, Northern Australia, Australia, New England

☆ Early humans left Africa earlier than previously thought, fossil discovery reveals
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

DNA analysis of present-day human populations has supported the hypothesis that early modern humans left Africa around 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, and archaeologists have thought our early ancestors likely followed coastlines and islands through southeast Asia toward Australia. However, a growing number of older human remains discovered in China and the Levant show that this chapter in the human story is more complicated than first thought. The cave was occupied by early humans for about 50,000 years, archaeologists believe. At a nearby site, known as Cobra Cave, a tooth believed to belong to a Denisovan, an elusive early human, has been found. The team expects to unearth more human fossils from the region.

Persons: sapiens, ”, Kira Westaway, ” Westaway, Westaway, Tam Pa Ling, Tam Pà Ling Organizations: CNN, Macquarie University, UNESCO, Heritage, Nature Communications Locations: Africa, Laos, Australia, Asia, China, Tam Pa, Sumatra, Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia

☆ ‘Horseplay’ Review: Boys Will Be Boys
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Kyle Turner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Boys will be boys, as the saying goes. There’s not a lot of forward momentum in “Horseplay,” directed by Marco Berger and set outside a city in Argentina. !” taken to extremes, both in its laid back pace but also in the consequences of its characters fooling around. The audience sees something roil in one member of the group, Poli (Franco de la Puente), as he gazes at some of the young men faking fellatio and playacting penetration. But everyone else is content to lounge in the cognitive dissonance of the blurry boundaries of their homosocial intimacy rituals.

Persons: Horseplay, ”, Marco Berger, Richard Linklater’s “, Franco, la Locations: “, Argentina, la Puente

☆ An extinct species buried their dead and carved symbols 100,000 years before humans. The findings challenge our understanding of human evolution, researchers say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An extinct species called Homo naledi buried their dead 100,000 years before humans. The species, called Homo naledi, had brains about one-third the size of a modern human's, according to CNN. Until now, these behaviors had only been associated with larger-brained species such as Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. "These recent findings suggest intentional burials, the use of symbols, and meaning-making activities by Homo naledi. Homo naledi walked upright and manipulated objects by hand like humans, Berger said, but they were shorter, thinner, had smaller heads, and were more powerfully built, per CNN.

Persons: —, Homo naledi, paleoanthropologist Lee Berger, Berger, Lee Berger, Luca Sola, Agustín Fuentes Organizations: Service, Privacy, CNN, Geographic, Getty Locations: South Africa, Maropeng, AFP

☆ Meet the mystery species that buried their dead long before humans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And Homo naledi was added to the family tree in 2013 after cave explorers tipped off researchers that there might be something promising within the dangerous depths of the Rising Star cave system. Mark Thiessen/National GeographicA team of explorers has uncovered evidence that Homo naledi buried their dead and carved symbols on cave walls at least 100,000 years before modern humans. Across the universeAstronomers using the Webb telescope discovered complex organic molecules in a galaxy located over 12 billion light-years away. Doyle/NASA/ESA/CSAThe James Webb Space Telescope peered into a galaxy located more than 12 billion light-years away and spied the most distant organic molecules ever detected. — A bright new supernova appeared in the Pinwheel Galaxy, and a telescope in Hawaii captured a dazzling image of the stellar explosion.

Persons: Matthew Berger, —, Homo, paleoartist John Gurche, Mark Thiessen, naledi, Webb, Doyle, James Webb, Einstein, Dino, dino, Iani smithi, Janus, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, UNESCO, Geographic, Cincinnati Zoo, Botanical, NASA, ESA, Parker, Probe, Drassm, Tunisia’s Skerki Bank, Sonar, CNN Space, Science Locations: South Africa, Johannesburg, Spain, Utah, North America, Tunisia, Italy’s, Tunisia’s, Costa Rican, Great Britain, Hawaii

☆ Molecular fossils open window on 'lost world' of primordial life
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The researchers discovered that the molecular fossils indicating the presence of these primitive eukaryotes were commonplace in rocks spanning from about 1.6 billion years ago to 800 million years ago. "It is a lost world in the sense that we had not been able to see or detect them - although there was an entire world of them. It is a lost world also because these forms are now entirely extinct, Brocks added. The oldest of the rocks bearing these fossils were unearthed in the remote Outback of northern Australia, near Darwin. Scientists long were puzzled about the seeming absence of molecular fossils from this time span indicative of primitive eukaryotes.

Persons: Jochen Brocks, geobiologist Jochen Brocks, Benjamin Nettersheim, Brocks, sapiens, Konrad Block, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Australian National University, Handout, REUTERS, University of Bremen, Thomson Locations: Creek, Northern Australia, REUTERS WASHINGTON, Canberra, Germany, Australia, Darwin

☆ Does human intelligence come from our big brains? A new discovery in ancient humans with brains one-third the size of ours is challenging the idea that bigger is better.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Maddie Burakoff | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Homo naledi had brains one-third the size of humans but were capable of complex thought. The Homo naledi species is still new and mysteriousH. naledi is a pretty new addition to the family tree of hominins, which includes our direct ancestors and other extinct relatives who walked on two legs. Researchers analyze fossils of Homo naledi at the University of the Witwatersrand's Evolutionary Studies Institute in Johannesburg. But those species still had big brains — unlike H. naledi, whose burials would raise further questions about human evolution, Stringer said. For study author Agustin Fuentes, an anthropologist at Princeton University, the H. naledi evidence takes the focus off brain size.

Persons: Homo naledi, —, naledi, they've, Lee Berger, Robert Clark, AP Berger, John Hawks, Lee Berger's, Megan, Rick Hunter, Berger, sapiens, Chris Stringer, we've, Stringer, Agustin Fuentes, Fuentes, Rick Potts, Potts Organizations: Service, National Geographic Society, University of, Evolutionary Studies, Geographic, AP, University of Wisconsin, Princeton University Locations: South Africa, Johannesburg, Madison, Witwatersrand

☆ New Homo Naledi Cave Discoveries Upend What We Know About Being Human
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Researchers inside a cave system known as Rising Star, located near modern-day Johannesburg. Photo: Mathabela TsikoaneDiscoveries from a subterranean cave system in South Africa are prompting paleoanthropologists to rethink what makes us human. New findings reveal a small-brained human relative known as Homo naledi buried its dead and carved symbols on walls inside the system. Both these behaviors were previously associated with our species or the big-brained Neanderthals with which we interbred.

Persons: paleoanthropologists, naledi Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa

☆ Ancient Human Relatives Buried Their Dead in Caves, New Theory Claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Carl Zimmer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 2015, scientists reported an astonishing discovery from deep inside a South African cave: more than 1,500 fossils of an ancient hominin species that had never been seen before. The creatures, named Homo naledi, were short, with long arms, curved fingers and a brain about one-third the size of a modern human’s. Now, after years of analyzing the surfaces and sediments of the elaborate underground cave, the same team of scientists is making another splashy announcement: Homo naledi — despite their tiny brains — buried their dead in graves. They lit fires to illuminate their way down the cave, and they marked the graves with engravings on the walls. It suggests that big brains are not essential for sophisticated kinds of thinking, he said, such as making symbols, cooperating on dangerous expeditions or even recognizing death.

Persons: Homo naledi, —, Lee Berger, hominin Organizations: University of Witwatersrand Locations: Africa, Johannesburg

☆ Homo naledi buried their dead 100,000 years before humans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The study team lays out fossils of Homo naledi at the University of the Witwatersrand's Evolutionary Studies Institute in Johannesburg. One body belonged to an adult Homo naledi, and the other was a juvenile. In 2018, the team began to find evidence that supported the idea that Homo naledi intentionally buried their dead. Carvings on the wallWithin one of the graves is a tool-shaped rock, buried next to the hand of a Homo naledi adult. The "tool shaped rock" was likely buried near or clutched in the hand of a young teenage Homo naledi child buried in the Hill Antechamber.

Persons: naledi, Robert Clark, Homo naledi, Lee Berger, Homo, paleoartist John Gurche, Mark Thiessen, ”, Berger, Tebogo Makhubela, Keneiloe Molopyane, ” Berger, “, John Hawks, Hawks, “ It’s, they’ve, Agustín Fuentes, ” Fuentes, Fuentes, Lee Berger Chris Stringer, ” Stringer Organizations: CNN —, University of, Evolutionary Studies, UNESCO, Geographic, University of Johannesburg, Expedition, University of Wisconsin - Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, University of Wisconsin - Madison

☆ Zapping a rodent's brain can put it into suspended animation. Scientists want to one day use the same technique for humans traveling to Mars.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The rats' body temperatures also dropped, though to a lesser level, up to 3.57 F (2 C). If they were able to crack the science of suspended animation, it could make space travel safer and cheaper, especially for long-haul flights like the 16-month-long round trip to Mars. A single astronaut eats about 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of food and water a week, but their consumption could drop by 75% in suspended animation, per the BBC. One avenue to induce suspended animation is to cool the body down dramatically. Nevertheless, most of the research into long-ranging suspended animation is still only being done on animals, and we're likely still a long way away from testing it on humans.

Persons: —, Hong Chen, Chen, Yang, Yuan, Nat Metab, John Bradford, Spaceworks, Kaisa, Vyazovskiy Organizations: Service, Privacy, NASA, European Space Agency, ESA, Washington University, BBC, Astronauts, SpaceWorks Enterprises, CNET, University of Oxford Locations: et, Mars, torpor

☆ Archeologists made a game-changing discovery at Greece's oldest dig site where ancient humans used to roam 700,000 years ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Nicholas Paphitis | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Archeologists discovered simple stone tools that date back an estimated 700,000 years. The discovery was made at Greece's oldest site where ancient humans were thought to exist. The Greek site was one of five investigated in the Megalopolis area during a five-year project involving an international team of experts, a Culture Ministry statement said. This skull from a member of the deer family was also discovered at the dig site Megalopolis, southern Greece. These stone tools, discovered at the dig site Megalopolis, southern Greece, date back about 700,000 years ago.

Persons: —, Panagiotis Karkanas, Eleni Panagopoulou, Katerina Harvati, Homo antecessor, antecessor, directorss, Nikos Efstratiou, Efstratiou, Megalopolis Organizations: Service, Ministry, Greek Culture Ministry, American School of Classical Studies, Athens, University of Tübingen, Associated Press, Greece's University of Thessaloniki Locations: ATHENS, Greece, Europe, Spain, Germany, Megalopolis, Mycenae, Olympia, Pylos

☆ What makes us human? Primate genome study offers some clues
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While some genetic variations previously thought to be exclusive to people were found in other primate species, the researchers pinpointed others that were uniquely human involving brain function and development. They also used the primate genomes to train an artificial intelligence algorithm to predict disease-causing genetic mutations in humans. Human-related threats such as habitat destruction, climate change and hunting have left about 60% of primate species threatened with extinction and about 75% with declining populations. "The vast majority of primate species have significantly more genetic variation per individual than do humans," said genomicist and study co-author Jeffrey Rogers of the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. The genome data can help identify the primate species in the most dire need of conservation efforts.

Persons: Thomas Mukoya, genomicist Lukas Kuderna, gibbons, Kuderna, Jeffrey Rogers, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park's Institute, Evolutionary, Illumina Inc, Baylor College of Medicine, Thomson Locations: Kinigi, Rwanda, Barcelona, Spain, Americas, Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Texas, China, Laos, Vietnam

☆ Genome data sheds light on how Homo sapiens arose in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - Our species arose in Africa more than 300,000 years ago, with the oldest-known Homo sapiens fossils discovered at a site in Morocco called Jebel Irhoud, located between Marrakech and the Atlantic coast. A new study tapping into genome data from modern-day African populations is offering insight into how this may have unfolded. The research indicated that multiple ancestral groups from across Africa contributed to the emergence of Homo sapiens in a patchwork manner, migrating from one region to another and mixing with one another over hundreds of thousands of years. The findings did not support a longstanding hypothesis that a single region in Africa gave rise to Homo sapiens or a scenario involving mixture with an unidentified closely related species in the human evolutionary lineage within Africa. "By building models of how these transmissions occurred, we can test detailed models that relate past populations to present-day populations."

☆ Bat lands worldwide are besieged, seeding risk of a new pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

This collision – bats and humans competing for resources on territory long the domain of the bats – could trigger the next pandemic. As people destroy bat habitats worldwide, they are unwittingly helping bat-borne viruses mutate, multiply, and infect other species, including homo sapiens. For millennia, bat viruses lurked across the forests of West Africa and in other undisturbed parts of the world but posed little threat to humanity. They’re potent proliferators: Some roost tightly together and in close quarters with other bat species. Each of the bat viruses analyzed by Reuters has epidemic potential, according to the World Health Organization.

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