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Categories: Anthropology: Cultures, Ecology: Extinction
Published New DNA testing technology shows majority of wild dingoes are pure, not hybrids



Genetic analysis shows dingo populations have significantly less dog ancestry than previously thought.
Published Scientists from the Global South innovate to track ongoing amphibian pandemic



Scientists have developed and validated an assay that could be used to diagnose Indian strains of the amphibian chytrid fungus that were not detected by previous tests. The novel assay also works for other better-known strains from other parts of the world, such as the one present in Panama.
Published Dinosaurs were the first to take the perspectives of others



Understanding that others hold different viewpoints from your own is essential for human sociality. Adopting another person's visual perspective is a complex skill that emerges around the age of two. A new study suggests that this ability first arose in dinosaurs, at least 60 million years before it appeared in mammals. These findings challenge the idea that mammals were the originators of novel and superior forms of intelligence in the wake of the dinosaur extinction.
Published Earliest evidence of wine consumption in the Americas found in Caribbean



Scientists have found what they believe to be the earliest known evidence of wine drinking in the Americas, inside ceramic artefacts recovered from a small Caribbean island.
Published Fossils of a saber-toothed top predator reveal a scramble for dominance leading up to 'the Great Dying'



A tiger-sized saber-toothed creature called Inostrancevia has previously only been found in Russia. But scientists have discovered its fossils in South Africa, suggesting that it migrated 7,000 miles across the supercontinent Pangaea during the world's worst mass extinction 252 million years ago. Heading to South Africa allowed it to fill a gap in a faraway ecosystem that had lost its top predators.
Published Corals mark friendly algae for ingestion -- revealing possible conservation target



Biologists reveals how coral cells tag friendly algae before ingesting them, initiating a mutually beneficial relationship. This information could guide next-level coral conservation efforts.
Published Ancient climate change solves mystery of vanished South African lakes



New evidence for the presence of ancient lakes in some of the most arid regions of South Africa suggests that Stone Age humans may have been more widespread across the continent than previously thought.
Published Oldest architectural plans detail mysterious desert mega structures



Researchers have identified engravings in Jordan and Saudi Arabia as the oldest known scaled building plans in human history.
Published Out of the frying pan: Coyotes, bobcats move into human-inhabited areas to avoid apex predators -- only to be killed by people



Conservationists have argued that the presence of wolves and other apex predators, so named because they have no known predators aside from people, can help keep smaller predator species in check. New research shows that in Washington state, the presence of two apex predators -- wolves and cougars -- does indeed help keep populations of two smaller predators in check. But by and large the apex predators were not killing and eating the smaller predators, known as mesopredators. Instead, they drove the two mesopredator species -- bobcats and coyotes -- into areas with higher levels of human activity. And people were finishing the job.
Published Humanity's earliest recorded kiss occurred in Mesopotamia 4,500 years ago



Written sources from Mesopotamia suggest that kissing in relation to sex was practiced by the peoples of the ancient Middle East 4,500 years ago.
Published Fossil of mosasaur with bizarre 'screwdriver teeth' found in Morocco



Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, a sea-dwelling lizard from the age of the dinosaurs, with strange, ridged teeth unlike those of any known reptile. Along with other recent finds from Africa, it suggests that mosasaurs and other marine reptiles were evolving rapidly up until 66 million years ago, when they were wiped out by an asteroid along with the dinosaurs and around 90% of all species on Earth.
Published Assessing emotions in wild animals



A new study examines indicators of mental wellbeing in wild animals to improve conservation efforts.
Published South Africa's desert-like interior may have been more inviting to our human ancestors



Lining the Cape of South Africa and its southern coast are long chains of caves that nearly 200,000 years ago were surrounded by a lush landscape and plentiful food.
Published Human ancestors preferred mosaic landscapes and high ecosystem diversity



A new study finds that early human species adapted to mosaic landscapes and diverse food resources, which would have increased our ancestor's resilience to past shifts in climate.
Published Beetles and their biodiversity in dead wood



Which energy type promotes the biodiversity of beetles living in dead wood in the forest? That depends entirely on where the beetles are in the food chain.
Published Small wildlife surveys can produce 'big picture' results



Small-scale wildlife surveys can reveal the health of entire ecosystems, new research shows.
Published Evidence of Ice Age human migrations from China to the Americas and Japan



Scientists have used mitochondrial DNA to trace a female lineage from northern coastal China to the Americas. By integrating contemporary and ancient mitochondrial DNA, the team found evidence of at least two migrations: one during the last ice age, and one during the subsequent melting period. Around the same time as the second migration, another branch of the same lineage migrated to Japan, which could explain Paleolithic archeological similarities between the Americas, China, and Japan.
Published Smallest shifting fastest: Bird species body size predicts rate of change in a warming world



Birds across the Americas are getting smaller and longer-winged as the world warms, and the smallest-bodied species are changing the fastest.
Published Nose shape gene inherited from Neanderthals



Humans inherited genetic material from Neanderthals that affects the shape of our noses, finds a new study.
Published Archaeologists map hidden NT landscape where first Australians lived more than 60,000 years ago



Scientists have used sub-surface imaging and aerial surveys to see through floodplains in the Red Lily Lagoon area of West Arnhem Land in Australia. These ground-breaking methods showed how this important landscape in the Northern Territory was altered as sea levels rose about 8,000 years ago.