Exoplanet-hunting telescope to begin search for another Earth in 2026

Europe's next big space mission -- a telescope that will hunt for Earth-like rocky planets outside of our solar system -- is on course to launch at the end of 2026.

PLATO, or PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars, is being built to find nearby potentially habitable worlds around Sun-like stars that we can examine in detail.

The space telescope will blast into orbit on Europe's new rocket, Ariane-6, which made its maiden flight last week after being developed at a cost of €4billion (£3.4billion).

Dr David Brown, of the University of Warwick, is giving an update on the mission at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting at the University of Hull this week.

"PLATO's goal is to search for exoplanets around stars similar to the Sun and at orbital periods long enough for them to be in the habitable zone," he said.

"One of the main mission objectives is to find another Earth-Sun equivalent pair, but it is also designed to carefully and precisely characterise the exoplanets that it finds (i.e. work out their masses, radii, and bulk density)."

PLATO isn't just an exoplanet hunter, however. It is also a stellar science mission.

As well as searching for exoplanets it will study the stars using a range of techniques including asteroseismology (measuring the vibrations and oscillations of stars) to work out their masses, radii, and ages.

Unlike most space telescopes, PLATO has multiple cameras -- including a UK-named one called ArthurEddington, after the famous astronomer and physicist who won the Royal Astronomical Society's Gold Medal in 1924.

It has 24 'Normal' cameras (N-CAMs) and 2 'Fast' cameras (F-CAMs). The N-CAMs are arranged into four groups of six cameras, with the cameras in each group pointing in the same direction but the groups slightly offset.

This gives PLATO a very large field of view, improved scientific performance, redundancy against failures, and a built-in way to identify 'false positive' signals that might mimic an exoplanet transit, Dr Brown explained.

"The planned observing strategy is to stare at two patches of sky, one in the North and one in the South, for two years each," he added.

"The Southern patch of sky has been chosen, while the Northern patch won't be confirmed for another few years."

Several of the spacecraft's components have finished their manufacturing programmes and are close to completing their calibration tests. This includes the UK-provided Front-End Electronics (FEE) for the N-CAMs.

Built by the Mullard Space Science Laboratory of University College London, these operate the cameras, digitise the images, and transfer them to the onboard data processing.

Ten of the final cameras have been built and tested and the first of these was mounted onto the optical bench -- the surface which keeps all cameras pointed in the right direction -- earlier this year.

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New geological datings place the first European hominids in the south of the Iberian Peninsula 1.3 million years ago

One of the most important controversies about human evolution and expansion is when and by what route the first hominids arrived in Europe from the African continent. Now, geological dating techniques at the Orce sites (Baza basin, Granada, Spain) place the human remains found in this area as the oldest in Europe, at approximately 1.3 million years old. These results reinforce the hypothesis that humans arrived in Europe through the south of the Iberian Peninsula, through the Strait of Gibraltar, instead of returning to the Mediterranean via the Asian route. The study, led by Lluís Gibert, researcher and lecturer at the University of Barcelona's Faculty of Earth Sciences, has involved the participation of researchers from the Berkeley Geochronology Centre and Murray State University (United States).

Analysis of a new sampling area

The new dating has been based on the analysis of the paleomagnetism of an area of the Orce region, which has never been sampled before and which has been protected from the erosion that this basin has suffered over the years. This technique is a relative dating method based on the study of the inversion of the magnetic poles of the planet due to the internal dynamics of the Earth. These changes do not have a specific periodicity, but they are recorded in the minerals and make it possible to establish time periods from the different magnetic events.

These new data are very precise thanks to the long sedimentary sequence that outcrops in Orce. "The uniqueness of these sites is that they are stratified and within a very long sedimentary sequence, more than eighty metres long. Normally, the sites are found in caves or within very short stratigraphic sequences, which do not allow you to develop long palaeomagnetic sequences in which you can find different magnetic reversals," says Lluís Gibert.

The researchers have been able to identify a magnetic polarity sequence "with five magnetic events that allow them to place the three Orce sites with human presence between the Olduvai and Jaramillo subchron, that is, between 1.77 and 1.07 million years ago (Ma)," says the researcher. Subsequently, they have applied a statistical age model to accurately refine the chronology of the different stratigraphic levels with a margin of error of only 70,000 years. The result of this innovative methodology is that the oldest site with human presence in Europe would be Venta Micena with an age of 1.32 Ma, followed by Barranco León, with an age of 1.28 and finally Fuente Nueva 3, with an age of 1.23 Ma. "With these data, the other major site on the peninsula, the Sima del Elefante in Atapuerca, would be relegated to second place, far behind Orce, between 0.2 and 0.4 Ma more modern," adds the researcher.

Fauna underpins the antiquity of the site

To complete the dating, the study has also analyzed the fauna found at the different sites in Orce, as this is different depending on the period, and compared it with that found at other Early Pleistocene sites in other parts of Europe.

In this sense, the paper presents a detailed analysis of the micromammals and large mammals from all the Orce sites, carried out by the expert Robert Martin, based on the palaeontological collections stored at the Museum of the Catalan Institute of Palaeontology Miguel Crusafont (IPS) in Sabadell. "The results indicate that the small and large fauna of Orce is more primitive than, for example, that of the Sima del Elefante, where the evidence shows that the rodent Allophaiomys lavocati is more evolved than the Allophaiomys recovered from the Orce sites," Gibert explains.Another relevant indicator of the age of the Orce sites is the absence of the ancestors of the pigs. "These animals are considered to be Asian immigrants and have not been found in any European site between 1 and 1.5 Ma, while they have been found in the Sima del Elefante, supporting that the Orce fauna is older," explains the researcher.

Evidence pointing to passage through Gibraltar

This new dating would be added, according to the researcher, to other evidence that would tip the balance in favour of the colonization of Europe through the Strait of Gibraltar, rather than the alternative route: the return to the Mediterranean via Asia, such as "the existence of a lithic industry with similarities to that found in the north of the African continent and also the presence of remains of African fauna in the south of the peninsula, such as those of Hippopotamus, found in the sites of Orce, and those of Theropithecus oswaldi, an African primate similar to a baboon, found in the Victoria cave, a site near Cartagena (Murcia), non-existent anywhere else in Europe."

"We also defend the hypothesis -- adds the researcher -- that they arrived from Gibraltar because no older evidence has been found at any other site along the alternative route."

These new data are very precise thanks to the long sedimentary sequence that outcrops in Orce.

Similarity with hominids from the island of Flores

With these results, the researchers point to a "diachronism" between the oldest occupation of Asia, measuring 1.8 Ma, and the oldest occupation of Europe, which would be 1.3 Ma ago, so that African hominids would have arrived in southwestern Europe more than 0.5 Ma after leaving Africa for the first time about 2 Ma ago. "These differences in human expansion can be explained by the fact that Europe is isolated from Asia and Africa by biogeographical barriers that are difficult to overcome, both to the east (Bosphorus Strait, Dardanelles, Sea of Marmara) and to the west (Strait of Gibraltar). Humanity arrived in Europe when it had the necessary technology to cross maritime barriers, as happened before a million years ago on the island of Flores (Indonesia)," says Gibert. In this sense, the researcher adds that the Gibraltar route currently requires crossing up to fourteen kilometres of sea route, but "perhaps in the past this distance was shorter at certain times due to the high tectonic activity in this region and the fluctuations in sea level that favoured migrations."

"As cited in the paper -- he adds -- , we have identified other migrations of African fauna through Gibraltar at earlier times, 6.2 and 5.5 Ma ago when the Strait of Gibraltar was very narrow."

Human remains in Orce

A total of five human remains were found at the Orce sites since excavations began in 1982 by the palaeoanthropologist Josep Gibert. Firstly, two fragments of humerus bitten by hyenas were found at Venta Micena, as well as parts of a cranial fragment consisting of two parietals and an occipital, associated with an abundant Early Pleistocene fauna. The human provenance of these remains generated great controversy for years, although independent palaeoproteomic studies by the universities of Granada and San Francisco identified human proteins in the remains.

 Read more at Science Daily

How can forests be reforested in a climate-friendly way?

Europe's forests have already been severely affected by climate change. Thousands of hectares of trees have already died due to drought and bark beetles. Scientists from the University of Vienna and the Technical University of Munich TUM have now investigated which trees can be used for reforestation. Their findings: only a few tree species are fit for the future, such as English oak in the UK. However, mixed forests are important for the survival of forests, otherwise the forest ecosystem as a whole could be weakened. The results of the study were recently published in the renowned journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.

Although European forests are naturally home to a mix of trees, the number of tree species is lower than in climatically comparable areas of North America or East Asia. In the future, even fewer species will be available to the forestry industry, as scientists led by Johannes Wessely and Stefan Dullinger from the University of Vienna have shown in their new study. Depending on the region, between a third and a half of the tree species found there today will no longer be able to cope with future conditions. "This is an enormous decline," says lead author Johannes Wessely, "especially when you consider that only some of the species are of interest for forestry."

The scientists examined the 69 more common of the just over 100 European tree species with regard to the 21st century in Europe. On average, only nine of these 69 species per location are fit for the future in Europe, compared to four in the UK. "Trees that are planted now for reforestation must survive under both current and future conditions. This is difficult because they have to withstand the cold and frost of the next few years as well as a much warmer climate at the end of the 21st century. There is only a very small overlap," says Wessely. In the UK, these climate-fit species include, for example, the English oak. Which tree species will suit which region of Europe in the future varies greatly overall.

Forest ecosystem at risk due to restriction of species

However, even with the selected set of future-proof trees, a major problem remains: the average of nine species is not enough for a species-rich mixed forest. "Mixed forests consisting of many tree species are an important measure to make forests more robust against disturbances such as bark beetles. In some places in Europe, however, we could run out of tree species to establish such colorful mixed forests," explains last author Rupert Seidl from the Technical University of Munich TUM.

Not all trees offer important properties

Trees store carbon, provide a habitat or food source for animals or can be processed into timber -- these are all important properties of forests. But not all trees fulfill these functions equally; only an average of three of the nine climate-fit tree species can do this.

"Our work clearly shows how severely the vitality of forests is affected by climate change. We cannot rely solely on a new mix of tree species; rapid measures to mitigate climate change are essential for the sustainable protection of our forests," says Wessely.

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Did neanderthals use glue? Researchers find evidence that sticks

Neanderthals created stone tools held together by a multi-component adhesive, a team of scientists has discovered. Its findings, which are the earliest evidence of a complex adhesive in Europe, suggest these predecessors to modern humans had a higher level of cognition and cultural development than previously thought.

The work, reported in the journal Science Advances, included researchers from New York University, the University of Tübingen, and the National Museums in Berlin.

"These astonishingly well-preserved tools showcase a technical solution broadly similar to examples of tools made by early modern humans in Africa, but the exact recipe reflects a Neanderthal 'spin,' which is the production of grips for handheld tools," says Radu Iovita, an associate professor at New York University's Center for the Study of Human Origins.

The research team, led by Patrick Schmidt from the University of Tübingen's Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology section and Ewa Dutkiewicz from the Museum of Prehistory and Early History at the National Museums in Berlin, re-examined previous finds from Le Moustier, an archaeological site in France that was discovered in the early 20th century.

The stone tools from Le Moustier -- used by Neanderthals during the Middle Palaeolithic period of the Mousterian between 120,000 and 40,000 years ago -- are kept in the collection of Berlin's Museum of Prehistory and Early History and had not previously been examined in detail.

The tools were rediscovered during an internal review of the collection and their scientific value was recognized.

"The items had been individually wrapped and untouched since the 1960s," says Dutkiewicz.

"As a result, the adhering remains of organic substances were very well preserved."

The researchers discovered traces of a mixture of ochre and bitumen on several stone tools, such as scrapers, flakes, and blades.

Ochre is a naturally occurring earth pigment; bitumen is a component of asphalt and can be produced from crude oil, but also occurs naturally in the soil.

"We were surprised that the ochre content was more than 50 percent," says Schmidt.

"This is because air-dried bitumen can be used unaltered as an adhesive, but loses its adhesive properties when such large proportions of ochre are added."

He and his team examined these materials in tensile tests -- used to determine strength -- and other measures.

"It was different when we used liquid bitumen, which is not really suitable for gluing. If 55 percent ochre is added, a malleable mass is formed," Schmidt says.

The mixture was just sticky enough for a stone tool to remain stuck in it, but without adhering to hands, making it suitable material for a handle.

In fact, a microscopic examination of the use-wear traces on these stone tools revealed that the adhesives on the tools from Le Moustier were used in this way.

"The tools showed two kinds of microscopic wear: one is the typical polish on the sharp edges that is generally caused by working other materials," explains Iovita, who conducted this analysis.

"The other is a bright polish distributed all over the presumed hand-held part, but not elsewhere, which we interpreted as the results of abrasion from the ochre due to movement of the tool within the grip."

The use of adhesives with several components, including various sticky substances such as tree resins and ochre, was previously known from early modern humans, Homo sapiens, in Africa but not from earlier Neanderthals in Europe.

Overall, the development of adhesives and their use in the manufacture of tools is considered to be some of the best material evidence of the cultural evolution and cognitive abilities of early humans.

"Compound adhesives are considered to be among the first expressions of the modern cognitive processes that are still active today," says Schmidt.

In the Le Moustier region, ochre and bitumen had to be collected from distant locations, which meant a great deal of effort, planning, and a targeted approach, the authors note.

"Taking into account the overall context of the finds, we assume that this adhesive material was made by Neanderthals," concludes Dutkiewicz.

"What our study shows is that early Homo sapiens in Africa and Neanderthals in Europe had similar thought patterns," adds Schmidt.

Read more at Science Daily

High temperatures may have caused over 70,000 excess deaths in Europe in 2022

The burden of heat-related mortality during the summer of 2022 in Europe may have exceeded 70,000 deaths according to a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a research centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation. The authors of the study, published in The Lancet Regional Health -- Europe, revised upwards initial estimates of the mortality associated with record temperatures in 2022 on the European continent.

In an earlier study, published in Nature Medicine, the same team used epidemiological models applied to weekly temperature and mortality data in 823 regions in 35 European countries and estimated the number of heat-related premature deaths in 2022 to be 62,862.

In that study, the authors acknowledged that the use of weekly data would be expected to underestimate heat-related mortality, and pointed out that daily time-series data are required to accurately estimate the impact of high temperatures on mortality.

The objective of the new study was to develop a theoretical framework capable of quantifying the errors arising from the use of aggregated data, such as weekly and monthly temperature and mortality time-series.

Models based on temporally aggregated data are useful because aggregated data are available in real-time from institutions such as Eurostat, facilitating quantification of the health hazard within a few days of its emergence.

To develop a theoretical framework, the research team aggregated daily temperatures and mortality records from 147 regions in 16 European countries.

They then analysed and compared the estimates of heat- and cold-related mortality by different levels of aggregation: daily, weekly, 2-weekly and monthly.

Analysis revealed differences in epidemiological estimates according to the time scale of aggregation.

In particular, it was found that weekly, 2-weekly and monthly models underestimated the effects of heat and cold as compared to the daily model, and that the degree of underestimation increased with the length of the aggregation period.

Specifically, for the period 1998-2004, the daily model estimated an annual cold and heat-related mortality of 290,104 and 39,434 premature deaths, respectively, while the weekly model underestimatedthese numbers by 8.56% and 21.56%, respectively.

"It is important to note that the differences were very small during periods of extreme cold and heat, such as the summer of 2003, when the underestimation by the weekly data model was only 4.62%," explains Joan Ballester Claramunt, the ISGlobalresearcherwho leads the European Research Council's EARLY-ADAPT project.

The team used this theoretical framework to revise the mortality burden attributed to the record temperatures experienced in 2022 in their earlier study.

According to the calculations made using the new methodological approach, that study underestimated the heat-related mortality by 10.28%, which would mean that the actual heat-related mortality burden in 2022, estimated using the daily data model, was 70,066 deaths, and not 62,862 deaths as originally estimated.

Using weekly data to analyse the effects of temperatures in the short term

"In general, we do not find models based on monthly aggregated data useful for estimating the short-term effects of ambient temperatures," explains Ballester.

"However, models based on weekly data do offer sufficient precision in mortality estimates to be useful in real-time practice in epidemiological surveillance and to inform public policies such as, for example, the activation of emergency plans for reducing the impact of heat waves and cold spells."

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75% of exclusive hardwood may be illegally harvested

The tropical wood type ipê is popular for building exclusive wooden decks, and in North America and Europe, the demand for the material has increased sharply. Now, a study from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, shows that more than three-quarters of all ipêfrom the top producing region in Brazil could have been harvested illegally. "The study reveals where in the chain the greatest risks lie. It can be a tool to counteract illegal logging," says Caroline S.S. Franca, PhD student at Chalmers.

Ipê is one of the world's hardest woods. It is therefore particularly suitable for building balconies, conservatories, stairs or piers. Demand for the exclusive, tropical wood has increased steadily in recent years, especially on European, American and Canadian markets. In Brazil, the country of origin for 96 percent of all ipê on the market, exports have increased by over 76 percent in volume over the past decade.

This development means an increased risk of illegal logging of ipê, which in November 2022 was included on the Cites list of species threatened by overexploitation due to its popularity and increasing demand through international trade.

"Some products from the rainforest are more valuable and therefore more vulnerable to illegal logging. Ipê is at the top of that list. At the same time, ipê trees grow slowly, which means that regrowth takes a long time. The risk of extinction is real, and today there are no reliable figures on the amount of remaining trees and the damage to existing stands that has already been done," says Caroline S.S. Franca, PhD student in Physical Resource Theory at Chalmers.

Mapping where risks are greatest

Caroline S.S. Franca is the lead author of a research study on the risks for illegal logging of ipê in Brazil, which was recently published in Nature Sustainability. In the study, the researchers analysed extensive amounts of data to identify where in the supply chains there are significant risks that logging has taken place illegally.

The conclusion is that more than three-quarters of all ipê from Pará -- the top producing state of this wood in Brazil and a major source of exports -- in the period 2009-2019 may have been illegally harvested.

"In the study, we see, for example, that 16 percent of the ipê that ends up on the market is harvested without proper permits, and that landowners claim that they have felled more ipê on their land than is likely to exist on the stated area. We also show that there is more wood in circulation than the official production figures indicate," she says.

Paving the way for better enforcement and practices

"We know that illegal logging is driving forest degradation, and is linked to organised crime, conflict and the destruction of forest-dependent local communities," continues Caroline S.S. Franca, adding that "degradation of Amazon forests does not only affect the local environment and the ecological diversity of the rainforest, it is also as large of a contributor to climate change as outright deforestation."

She hopes that her research results can contribute to an increased awareness of the extent of illegal logging among decision-makers and actors in the supply chain, as well as among consumers.

"The novel methods developed in the study, exploring existing patterns in the data for transactions and approvals of ipê exploration have an enormous potential both to improve forest control systems in Brazil, as well as to support supply-chain actors in their efforts to make timber sourcing more responsible and sustainable," says Marco Lentini, a co-author of the study with a long-standing experience working on sustainable forest management in the Brazilian Amazon.

The information already exists, now there is political will to use it

Recent numbers form Brazil's forest monitoring system shows that deforestation in the Amazon have been almost halved in 2023, compared to last year. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also initiated the so-called Belém Declaration -- an alliance among eight South American countries to combat the deforestation of the Amazon, adopted on August 8, 2023.

"This declaration is a welcome expression of renewed political will to reduce deforestation," comments Martin Persson, co-author of the ipê study and a Chalmers researcher with extensive experience of research on the devastation of the Amazon.

But he also emphasises that the danger is far from over, and that the declaration itself will not lead to change.

"Halting deforestation and forest degradation requires concrete policy measures. And what we point out in our study is that there is already data and information that can be used by authorities to get to those who harvest forests illegally," he says.

Important for consumers to ask questions

There is a certification for sustainably produced wood, FSC, which can serve as a guide for consumers who want to avoid buying non-sustainable or illegally harvested wood. But regardless of whether the wood has an FSC certification or not, Caroline S.S. Franca emphasises that it is always important to ask a few basic questions before buying.

"Where exactly does the wood come from? Is there documentation of the origin of the wood and its path through the production chain? As a consumer, you have a greater opportunity to make an informed decision if you get answers to those questions," she says.

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Shipboard cannon found off the Swedish coast may be the oldest in Europe

An international research team led by maritime archaeologist Staffan von Arbin of the University of Gothenburg has studied what might be Europe's oldest shipboard cannon. The cannon was found in the sea off Marstrand on the Swedish west coast and dates back to the 14th century. The findings from the interdisciplinary study contribute new knowledge about the early development of artillery on land and at sea, but also bears witness to a troubled period for seafarers as well as coastal populations.

The small, muzzle-loading cast copper-alloy cannon, found by a recreational diver at a depth of 20 metres in the sea off Marstrand, is believed to come from a shipwreck. The researchers conclude that it is a shipboard cannon, and not a cannon that was being transported as cargo, because it still had parts of a charge left in its powder chamber when it was found. This means the cannon was loaded and ready for use in combat at the time it ended up on the sea floor.

"Thanks to the preserved remains of the charge, it has been possible to use radiocarbon dating to establish the age of the find," says Staffan von Arbin, maritime archaeologist at the University of Gothenburg.

"The study's findings show that the Marstrand cannon is probably from the 14th century, making it one of the oldest artillery pieces ever found in Europe."

The researchers documented the find with 3D scanning, and also conducted a chemical analysis of the metal used to cast the cannon. The analysis showed that it was a copper alloy containing about 14 weight per cent lead and only small amounts of tin.

This alloy is far from optimal for casting cannon according to the researchers, and it is likely that the cannon would have cracked and been rendered unusable if used intensively for longer periods.

"Clearly, the person who cast the cannon did not have the necessary knowledge and understanding of the properties of various copper alloys," says Staffan von Arbin.

"This shows that the noble art of cannon casting had not yet been fully mastered at that time, and that production was largely based on trial and error."

The analysis also indicates that the copper ore used in the cannon's production was mined in present-day Slovakia, while the lead probably came from England or the border region between Poland and the Czech Republic.

Important hub for commercial shipping

In this interdisciplinary study published in the English maritime history journal The Mariner's Mirror, the researchers present the results of the analyses they carried out, but also discuss the find in light of documentary, iconographic and archaeological sources. In the 14th century, the town of Marstrand, famous for its excellent port, was an important hub for commercial shipping between Western Europe and the Baltic Sea area. But the sea was also an arena for war and conflict, and coastal civilian populations were often hit hard. In addition, there was always a risk of attacks by pirates.

The new types of firearms developed at this time provided great tactical advantages in battles at sea. But it wasn't just warships that were armed -- during the late Middle Ages merchant ships also started being equipped with cannon more and more often to defend themselves against pirates and other hostile vessels. The study of the Marstrand cannon provides new knowledge and perspectives on the development of this military technology.

Funnel-shaped cannons of the Marstrand cannon type are usually attributed to the 15th-16th centuries, but this find is testimony to the fact that this model already existed in the 14th century. The preserved remains of the charge in the cannon's powder chamber also show that the use of cartouches, a kind of textile packaging for the powder charge, came into use much earlier than previously known.

"Now, of course, we also want to try to locate and document the ship that the cannon belonged to. Although it is probably severely degraded and broken up, it should be possible to find scattered remains of the wreck if we conduct a thorough inventory of the site and its surroundings," says Staffan von Arbin.

Read more at Science Daily

Key role of ice age cycles in early human interbreeding

A study published in Science indicates that climatic shifts over the past 400,000 years have influenced Neanderthal and Denisovan interbreeding.

Recent paleogenomic research revealed that interbreeding was common among early human species. However, little was known about when, where, and how often this hominin interbreeding took place. Using paleoanthropological evidence, genetic data, and supercomputer simulations of past climate, a team of international researchers has found that interglacial climates and corresponding shifts in vegetation created common habitats for Neanderthals and Denisovans, increasing their chances for interbreeding and gene flow in parts of Europe and central Asia.

Contemporary humans carry in their cells a small amount of DNA derived from Neanderthals and Denisovans. "Denny," a 90,000-year-old fossil individual, recently identified as the daughter of a Denisovan father and a Neanderthal mother, bears testimony to the possibility that interbreeding was quite common among early human species. But when, where, and at what frequency did this interbreeding take place?

In a recent study published in Science on 10 August 2023, researchers from Korea and Italy have joined hands to answer this question. Using fossil data, supercomputer simulations of past climate, and insights obtained from genomic evidence, the team was able to identify habitat overlaps and contact hotspots of these early human species. Dr. Jiaoyang Ruan, Postdoctoral Researcher at IBS Center for Climate Physics (ICCP), South Korea, explains, "Little is known about when, where, and how frequently Neanderthals and Denisovans interbred throughout their shared history. As such, we tried to understand the potential for Neanderthal-Denisovan admixture using species distribution models that bring extensive fossil, archeological, and genetic data together with transient Coupled General Circulation Model simulations of global climate and biome."

The researchers found that Neanderthals and Denisovans had different environmental preferences to start with. While Denisovans were much more adapted to colder environments, such as the boreal forests and the tundra region in northeastern Eurasia, their Neanderthal cousins preferred the warmer temperate forests and grasslands in the southwest. However, shifts in the Earth's orbit led to changes in climatic conditions and hence vegetation patterns. This triggered the migration of both these hominin species towards geographically overlapping habitats, thus increasing the chance of their interbreeding.

The researchers further used insights gained from their analysis to determine the contact hotspots between Neanderthals and Denisovans. They identified Central Eurasia, the Caucasus, the Tianshan, and the Changbai mountains as the likely hotspots. Identification of these habitat overlaps also helped the researchers place 'Denny' within the climatic context and even confirmed the other known episodes of genetic interbreeding. The researchers also noted that the Denisovans and Neanderthals would have had a high probability of contact in the Siberian Altai during ~ 340-290, ~240-190 and ~130-80 thousand years ago.

To further elucidate the factors that triggered the 'east-west interbreeding seesaw,' the team examined the change in vegetation patterns over Eurasia over the past 400 thousand years. They observed that elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations and mild interglacial conditions caused an eastward expansion of the temperate forest into central Eurasia, and the dispersal of Neanderthals into Denisovan lands. On the contrary, lower CO2 concentrations and corresponding harsher glacial climate potentially caused a fragmentation of their habitats, leading to lesser interactions and interbreeding events.

"Pronounced climate-driven zonal shifts in the main overlap region of Denisovans and Neanderthals in central Eurasia, which can be attributed to the response of climate and vegetation to past variations in atmospheric CO2 and northern hemisphere ice-sheet volume, influenced the timing and intensity of potential interbreeding events," remarks senior author Axel Timmermann, Director, ICCP and Professor at Pusan National University, South Korea.

Read more at Science Daily

Gloomy climate calculation: Scientists predict a collapse of the Atlantic ocean current to happen mid-century

Important ocean currents that redistribute heat, cold and precipitation between the tropics and the northernmost parts of the Atlantic region will shut down around the year 2060 if current greenhouse gas emissions persist. This is the conclusion based on new calculations from the University of Copenhagen that contradict the latest report from the IPCC.

Contrary to what we may imagine about the impact of climate change in Europe, a colder future may be in store. In a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen's Niels Bohr Institute and Department of Mathematical Sciences predict that the system of ocean currents which currently distributes cold and heat between the North Atlantic region and tropics will completely stop if we continue to emit the same levels of greenhouse gases as we do today.

Using advanced statistical tools and ocean temperature data from the last 150 years, the researchers calculated that the ocean current, known as the Thermohaline Circulation or the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), will collapse -- with 95 percent certainty -- between 2025 and 2095. This will most likely occur in 34 years, in 2057, and could result in major challenges, particularly warming in the tropics and increased storminess in the North Atlantic region.

"Shutting down the AMOC can have very serious consequences for Earth's climate, for example, by changing how heat and precipitation are distributed globally. While a cooling of Europe may seem less severe as the globe as a whole becomes warmer and heat waves occur more frequently, this shutdown will contribute to an increased warming of the tropics, where rising temperatures have already given rise to challenging living conditions," says Professor Peter Ditlevsen from the Niels Bohr Institute.

"Our result underscores the importance of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible," says the researcher.

The calculations, just published in the scientific journal, Nature Communications, contradict the message of the latest IPCC report, which, based on climate model simulations, considers an abrupt change in the thermohaline circulation very unlikely during this century.

Early warning signals present

The researchers' prediction is based on observations of early warning signals that ocean currents exhibit as they become unstable. These Early Warning Signals for the Thermohaline Circulation have been reported previously, but only now has the development of advanced statistical methods made it possible to predict just when a collapse will occur.

The researchers analysed sea surface temperatures in a specific area of the North Atlantic from 1870 to present days. These sea surface temperatures are "fingerprints" testifying the strength of the AMOC, which has only been measured directly for the past 15 years.

"Using new and improved statistical tools, we've made calculations that provide a more robust estimate of when a collapse of the Thermohaline Circulation is most likely to occur, something we had not been able to do before," explains Professor Susanne Ditlevsen of UCPH's Department of Mathematical Sciences.

The thermohaline circulation has operated in its present mode since the last ice age, where the circulation was indeed collapsed. Abrupt climate jumps between the present state of the AMOC and the collapsed state has been observed to happen 25 times in connection with iceage climate. These are the famed Dansgaard-Oeschger events first observed in ice cores from the Greenlandic ice sheet. At those events climate changes were extreme with 10-15 degrees changes over a decade, while present days climate change is 1.5 degrees warming over a century.

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Fewer teens now perceive themselves as overweight -- international study of more than 745,000 adolescents

A study involving more than 745,000 adolescents from 41 countries across Europe and North America identified an increase in the amount of teenagers who underestimate their body weight.

Tracking data from 2002 to 2018, the peer-reviewed findings, published today in Child and Adolescent Obesity, demonstrate a noticeable decrease in those who overestimate their weight too.

The team of international experts, who carried out the research, warn these shifting trends in body weight perception could reduce the effectiveness of public health interventions aimed at weight reduction in young people.

"During this impressionable age, body weight perception may influence a young person's lifestyle choices, such as the amount and types of food they eat and their exercise habits," says lead author Doctor Anouk Geraets, from the Department of Social Sciences, at the University of Luxembourg.

"So it's concerning that we're seeing a trend where fewer adolescents perceive themselves as being overweight -- as this could undermine ongoing efforts to tackle increasing levels of obesity in this age group. Young people who underestimate their weight and therefore do not consider themselves to be overweight may not feel they need to lose excess weight and, as a result, they may make unhealthy lifestyle choices."

A person's perception of their body weight may not accurately reflect their actual weight. A discrepancy in body weight perception (BWP) may either be an underestimation (where actual weight is higher than perceived weight) or an overestimation (where actual weight is lower than perceived weight).

In the present study, the researchers examined survey data from 746,121 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds from 41 countries collected at four-yearly intervals between 2002 and 2018 in the International Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC), a WHO collaborative study.

The team modeled trends in BWP among adolescents across different countries over time, making adjustments for age, gender, and family socioeconomic status. They found:

•     Underestimation of weight status increased, and overestimation of weight status decreased over time among both sexes, with stronger trends for girls.
•     Correct weight perception increased over time among girls, while it decreased among boys.
•     Changes in correct weight perception, underestimation and overestimation of weight status differed across different countries -- but these changes could not be explained by an increase in country-level overweight/obesity prevalence.

The authors speculated that the observed differences between girls and boys in BWP may support the idea there are sex differences in body ideals -- and that these body ideals have changed over time. Notably, the increased underestimation and decreased overestimation of weight status over time for girls may be explained by the emergence of an athletic and strong body, as a new contemporary body ideal for both sexes.

"This study has clinical and public health implications. The increase in correct weight perception and the decrease in overestimation may have a positive effect on unnecessary and unhealthy weight loss behaviors among adolescents, while the increase in underestimation might indicate the need for interventions to strengthen correct weight perception," says lead author Doctor Anouk Geraets.

"More research is now needed to understand the factors underlying these time trends and to develop effective public health interventions."

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The Viking disease can be due to gene variants inherited from Neanderthals

Many men in northern Europe over the age of 60 suffer from the so-called Viking disease, which means that the fingers lock in a bent position. Now researchers at Karolinska Institutet, together with colleagues, have used data from over 7,000 affected individuals to look for genetic risk factors for the disease. The findings, which have been published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, show that three of the strongest risk factors are inherited from Neanderthals.

Up to 30 percent of men in northern Europe over 60 suffer from a condition called Dupuytren's contracture. The condition is sometimes called the Viking disease because it mainly affects individuals with northern European ancestry. The disease is significantly more common in men than women and usually begins as a lump in the palm of the hand that grows and causes one or more fingers to lock in a bent position. The condition is usually not painful, but the nodules may sometimes be tender to pressure.

The researchers in the study, led by Hugo Zeberg from Karolinska Institutet and Svante Pääbo from Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, set out to investigate whether genetic variants inherited from Neanderthals are involved in the disease.

Neanderthals lived in Europe and western Asia until about 40,000 years ago, when they were replaced by modern humans. However before Neanderthals disappeared, they mixed with modern humans. As a result, between one and two percent of the genomes of people with roots outside of Africa come from Neanderthals.

"Since Dupuytren's contracture is rarely seen in individuals of African descent, we wondered whether gene variants from Neanderthals can partly explain why people outside of Africa are affected," says Hugo Zeberg, assistant professor at the department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet.

The researchers used data from three large clinical cohorts in the US, UK, and Finland, which allowed them to compare the genomes of 7,871 sufferers and 645,880 healthy controls. They identified 61 genetic risk factors for Dupuytren's contracture. The researchers found that three of these were inherited from Neanderthals, and these included the second and third most important risk factors.

The study is further evidence that the intermingling between Neanderthals and our ancestors has important consequences for the prevalence of some diseases, particularly among certain groups.

"This is a case where the meeting with Neanderthals has affected who suffers from illness, although we should not exaggerate the connection between Neanderthals and Vikings," says Hugo Zeberg.

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Butterflies on the decline

Research shows that the numbers of butterflies in meadows and pastures of Europe are in a continuous decline. A new EU regulation aims to stop this trend.

Grassland butterflies will soon play an even greater role in EU nature conservation legislation. Based on the occurrences and population trends of butterflies, the member states are supposed to document the progress they have made in implementing the planned "Nature Restoration Law." The Butterfly Grassland Indicator, recently calculated for the eighth time by European foundation "Butterfly Conservation Europe," is to be used for this. This analysis, which also includes data and expertise from many volunteers in Germany -- coordinated by experts from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Halle -- shows an urgent need for action. This is because the situation of grassland butterflies in Europe has deteriorated considerably since the first calculations in 1990.

The diagnosis sounds worrying: More than 80% of habitats in the EU are currently considered vulnerable. This has negative consequences on their functional capability and thus the services they provide for humans. In order to counter this, the European Commission has proposed a new set of rules. This "Nature Restoration Law" is one of the key elements of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 to be published this May. It defines binding targets for the entire EU for the renaturation of various ecosystems. Two years after the regulation enters into force, member states must submit plans on how they intend to meet these targets. They must also document the success of their measures.

However, the latter is not so easy. So far, there are only a few indicators that can reliably show the state of biodiversity. For most animal and plant groups, there is a lack of comparable data across Europe from which to assess the development of populations. The few exceptions include birds, bats, and butterflies.

"Butterflies in particular are ideal bioindicators," says agricultural ecologist Prof. Dr Josef Settele from the UFZ. This is because these insects occur in a wide range of habitats and react sensitively to environmental changes. With their specific requirements, they are often representative of many other insects. Finally, they are eye-catching, attractive, and popular. It is thus relatively easy to motivate volunteers to take part in scientifically oriented butterfly counts.

Such actions are becoming increasingly popular. For example, in 2005 the UFZ and the Gesellschaft für Schmetterlingsschutz (GfS) launched a citizen science project called "Tagfaltermonitoring Deutschland" (Butterfly Monitoring Germany) in which anyone interested can participate. Since then, butterfly enthusiasts from all over Germany have been walking fixed routes from spring to autumn to record the number of individuals and species they have seen. Similar monitoring programmes now exist in most other European countries. "Around 5,000 volunteers spread all over Europe are now taking part -- all following the same protocol," says Settele.

The data are collected and analysed in the central "European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme" (eBMS) database, managed by UKCEH and mirrored at UFZ and the Dutch "Vlinderstichting." In this way, the population development of individual species can then be tracked. Common trends for the inhabitants of certain habitats can also be identified.

This is precisely the idea behind the Butterfly Grassland Indicator, which is based on the population trends of 17 typical species of meadows and pastures. If the positive and negative trends in these species roughly balance each other out, the indicator remains at the same level. If more species decline than increase in the same period, the value decreases -- and vice versa. Lower values thus indicate greater problems among grassland dwellers.

The latest results of these calculations, which include data from 1990 to 2020, therefore do not bode well. The analysis, which was also co-financed by the EU project SPRING (Strengthening Pollinator Recovery through Indicators and monitoring) coordinated by the UFZ, shows only one winner: In the 27 memberstates of the EU, only the Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines) displayed a moderate increase. Three species are stable: the Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus), the Common Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), and the Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina). Five species -- from the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) to the Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) -- are showing declining populations. "The biggest loser in recent years has been the large blue (Phengaris arion), which for example has disappeared completely in the Netherlands," says Settele. For the remaining species of the 17 grassland inhabitants studied, there is either no clear trend or too little data.

The picture becomes even less favourable if we look not only at the EU but rather at Europe as a whole. Then there are no species on the rise and only three are stable. Six show a moderate and one even a strong decline.

In view of these developments, it is not surprising that the grassland indicator is now at a considerably lower level than before. In the last 10 years alone, the calculated value for the EU has fallen by 32% -- and that for Europe as a whole by as much as 36%. The crisis of the grassland dwellers has apparently already taken hold of the entire continent. This is becoming increasingly more evident the more information is provided by the volunteer butterfly counters from different countries. "The declines are not confined to north-western Europe," says Chris van Swaay of Butterfly Conservation Europe. "However, some species in the South and East are doing much better."

He and his colleagues attribute the dwindling butterfly occurrences mainly to changes in agriculture. In north-western Europe, for example, the over-intensive use of meadows and pastures has a particularly unfavourable effect. The heavy use of fertilisers often also pollutes adjacent protected areas with excessive amounts of nitrogen. In the rest of Europe, the main problem is the complete abandonment of cultivation. That's because grassland butterflies also cope poorly with this.

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Study into global daily air pollution shows almost nowhere on Earth is safe

In a world first study of daily ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) across the globe, a Monash University study has found that only 0.18% of the global land area and 0.001% of the global population are exposed to levels of PM2.5 - the world's leading environmental health risk factor - below levels of safety recommended by Word Health Organisation (WHO).

Importantly while daily levels have reduced in Europe and North America in the two decades to 2019, levels have increased Southern Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and the Caribbean, with more than 70% of days globally seeing levels above what is safe.

A lack of pollution monitoring stations globally for air pollution, has meant a lack of data on local, national, regional and global PM2.5 exposure. Now this study, led by Professor Yuming Guo, from the Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, and published in the journal, Lancet Planetary Health, has provided a map of how PM2.5 has changed across the globe in the past decades.

The research team utilised traditional air quality monitoring observations, satellite-based meteorological and air pollution detectors, statistical and machine learning methods to more accurately assess PM2.5 concentrations globally, according to Professor Guo.

"In this study, we used an innovative machine learning approach to integrate multiple meteorological and geological information to estimate the global surface-level daily PM2.5 concentrations at a high spatial resolution of approximately 10km ×10km for global grid cells in 2000-2019, focusing on areas above 15 μg/m³ which is considered the safe limit by WHO (The threshold is still arguable)," he said.

The study reveals that annual PM2.5 concentration and high PM2.5 exposed days in Europe and northern America decreased over the two decades of the study -- whereas exposures increased in southern Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

In addition, the study found that:

•     Despite a slight decrease in high PM2.5 exposed days globally, by 2019 more than 70% of days still had PM2.5 concentrations higher than 15 μg/m³.
•     In southern Asia and eastern Asia, more than 90% of days had daily PM2.5 concentrations higher than 15 μg/m³.
•     Australia and New Zealand had a marked increase in the number of days with high PM2.5 concentrations in 2019.
•     Globally, the annual average PM2.5 from 2000 to 2019 was 32.8 µg/m3.
•     The highest PM2.5 concentrations were distributed in the regions of Eastern Asia (50.0 µg/m3) and Southern Asia (37.2 µg/m3), followed by northern Africa (30.1 µg/m3).
•     Australia and New Zealand (8.5 μg/m³), other regions in Oceania (12.6 μg/m³), and southern America (15.6 μg/m³) had the lowest annual PM2.5 concentrations.
•     Based on the new 2021 WHO guideline limit, only 0.18% of the global land area and 0.001% of the global population were exposed to an annual exposure lower than this guideline limit (annual average of 5 μg/m³) in 2019.

According to Professor Guo, the unsafe PM2.5 concentrations also show different seasonal patterns "included Northeast China and North India during their winter months (December, January, and February), whereas eastern areas in northern America had high PM2.5 in its summer months (June, July, and August)," he said.

"We also recorded relatively high PM2.5 air pollution in August and September in South America and from June to September in sub-Saharan Africa."

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Over 4% of summer mortality in European cities is attributable to urban heat islands

Over four percent of deaths in cities during the summer months are due to urban heat islands, and one third of these deaths could be prevented by reaching a tree cover of 30%, according to a modelling study published in The Lancet and led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by "la Caixa" Foundation. The study results, obtained with data from 93 European cities, highlight the substantial benefits of planting more trees in cities to attenuate the impact of climate change.

Exposure to heat has been associated with premature mortality, cardiorespiratory disease and hospital admissions. This is particularly true for heat waves, but also occurs with moderately high temperatures in summer. Cities are especially vulnerable to higher temperatures. Less vegetation, higher population density, and impermeable surfaces for buildings and roads, including asphalt, lead to a temperature difference between the city and surrounding areas -- a phenomenon called urban heat island. Given the ongoing global warming and urban growth, this effect is expected to worsen over the next decades.

"Predictions based on current emissions reveal that heat-related illness and death will become a bigger burden to our health services over the next decades," says ISGlobal researcher Tamara Iungman, first author of the study.

An international team led by Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, director of the Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative at ISGlobal, estimated mortality rates of residents aged over 20 in 93 European cities (a total of 57 million inhabitants), between June and August 2015, and collected data on daily rural and urban temperatures for each city. The analyses were performed at a high-resolution level (areas of 250m x 250m). First, they estimated the premature mortality by simulating a hypothetical scenario without urban heat island. Second, they estimated the temperature reduction that would be obtained by increasing tree cover to 30% and the associated mortality that could be avoided.

"Our goal is to inform local decision-makers about the benefits of integrating green areas into all neighborhoods in order to promote more sustainable, resilient and healthy urban environments," explains Nieuwenhuijsen.

The protective effect of trees

The results show that, from June to August 2015, cities were on average 1.5oC warmer than the surrounding countryside. In total, 6,700 premature deaths could be attributed to hotter urban temperatures, which represents 4.3% of total mortality during the summer months and 1.8% of year-round mortality. One third of these deaths (2,644) could have been prevented by increasing tree cover up to 30%, thereby reducing temperatures. Overall, cities with the highest excess heat-mortality rates were in Southern and Eastern Europe, with these cities benefiting the most from an increase in tree cover.

The study highlights the substantial benefits of planting more trees in cities, although the authors acknowledge that this can be challenging in some cities due to their design, and that tree planting should be combined with other interventions such as green roofs or other temperature-reducing alternatives.

"Our results also show the need to preserve and maintain the trees that we already have because they are a valuable resource and it takes a long time to grow new trees. It is not only about increasing trees in the city, it is also about how they are distributed," says Nieuwenhuijsen.

The analyses were done for 2015 because population data were not available for later years, but, as Iungman points out, the study provides valuable information for adapting our cities and making them more resilient to the health impact of climate change. "Here we only looked at the cooling effect of trees, but making cities greener has many other health benefits, including longer life expectancy, fewer mental health problems and better cognitive functioning," she adds.

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Jawbone may represent earliest presence of humans in Europe

For over a century, one of the earliest human fossils ever discovered in Spain has been long considered a Neanderthal. However, new analysis from an international research team, including scientists at Binghamton University, State University of New York, dismantles this century-long interpretation, demonstrating that this fossil is not a Neanderthal; rather, it may actually represent the earliest presence of Homo sapiens ever documented in Europe.

In 1887, a fossil mandible was discovered during quarrying activities in the town of Banyoles, Spain, and has been studied by different researchers over the past century. The Banyoles fossil likely dates to between approximately 45,000-65,000 years ago, at a time when Europe was occupied by Neanderthals, and most researchers have generally linked it to this species.

"The mandible has been studied throughout the past century and was long considered to be a Neanderthal based on its age and location, and the fact that it lacks one of the diagnostic features of Homo sapiens: a chin," said Binghamton University graduate student Brian Keeling.

The new study relied on virtual techniques, including CT scanning of the original fossil. This was used to virtually reconstruct missing parts of the fossil, and then to generate a 3D model to be analyzed on the computer.

The authors studied the expressions of distinct features on the mandible from Banyoles that are different between our own species, Homo sapiens, and the Neanderthals, our closest evolutionary cousins.

The authors applied a methodology known as "three-dimensional geometric morphometrics" that analyzes the geometric properties of the bone's shape. This makes it possible to directly compare the overall shape of Banyoles to Neanderthals and H. sapiens.

"Our results found something quite surprising -- Banyoles shared no distinct Neanderthal traits and did not overlap with Neanderthals in its overall shape," said Keeling.

While Banyoles seemed to fit better with Homo sapiens in both the expression of its individual features and its overall shape, many of these features are also shared with earlier human species, complicating an immediate assignment to Homo sapiens. In addition, Banyoles lacks a chin, one of the most characteristic features of Homo sapiens mandibles.

"We were confronted with results that were telling us Banyoles is not a Neanderthal, but the fact that it does not have a chin made us think twice about assigning it to Homo sapiens," said Rolf Quam, professor of anthropology at Binghamton University, State University of New York. "The presence of a chin has long been considered a hallmark of our own species."

Given this, reaching a scientific consensus on what species Banyoles represents is a challenge. The authors also compared Banyoles with an early Homo sapiens mandible from a site called Peştera cu Oase in Romania. Unlike Banyoles, this mandible shows a full chin along with some Neanderthal features, and an ancient DNA analysis has revealed this individual had a Neanderthal ancestor four to six generations ago. Since the Banyoles mandible shared no distinct features with Neanderthals, the researchers ruled out the possibility of mixture between Neanderthals and H. sapiens to explain its anatomy.

The authors point out that some of the earliest Homo sapiens fossils from Africa, predating Banyoles by more than 100,000 years, do show less pronounced chins than in living populations.

Thus, these scientists developed two possibilities for what the Banyoles mandible may represent: a member of a previously unknown population of Homo sapiens that coexisted with the Neanderthals; or a hybrid between a member of this Homo sapiens group and a non-Neanderthal unidentified human species. However, at the time of Banyoles, the only fossils recovered from Europe are Neanderthals, making this latter hypothesis less likely.

"If Banyoles is really a member of our species, this prehistoric human would represent the earliest H. sapiens ever documented in Europe," said Keeling.

Whichever species this mandible belongs to, Banyoles is clearly not a Neanderthal at a time when Neanderthals were believed to be the sole occupants of Europe.

The authors conclude that "the present situation makes Banyoles a prime candidate for ancient DNA or proteomic analyses, which may shed additional light on its taxonomic affinities."

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New discovery of panda species which may have been Europe's last

Lumbering through the forested wetlands of Bulgaria around six million years ago, a new species of panda has been uncovered by scientists who state it is currently the last known and "most evolved" European giant panda.

Unearthed from the bowels of the Bulgarian National Museum of Natural History, two fossils of teeth originally found in the eastern European nation in the late 1970s, provide new evidence of a sizable relative of the modern giant panda. Unlike today's iconic black and white bear however, it was not reliant on purely bamboo.

"Although not a direct ancestor of the modern genus of the giant panda, it is its close relative," explains the Museum's Professor Nikolai Spassov, whose findings are today published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

"This discovery shows how little we still know about ancient nature and demonstrates also that historic discoveries in paleontology can lead to unexpected results, even today."

The upper carnassial tooth, and an upper canine, were originally cataloged by paleontologist Ivan Nikolov, who added them to the museum's trove of fossilized treasures when they were unearthed in northwestern Bulgaria. This new species is named Agriarctos nikolovi in his honor.

"They had only one label written vaguely by hand," recalls Professor Spassov. "It took me many years to figure out what the locality was and what its age was. Then it also took me a long time to realize that this was an unknown fossil giant panda."

The coal deposits in which the teeth were found -- which have imbued them with a blackened hue -- suggest that this ancient panda inhabited forested, swampy regions.

There, during the Miocene epoch, it likely consumed a largely vegetarian diet -- but not purely reliant on bamboo!

Fossils of the staple grass that sustains the modern panda are rare in the European -- and, especially, in the Bulgarian late Miocene -- fossil record and the cusps of the teeth do not appear strong enough to crush the woody stems.

Instead, it likely fed on softer plant materials -- aligning with the general trend toward increased reliance on plants in this group's evolutionary history.

Sharing their environment with other large predators likely drove the giant panda lineage toward vegetarianism.

"The likely competition with other species, especially carnivores and presumably other bears, explains the closer food specialization of giant pandas to vegetable food in humid forest conditions," states Professor Spassov.

The paper speculates that A. nikolovi's teeth nonetheless provided ample defense against predators. In addition, the canines are comparable in size to those of the modern panda, suggesting that they belonged to a similarly sized or only slightly smaller animal.

The authors propose that A. nikolovi may have become extinct as a result of climate change, probably because of the 'Messinian salinity crisis' -- an event in which the Mediterranean basin dried up, significantly altering the surrounding terrestrial environments.

"Giant pandas are a very specialized group of bears," Professor Spassov adds. "Even if A. niklovi was not as specialized in habitats and food as the modern giant panda, fossil pandas were specialized enough and their evolution was related to humid, wooded habitats. It is likely that climate change at the end of the Miocene in southern Europe, leading to aridification, had an adverse effect on the existence of the last European panda."

Co-author Qigao Jiangzuo, from Peking University, China, was primarily responsible in helping to narrow down the identity of this strange beast to belonging to the Ailuropodini -- a tribe within the Ursidae bear family. While this group of animals is best known by its only living representative, the giant panda, they once ranged across Europe and Asia. Intriguingly, the authors propose two potential pathways for the distribution of this group.

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Europe's largest land predator unearthed on the Isle of Wight

Research led by palaeontologists at the University of Southampton has identified the remains of one of Europe's largest ever land-based hunters: a dinosaur that measured over 10m long and lived around 125 million years ago.

Several prehistoric bones, uncovered on the Isle of Wight, on the south coast of England, and housed at Dinosaur Isle Museum in Sandown, belonged to a type of two-legged, crocodile-faced predatory dinosaur known as spinosaurids. Dubbed the 'White Rock spinosaurid' -- after the geological layer in which it was found -- it was a predator of impressive proportions.

"This was a huge animal, exceeding 10 m in length and probably several tonnes in weight. Judging from some of the dimensions, it appears to represent one of the largest predatory dinosaur ever found in Europe -- maybe even the biggest yet known," said PhD student Chris Barker, who led the study. "It's a shame it's only known from a small amount of material, but these are enough to show it was an immense creature."

The discovery follows previous work on spinosaurids by the University of Southampton team, which published a study on the discovery of two new species in 2021.

The bones of the 'White Rock spinosaurid', which include huge pelvic and tail vertebrae, amongst other pieces, were discovered near Compton Chine, on the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight. The Cretaceous rocks are famous for their dinosaurs, but little appreciated is the fact that the Island's fossil record preserves dinosaurs from more than one section of history -- and some of those sections, even today, are poorly known.

"Unusually, this specimen eroded out of the Vectis Formation, which is notoriously poor in dinosaur fossils," said corresponding author Dr Neil Gostling, who teaches evolution and palaeobiology at the University of Southampton. "It's likely to be the youngest spinosaur material yet known from the UK."

The 125 million year old Vectis Formation preserves the beginning of a period of rising sea levels, where the 'White Rock spinosaurid' stalked lagoonal waters and sandflats in search of food.

"Because it's only known from fragments at the moment, we haven't given it a formal scientific name" said co-author Darren Naish. He added: "We hope that additional remains will turn up in time.

"This new animal bolsters our previous argument -- published last year -- that spinosaurid dinosaurs originated and diversified in western Europe before becoming more widespread."

Marks on the bone also showed how, even after death, the body of this giant probably supported a range of scavengers and decomposers.

"Most of these amazing fossils were found by Nick Chase, one of Britain's most skilled dinosaur hunters, who sadly died just before the Covid epidemic," said co-author Jeremy Lockwood, a PhD student at the University of Portsmouth and Natural History Museum. "I was searching for remains of this dinosaur with Nick and found a lump of pelvis with tunnels bored into it, each about the size of my index finger. We think they were caused by bone eating larvae of a type of scavenging beetle. It's an interesting thought that this giant killer wound up becoming a meal for a host of insects."

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The European drought event from 2018 to 2020 was the most intense in over 250 years

These were days, months and years that many will come to remember: the drought from 2018 to 2020. An international team of researchers led by scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) has succeeded in categorizing the historical dimensions of this event. Based on their findings, no drought covering such a large area for an extended period and coinciding with warmer temperature has occurred in Europe since the middle of the 18th century. The years from 2018 to 2020 thus represent a new benchmark for droughts. Because such an unprecedented event is likely to occur more frequently in the future, the scientists urgently recommend the development and implementation of suitable, regionally adapted drought prevention measures.

Withered meadows and fields, dry stream beds, dead forests, and reduced power plant outputs -- the drought years of 2018, 2019 and 2020 were exceptional and had substantial impacts on nature and the economy. Previously it was not clear where they should be classified in their historical dimension. Now we know: "The 2018 to 2020 drought sets a new benchmark for droughts in Europe," says Dr. Oldrich Rakovec, UFZ modeller and lead author of the article published in the Earth's Future journal of the American Geophysical Union. The scientists documented this with a large compilation of data and modelling techniques which allowed them to reconstruct historical droughts back to 1766 and comparing their extents with the drought of 2018 to 2020.

The drought from 2018 to 2020 thus affected approximately one third of the land area of Europe, especially in central Europe, such as Germany, France and the Czech Republic. "No other drought event over the last 250 years had such a large spatial extent as this one," explains Oldrich Rakovec. The total duration of the drought event in Europe was also unusually long, starting in April 2018 and not ending until December 2020: 33 months. Only the drought between 1857 and 1860 lasted slightly longer for a total of 35 months. What's more: The drought from 2018 to 2020 also continued in 2021 and 2022 in deeper soils (i.e., up to 2m below the ground surface). "Although 2021 was wetter and supplied much needed water in the upper soil important for sustaining agriculture activities, the moisture did not penetrate to greater depths," says the UFZ modeller.

The average drought duration was also unusually long in the 50 x 50 km grid cells in which the scientists subdivided Europe for their modelling activity. Because a drought event develops dynamically in space and time (i.e., it starts at one point, then continues developing and finally ends somewhere else) its mean duration differs from its total one. In this case, the 2018-2020 event exhibited a mean drought duration of 12 months.

In the past, only the drought event from 1857 to 1860 lasted longer, with a mean duration of 13 months. The scientists define drought as the time in which the current soil-water content in top 2-m soil falls below the level that has been reached only 20 percent of the time during the 250 years. To reconstruct these historical droughts, the scientists used the mHM hydrologic model developed at the UFZ. Among other things, this environmental model can be used to estimate soil moisture content based on past temperature and precipitation records.

The rise in air temperature also reached a historical record during the 2018-2020 drought event, with an anomaly of 2.8 degrees Celsius above the long-term average over the past 250 years. "The droughts in the past were colder than recent droughts in which the average temperature hardly changed," says Dr. Rohini Kumar, UFZ modeller and co-author of the article. The effects of a drought event become significantly more severe if, on addition to the precipitation deficit (approximately 20 percent for major drought events in past centuries), the warmer conditions prevail. This combined effect results in greater evaporation losses, leading to declining soil-water levels. The scientists also examined the consequences of the lack of water for agriculture during this drought event. They compared average annual crop yields for wheat, grain maize and barley, between 2018 and 2020 with those between 1961 and 2021. The results indicate that harvests were significantly reduced in countries affected primarily by the 2018-2020 drought. For example, grain maize production decreased between 20 and 40 percent in the Benelux countries, Germany and France; wheat reduced by up to 17.5 percent in Germany; and barley reduced by 10 percent in nearly all of Europe.

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Mummification in Europe may be older than previously known

Mummification of the dead probably was more common in prehistory than previously known. This discovery is made at the hunter-gatherer burial sites in the Sado Valley in Portugal, dating to 8,000 years ago. A new study, headed by archaeologists at Uppsala University and Linnaeus University in Sweden and University of Lisbon in Portugal, presents new evidence for pre-burial treatments such as desiccation through mummification, which has not been suggested for the European Mesolithic before. The results are now published in European Journal of Archaeology.

Until now, the oldest cases of intentional mummification were known from the Chinchorro hunter-gatherers living in the coastal region of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile with examples of mummified bodies buried in shell middens around 7,000 years ago still preserving soft tissue. However, most surviving mummies worldwide are more recent, dating between a few hundred years and 4,000 years old.

Mummification in prehistory is a challenging topic for researchers because it is difficult to detect if a body was preserved through mummification when soft tissue is no longer visible. An additional difficulty is the lack of written reports for these early periods. Unlike bone, finding soft tissue in archaeological sites is rare due to issues of preservation, and without it, it is difficult to recognize if the remains have been curated soon after death. This is particularly challenging in temperate and wetter climates, such as in most of Europe, where soft tissues and fabrics do not normally survive in archaeological sites.

Using recently discovered photographs of the skeletal remains of thirteen individuals excavated in the 1960s in the Sado Valley Mesolithic shell middens in Portugal, the researchers were able to reconstruct the positions in which the bodies were buried providing a unique opportunity to learn more about mortuary rituals taking place 8,000 years ago.

The study combined the approach of archaeothanatology with human decomposition experiments. Archaeothanatology is an approach used by archaeologists to document and analyse human remains in archaeological sites that combines observations of the spatial distribution of the bones in the grave with knowledge about how the human body decomposes after death. Archaeologists can then reconstruct how the dead body was handled after death and buried, even if several millennia have passed. In this study, the archaeothanatology was also informed by results from human decomposition experiments on mummification and burial at the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility at Texas State University.

Based on the results from the experiments, an observable signature for a mummy could be proposed that combines several observations: a hyperflexion of the limbs, an absence of disarticulation in significant parts of the skeleton, and a rapid infilling of sediment around the bones. These were all clearly present in at least one of the burials in this study. The analysis showed that some bodies were buried in extremely flexed positions with the legs flexed at the knees and placed in front of the chest.

During decomposition, the bones usually become disarticulated at weak joints, such as at the feet, but in these cases, the articulations were maintained. The researchers propose that this pattern of hyperflexion and lack of disarticulation could be explained if the body was not placed in the grave as a fresh cadaver, but in a desiccated state as a mummied corpse. Desiccation not only maintains some of these otherwise weak articulations, but also allows for a strong flexion of the body since the range of movement increases when the volume of soft tissue is smaller. Because the bodies were desiccated before burial, there is very little or no sediment present between the bones and the articulations are maintained by the continuous infilling of the surrounding soil supporting the bones and preventing the collapse of the articulations.

The researchers suggest that the observed patterns could be the product of a guided natural mummification process. The manipulation of the body during mummification would have taken place over an extended period of time, during which the body gradually would become desiccated to maintain its bodily integrity, and simultaneously contracted by trussing with rope or bandages to compress it into a desired position. When the process was finished, the body would have been easier to transport (being more contracted and significantly lighter than the fresh cadaver) while ensuring that it was buried while retaining its appearance and anatomical integrity.

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Mystery solved about the origin of the 30,000-year-old Venus of Willendorf

The almost 11 cm high figurine from Willendorf is one of the most important examples of early art in Europe. It is made of a rock called "oolite" which is not found in or around Willendorf. A research team led by the anthropologist Gerhard Weber from the University of Vienna and the two geologists Alexander Lukeneder and Mathias Harzhauser as well as the prehistorian Walpurga Antl-Weiser from the Natural History Museum Vienna have now found out with the help of high-resolution tomographic images that the material from which the Venus was carved likely comes from northern Italy. This sheds new light on the remarkable mobility of the first modern humans south and north of the Alps. The results currently appear in Scientific Reports.

The Venus von Willendorf is not only special in terms of its design, but also in terms of its material. While other Venus figures are usually made of ivory or bone, sometimes also of different stones, oolite was used for the Lower Austrian Venus, which is unique for such cult objects. The figurine found in the Wachau in 1908 and on display in the Natural History Museum in Vienna has so far only been examined from the outside. Now, more than a 100 years later, anthropologist Gerhard Weber from the University of Vienna has used a new method to examine its interior: micro-computed tomography. During several passes, the scientists obtained images with a resolution of up to 11.5 micrometres -- a quality that is otherwise only seen under a microscope. The first insight gained is: "Venus does not look uniform at all on the inside. A special property that could be used to determine its origin," says the anthropologist.

Along with the two geologists Alexander Lukeneder and Mathias Harzhauser from the Natural History Museum in Vienna, who had previously worked with oolites, the team procured comparative samples from Austria and Europe and evaluated them. A complex project: Rock samples from France to eastern Ukraine, from Germany to Sicily were obtained, sawn up and examined under a microscope. The team was supported by the state of Lower Austria, which provided funds for the time-consuming analyses.

The inside also gives information about the outside

The tomographic data from the Venus showed that the sediments were deposited in the rocks in different densities and sizes. In between there were also small remnants of shells and six very dense, larger grains, so-called limonites. The latter explains the previously mysterious hemispherical cavities on the surface of Venus with the same diameter: "The hard limonites probably broke out when the creator of the Venus was carving it," explains Weber: "In the case of the Venus navel, he then apparently made it a virtue out of necessity."

Another finding: The Venus oolite is porous because the cores of the millions of globules (ooides) of which it is comprised had dissolved. This is a great explanation for why the resourceful sculptor chose this material 30,000 years ago: It is much easier to work with. The scientists also identified a tiny shell remnant, just 2.5 millimetres long, and dated it to the Jurassic period. This ruled out all other potential deposits of the rock from the much later Miocene geological era, such as those in the nearby Vienna Basin.

A long way for that time

The research team also analysed the grain sizes of the other samples. Hundreds, sometimes even thousands of grains were marked and measured with image processing programs or even manually. None of the samples within a 200-kilometer radius of Willendorf even remotely matched. The analysis finally showed that the samples from the Venus were statistically indistinguishable from samples from a location in northern Italy near Lake Garda. This is remarkable because it means that the Venus (or at least its material) started a journey from south of the Alps to the Danube north of the Alps.

"People in the Gravettian -- the tool culture of the time -- looked for and inhabited favourable locations. When the climate or the prey situation changed, they moved on, preferably along rivers," explains Gerhard Weber. Such a journey could have taken generations.

One of the two possible routes from the south to the north would lead around the Alps and into the Pannonian Plain and was described in simulations by other researchers a few years ago. The other way to get from Lake Garda to the Wachau would be via the Alps. Whether this was possible more than 30,000 years ago is unclear due to the climate deterioration that began at that time. This would be a rather improbable variant if there had already been continuous glaciers at that time. However, the 730 km long path along the Etsch, the Inn and the Danube had always been below 1,000 meters above sea level, with the exception of 35 kilometres at Lake Reschen.

Possible, but less likely, connection to eastern Ukraine

The statistics clearly point to northern Italy as the origin of the Venus oolite. Nevertheless, there is another interesting place for the origin of the rock. It is in eastern Ukraine, more than 1,600 kilometres linear distance from Willendorf. The samples there do not fit as clearly as those from Italy, but better than all the rest of the sample. An interesting connection here: Venus figures were found in nearby southern Russia, which are somewhat younger, but look very similar to the Venus found in Austria. Genetic results also show that people in Central and Eastern Europe were connected to one another at this time.

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