— Archaeologists find new evidence of animals being introduced to prehistoric Caribbean — An archaeological research team from North Carolina State University, the University of Washington and University of Florida has found one of the most diverse collections of prehistoric…
— Microscopic worms could hold the key to living life on Mars — The astrophysicist Stephen Hawking believes that if humanity is to survive we will have up sticks and colonise space. But is the human body up to the challenge?…
— Chemical warfare of stealthy silverfish — A co-evolutionary arms race exists between social insects and their parasites. Army ants (Leptogenys distinguenda) share their nests with several parasites such as beetles, snails and…
— Stinky frogs are a treasure trove of antibiotic substances — Some of the nastiest smelling creatures on Earth have skin that produces the greatest known variety of anti-bacterial substances that hold promise for becoming new weapons in the battle…
— Genetic code of first arachnid cracked — An international team of scientists - including Ghent VIB scientists - has succeeded in deciphering the genome of the spider mite. This is also the first known genome of an arachnid.…
— How bats 'hear' objects in their path — By placing real and virtual objects in the flight paths of bats, scientists at the Universities of Bristol and Munich have shed new light on how echolocation works. Their research is…
— Counting cats: The endangered snow leopards of the Himalayas — The elusive snow leopard (Panthera uncia) lives high in the mountains across Central Asia. Despite potentially living across 12 countries the actual numbers of this beautiful large…
— Surprise role of nuclear structure protein in development — Scientists have long held theories about the importance of proteins called B-type lamins in the process of embryonic stem cells replicating and differentiating into different varieties…
— Pregnancy is a drag for bottlenose dolphins — Lumbering around during the final weeks before delivery is tough for any pregnant mum. Most females adjust their movements to compensate for the extreme physical changes that accompany…
Crocs and fish the key to human evolution
Almost two million years ago, early humans began eating food such as crocodiles, turtles and fish - a diet that could have played an important role in the evolution of human brains and our footsteps out of Africa, according to new research.
In what is the first evidence of consistent amounts of aquatic foods in the human diet, an international team of researchers has discovered early stone tools and cut marked animal remains in northern Kenya. The work has just been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
'This site in Africa is the first evidence that early humans were eating an extremely broad diet,' says Dr Andy Herries from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the only researcher from Australia to have worked with the team. The project represents a collaborative effort with the National Museums of Kenya and is led by David Braun of the University of Cape Town in South Africa and Jack Harris of Rutgers University in the US.
The researchers found evidence of the early humans eating both freshwater fish and land animals at the site in the northern Rift Valley of Kenya. It is thought that small bodied early Homo would have scavenged the remains of these creatures, rather than hunting for them.
'This find is important because fish in particular has been associated with brain development and it is after this period that we see smaller-brained hominin species evolving into larger-brained Homo species- Homo erectus - the first hominin to leave Africa,' says Dr Herries, of the School of Medical Sciences.
'A broader diet as suggested by the site's archaeology may have been the catalyst for brain development and humanity's first footsteps out of Africa.'
Dr Herries dated the archeological remains using palaeomagnetism, a technique that identifies the fossilised direction of the Earth's magnetic field in sediments.
Or subscribe for our Newsletter, a free e-mail publication. It is published practically every day.
Several new species discovered in Brazil
Birds announce their sentry duty to help comrades get a good meal
The first animal on Earth was probably significantly more complex than thought
Physician from the University of Kentucky revolutionises gene research