The mammoths on St Paul Island outlived their mainland cousins by thousands of years

The reported incidence of neoplasia in the extinct human lineage is rare, with only a few confirmed cases of Middle or Later Pleistocene dates reported. It has generally been assumed that pre-modern incidence of neoplastic disease of any kind is rare and limited to benign conditions, but new fossil evidence suggests otherwise. We here present the earliest identifiable case of malignant neoplastic disease from an early human ancestor dated to 1.8–1.6 million years old. The diagnosis has been made possible only by advances in 3D imaging methods as diagnostic aids.

We sequenced Early Neolithic genomes from the Zagros region of Iran (eastern Fertile Crescent), where some of the earliest evidence for farming is found, and identify a previously uncharacterized population that is neither ancestral to the first European farmers nor has contributed significantly to the ancestry of modern Europeans. These people are estimated to have separated from Early Neolithic farmers in Anatolia some 46-77,000 years ago and show affinities to modern day Pakistani and Afghan populations, but particularly to Iranian Zoroastrians.

During the Ordovician period, the concentration of CO2 in the earth's atmosphere was about eight times higher than today.

We describe the earliest evidence for neoplastic disease in the hominin lineage. This is reported from the type specimen of the extinct hominin Australopithecus sediba from Malapa, South Africa, dated to 1.98 million years ago.

Original Source

How were cities distributed globally in the past? How many people lived in these cities? How did cities influence their local and regional environments? In order to understand the current era of urbanization, we must understand long-term historical urbanization trends and patterns. However, to date there is no comprehensive record of spatially explicit, historic, city-level population data at the global scale.

Humans can look to the past to predict future changes in climate, according to a recent report.

MADISON, Wis. -- In 1442, 50 years before Columbus "sailed the ocean blue," Shinto priests in Japan began keeping records of the annual freeze dates of a nearby lake.

Global sea level rose by 14cm in the 20th century - more than in any of the previous 27 centuries, say researchers from Rutgers University who believe climate change is to blame.

Higher temperatures as a result of industrialisation blamed for the acceleration, as scientists warn of potential for 131cm rise by year 2100

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