<strong>The long read:</strong> When fossilised remains were discovered in the Djurab desert in 2001, they were hailed as radically rewriting the history of our species. But not everyone was convinced – and the bitter argument that followed has consumed the lives of scholars ever since

Guardian Book Blog

25.05.2025

Arctic, feathered … or just weird: what have we learned since Walking with Dinosaurs aired 25 years ago | Dinosaurs | The Guardian

As the BBC updates its groundbreaking series, a look at some of the recent scientific discoveries

Guardian Book Blog

19.05.2025

Are we hardwired to fall for autocrats? | Evolution | The Guardian

It’s human nature to trust strongmen, but we’ve also evolved the tools to resist them

Guardian Book Blog

15.05.2025

Feathered fossil provides clues about how earliest birds first took flight | Fossils | The Guardian

‘Beautifully preserved’ Archaeopteryx has tertial feathers that appear to have been key to making it aerodynamic

Guardian Book Blog

28.04.2025

The big idea: will we ever make life in the lab? | Science | The Guardian

Intriguing advances hold out the possibility – but first we have to agree on what ‘life’ means

Guardian Book Blog

26.04.2025

Tim Flannery: ‘What we’re seeing is the last gasp of the patriarchy’ | Tim Flannery | The Guardian

The celebrated scientist and conservationist on the federal election, the world at 3C hotter, and why he is ‘very hopeful’ humankind will survive the climate crisis

Guardian Book Blog

24.04.2025

Giant prehistoric kangaroos preferred to ‘chill at home’ and didn’t like to go out much, scientists say | Wildlife | The Guardian

Fossil teeth show species of protemnodon that roamed Australia between 5m and 40,000 years ago lived and died near Queensland caves

Guardian Book Blog

15.03.2025

Primordial surf: ‘microlightning’ in mist may have sparked life on Earth, study finds | Evolution | The Guardian

Tiny lightning streaks in fine spray can power chemical reactions that generate molecules for life, scientists say

Guardian Book Blog

13.03.2025

Bone fragments of oldest known human face in western Europe found in Spain | Archaeology | The Guardian

Remains are of an adult member of an extinct species who lived up to 1.4m years ago, researchers say

Guardian Book Blog

07.03.2025

Reviving the woolly mammoth isn’t just unethical. It’s impossible | Adam Rutherford | The Guardian

At a time when US scientists are under attack from their own government, the illiteracy around these elephantine fantasies is dangerous, says geneticist Adam Rutherford

Guardian Book Blog

19.02.2025

‘It won’t end like Jurassic Park!’ The man who wants to bring the mammoth and dodo back to life | Biotechnology industry | The Guardian

Ben Lamm of ‘de-extinction’ specialist Colossal Biosciences not only has plans to bring back prehistoric creatures, but also preserve those on the verge of vanishing

Guardian Book Blog

28.01.2025

Both men and women prefer younger partners, study finds | Science | The Guardian

Even though women tend to say they prefer older men they scored younger men as more desirable, research shows

Guardian Book Blog

15.01.2025

Are ultra-processed foods changing the shape of our jaws? | Ultra-processed foods | The Guardian

Study has linked a soft and liquid diet to smaller jaw size in children, but others say evolution is more likely the cause

Guardian Book Blog

03.01.2025

Biggest trackway of dinosaur footprints found in Oxfordshire quarry | Dinosaurs | The Guardian

Cetiosauruses and a megalosaurus are thought to have left prints at trackway dating to nearly 166m years ago

Guardian Book Blog

28.12.2024

‘We need dramatic social and technological changes’: is societal collapse inevitable? | Climate crisis | The Guardian

Academic Danilo Brozović says studies of failed civilisations all point in one direction – today’s society needs radical transformation to survive

Guardian Book Blog

27.12.2024

Hubris by Johannes Krause and Thomas Trappe review – learning from the Neanderthals | Science and nature books | The Guardian

Why did we succeed when other hominins didn’t, and can lessons from our evolutionary past help rein in our destructive impulses?

Guardian Book Blog

24.12.2024

Baby mammoth in Russia is the ‘best-preserved’ ever found | Extinct wildlife | The Guardian

The 50,000-year-old female, nicknamed Yana, is one of only seven whole remains discovered in world

Guardian Book Blog

24.12.2024

'World's best-preserved mammoth' found in Siberia – video | Extinct wildlife | The Guardian

Researchers in Russia have unveiled the near intact carcass of a juvenile female mammoth, whose remarkably well-preserved remains were discovered in thawing permafrost after more than 50,000 years

Guardian Book Blog

19.12.2024

Ancient bones shed new light on debate over origins of syphilis | Infectious diseases | The Guardian

Study finds 9,000-year-old remains in Americas hold genomes of bacteria family that causes disease

Guardian Book Blog

01.12.2024

The big idea: on Remembrance Day for Lost Species, here’s why it matters | Extinct wildlife | The Guardian

A way to personally connect with wildlife is vital when statistics alone can’t convey the scale of the loss

Guardian Book Blog

29.11.2024

Footprints in Kenya ‘show distant relatives of modern humans coexisted’ | Evolution | The Guardian

Researchers say fossilised marks were apparently made in same place within days of each other about 1.5m years ago

Guardian Book Blog

25.11.2024

Readers reply: How on earth did humans learn to bake? | Baking | The Guardian

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

Guardian Book Blog

15.11.2024

The Genetic Book of the Dead by Richard Dawkins review – the great biologist’s swansong | Science and nature books | The Guardian

A wonderful but thoroughly conventional celebration of the science of evolution

Guardian Book Blog

15.11.2024

Hiker discovers first trace of entire prehistoric ecosystem in Italian Alps | Italy | The Guardian

Melting snow and ice has revealed footprints of reptiles and amphibians, dating back 280 million years

Guardian Book Blog

05.11.2024

The big idea: is convenience making our lives more difficult? | Psychology | The Guardian

Everything is easier with modern technology – except fulfilling your true potential

Guardian Book Blog

05.11.2024

Sea angels and devils: could plankton unlock the secrets of human biology? | Marine life | The Guardian

Scientists use new technology to sequence the DNA of microscopic ocean creatures for the first time

Guardian Book Blog

31.10.2024

Scientists discover oldest ever giant tadpole fossil in Argentina | Fossils | The Guardian

Tadpole that wriggled around 160m years ago surpasses previous record holder by about 20m years

Guardian Book Blog

25.10.2024

Hong Kong unearths its first ever dinosaur fossils | Hong Kong | The Guardian

Official hails discovery ‘of great significance’ on Port Island, with remains of as yet unknown species to go on display in shopping district on Friday

Guardian Book Blog

24.10.2024

Long-extinct animals could be resurrected as robots to shed light on evolution | Palaeontology | The Guardian

Researchers hope to recreate entire bodies of ancient creatures using paleo-inspired robotics

Guardian Book Blog

05.10.2024

‘Baby brain’? ‘Fussy eater’? By dispelling such myths, science is taking the shame out of parenting | Lucy Jones | The Guardian

Most childcare advice is simply opinion; research based on data and evidence is the liberation we need, says author Lucy Jones

Guardian Book Blog

27.09.2024

‘Crazy little fish have a lot to tell us’: sea robins use ‘legs’ to taste way to prey | Animal behaviour | The Guardian

Fish monitor sea floor using leg-like structures covered in bumps similar to those on a human tongue, study finds

Guardian Book Blog

06.09.2024

Experience: we discovered a rare T rex fossil | Life and style | The Guardian

My hands were shaking. It was the first time a person had touched it and the first time it had been seen in 66 million years

Guardian Book Blog

02.09.2024

Readers reply: What is the evolutionary purpose of blushing? | Life and style | The Guardian

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

Guardian Book Blog

26.08.2024

Becoming Earth by Ferris Jabr review – our planet: a living, breathing, mutating miracle | Science and nature books | The Guardian

The US-based journalist has fashioned a wide-ranging and thought-provoking study of how everything from microbes to mammoths transformed our world into a living organism

Guardian Book Blog

26.08.2024

What is the evolutionary purpose of blushing? | Life and style | The Guardian

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

Guardian Book Blog

07.08.2024

‘Hobbit’ bone from tiny species of ancient humans found on Indonesian island | Evolution | The Guardian

Arm bone suggests Homo floresiensis was forced to undergo dramatic reduction in body size after being marooned on Flores

Guardian Book Blog

29.07.2024

Men are spending more time looking after their children – and it’s not just cultural, it’s in their genes | Jonathan Kennedy | The Guardian

New research turns on its head the idea that the cascade of hormones brought on by parenthood is limited to mothers, says academic and author Jonathan Kennedy

Guardian Book Blog

25.07.2024

Early mammal could help answer one of biology’s biggest question, say experts | Fossils | The Guardian

Krusatodon kirtlingtonensis, which lived 166m years ago, ‘a piece of the puzzle’ explaining mammals’ success

Guardian Book Blog

24.07.2024

Komodo dragons have iron-coated teeth, scientists find | Reptiles | The Guardian

Reptile’s teeth found to have covering that helps keep serrated edges razor sharp and resistant to wear

Guardian Book Blog

04.07.2024

Inheritance by Harvey Whitehouse review – the power of unity | Science and nature books | The Guardian

A thought provoking look at social forces, and the ways ordinary people can change the world

home›Guardian Book Blog›Science

Guardian Book Blog - Science

The curse of Toumaï: an ancient skull, a disputed femur and a bitter feud over humanity’s origins | Fossils | The Guardian

Arctic, feathered … or just weird: what have we learned since Walking with Dinosaurs aired 25 years ago | Dinosaurs | The Guardian

Are we hardwired to fall for autocrats? | Evolution | The Guardian

Feathered fossil provides clues about how earliest birds first took flight | Fossils | The Guardian

The big idea: will we ever make life in the lab? | Science | The Guardian

Tim Flannery: ‘What we’re seeing is the last gasp of the patriarchy’ | Tim Flannery | The Guardian

Giant prehistoric kangaroos preferred to ‘chill at home’ and didn’t like to go out much, scientists say | Wildlife | The Guardian

Primordial surf: ‘microlightning’ in mist may have sparked life on Earth, study finds | Evolution | The Guardian

Bone fragments of oldest known human face in western Europe found in Spain | Archaeology | The Guardian

Reviving the woolly mammoth isn’t just unethical. It’s impossible | Adam Rutherford | The Guardian

‘It won’t end like Jurassic Park!’ The man who wants to bring the mammoth and dodo back to life | Biotechnology industry | The Guardian

Both men and women prefer younger partners, study finds | Science | The Guardian

Are ultra-processed foods changing the shape of our jaws? | Ultra-processed foods | The Guardian

Biggest trackway of dinosaur footprints found in Oxfordshire quarry | Dinosaurs | The Guardian

‘We need dramatic social and technological changes’: is societal collapse inevitable? | Climate crisis | The Guardian

Hubris by Johannes Krause and Thomas Trappe review – learning from the Neanderthals | Science and nature books | The Guardian

Baby mammoth in Russia is the ‘best-preserved’ ever found | Extinct wildlife | The Guardian

'World's best-preserved mammoth' found in Siberia – video | Extinct wildlife | The Guardian

Ancient bones shed new light on debate over origins of syphilis | Infectious diseases | The Guardian

The big idea: on Remembrance Day for Lost Species, here’s why it matters | Extinct wildlife | The Guardian

Footprints in Kenya ‘show distant relatives of modern humans coexisted’ | Evolution | The Guardian

Readers reply: How on earth did humans learn to bake? | Baking | The Guardian

The Genetic Book of the Dead by Richard Dawkins review – the great biologist’s swansong | Science and nature books | The Guardian

Hiker discovers first trace of entire prehistoric ecosystem in Italian Alps | Italy | The Guardian

The big idea: is convenience making our lives more difficult? | Psychology | The Guardian

Sea angels and devils: could plankton unlock the secrets of human biology? | Marine life | The Guardian

Scientists discover oldest ever giant tadpole fossil in Argentina | Fossils | The Guardian

Hong Kong unearths its first ever dinosaur fossils | Hong Kong | The Guardian

Long-extinct animals could be resurrected as robots to shed light on evolution | Palaeontology | The Guardian

‘Baby brain’? ‘Fussy eater’? By dispelling such myths, science is taking the shame out of parenting | Lucy Jones | The Guardian

‘Crazy little fish have a lot to tell us’: sea robins use ‘legs’ to taste way to prey | Animal behaviour | The Guardian

Experience: we discovered a rare T rex fossil | Life and style | The Guardian

Readers reply: What is the evolutionary purpose of blushing? | Life and style | The Guardian

Becoming Earth by Ferris Jabr review – our planet: a living, breathing, mutating miracle | Science and nature books | The Guardian

What is the evolutionary purpose of blushing? | Life and style | The Guardian

‘Hobbit’ bone from tiny species of ancient humans found on Indonesian island | Evolution | The Guardian

Men are spending more time looking after their children – and it’s not just cultural, it’s in their genes | Jonathan Kennedy | The Guardian

Early mammal could help answer one of biology’s biggest question, say experts | Fossils | The Guardian

Komodo dragons have iron-coated teeth, scientists find | Reptiles | The Guardian

Inheritance by Harvey Whitehouse review – the power of unity | Science and nature books | The Guardian

home
›
Guardian Book Blog
›
Science