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A new ancient human species, Homo juluensis, has been identified by researchers, marking a significant step in understanding human evolution in the Middle Pleistocene epoch. According to findings published in PaleoAnthropology in May 2024, the discovery is based on fossil evidence unearthed in China, with specimens dating between 220,000 and 100,000 years ago. The species, known as “big head people,” is characterised by large skulls, blending features seen in modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans.

Fossil Evidence and Characteristics

The fossils forming the basis of this new classification were recovered from sites in Xujiayao and Xuchang in northern and central China, as per reports. Excavations at Xujiayao in the 1970s yielded over 10,000 stone tools and 21 fossil fragments, representing at least 10 individuals. These fossils display large, wide crania with Neanderthal-like characteristics, yet also share traits with modern humans and Denisovans. Four additional ancient skulls discovered at Xuchang exhibit similar features.

The research team, led by Christopher Bae, an anthropologist at the University of Hawai’i and Xiujie Wu, a paleoanthropologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, concluded that these fossils represent a distinct hominin population. The findings indicate a likely continuity of hybridisation among Middle Pleistocene hominins, which shaped human evolution in eastern Asia.

Naming and Expert Perspectives

In a statement to Nature Communications, published in November 2024, the researchers advocated for using Homo juluensis to clarify eastern Asia’s complex fossil record. While some experts, such as Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London, have suggested the fossils might align more closely with Homo longi, the designation of Homo juluensis has gained traction.

The name, according to Bae, in a statement, was introduced to improve scientific communication. Paleoanthropologist John Hawks of the University of Wisconsin–Madison noted in a blog post that such terminology allows clearer reference to this population’s place in the human evolutionary narrative. The discovery underscores the intricate relationships within ancient hominin groups and their evolutionary significance.

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NASA-ISRO Launch Joint Space Biology Experiments on Axiom Mission 4

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June 8, 2025

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NASA-ISRO Launch Joint Space Biology Experiments on Axiom Mission 4

NASA and India’s space agency ISRO are collaborating on a suite of science investigations aboard Axiom Mission 4, a private astronaut mission to the International Space Station set to launch no earlier than June 10 aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The mission will carry experiments probing human biology, plant growth, and technology use in microgravity. Investigations include Myogenesis-ISRO (studying muscle stem cells and mitochondrial function), Sprouts-ISRO (growing greengram and fenugreek seeds), Space Microalgae-ISRO (examining nutrient-packed green microalgae growth), Voyager Tardigrade-ISRO (testing tiny water bears in space), and Voyager Displays-ISRO (analyzing astronauts’ use of electronic screens). These studies aim to maintain astronaut muscle and health, support food production in orbit, and improve life-support systems for long-duration missions.

Space Biology: Muscles, Seeds and Algae

According to NASA’s official site, the Sprouts-ISRO investigation will germinate and grow greengram and fenugreek seeds aboard the ISS to study their development, genetics, and nutritional value in microgravity. Myogenesis-ISRO uses human muscle stem cell cultures to examine how spaceflight impairs muscle repair and mitochondrial metabolism, and tests chemicals to bolster muscle health during long missions. Space Microalgae-ISRO studies how green microalgae grow and adapt in microgravity, since rapidly growing, nutrient-packed algae could serve as a fresh food source and help recycle air and water on spacecraft.

Together, these space biology experiments could advance new ways to grow fresh food in orbit, maintain muscle mass during long missions, and even support treatments for muscle loss and nutrition on Earth.

Extremes and Human Factors in Orbit

The Voyager Displays-ISRO experiment examines how crew members interact with tablets and other electronic displays in microgravity, measuring pointing tasks, gaze behaviour, and stress or well-being indicators. Voyager Tardigrade-ISRO carries microscopic water bears (tardigrades) into space, reviving them in orbit and comparing their survival, reproduction, and gene expression to ground controls under cosmic radiation and extreme conditions.

By revealing what makes tardigrades so resilient, scientists hope to uncover ways to protect astronauts on long missions. The display study will guide better user-interface designs for spacecraft and could also benefit touchscreen technology on Earth.

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Scientists Discover Clicking Sounds in Rig Sharks for the First Time

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June 8, 2025

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Scientists Discover Clicking Sounds in Rig Sharks for the First Time

Sharks have long been regarded as silent predators, but a new study shows that small rig sharks (Mustelus lenticulatus) can make clicking sounds when handled. Evolutionary biologist Carolin Nieder discovered the noise by accident during shark hearing tests. In lab trials, juvenile rigs emitted rapid “click…click” noises when restrained. The results, published in Royal Society Open Science, represent “the first documented case of a shark making sounds”. Nieder recalls: “At first we had no idea what it was, because sharks were not supposed to make any sounds”

Accidental Discovery in the Lab

According to the study, Nieder’s team had placed an underwater microphone in a tank to test shark hearing. During routine handling, a researcher reached in and heard a clear “click…click” coming from the shark’s mouth. Rig sharks have broad, flat, cusp-shaped teeth for crushing crustaceans, and the forceful snapping of these teeth likely produces the sound.

Nieder then followed up with systematic trials on ten rig sharks. In repeated tests, every shark emitted click bursts when grasped—averaging about nine clicks per 20-second handling episode. Notably, clicks were most frequent in early trials and largely stopped as the sharks became accustomed. Because the clicks were strongest during initial capture, the researchers speculate this might be a voluntary stress or defensive response. Nieder cautions that this hypothesis needs formal testing under natural conditions.

Implications for Shark Biology and Communication

If confirmed, these findings suggest surprising complexity in shark communication. Sharks and their relatives (rays and skates) lack the gas-filled swim bladders that most bony fish use to make sound. Sharks were long assumed silent. Yet the rig’s clicks hint that sharks may use sound for alarm or communication.

Nieder also found that rigs hear only low frequencies (below ~1,000 Hz)—far lower than the human range. “They are sensitive to electric fields, but if you were a shark I would need to talk a lot louder to you than to a goldfish,” she notes. The researchers say further work is needed to see if rigs click in the wild as an alarm or social signal.

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Scientists Discover Heaviest Proton-Emitting Nucleus After Nearly 30 Years

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June 8, 2025

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Scientists Discover Heaviest Proton-Emitting Nucleus After Nearly 30 Years

Nuclear physicists have detected the radioactive disintegration of a rare isotope of astatine for the first time. This shows that the heaviest element found in nature may be modified a lot, maybe even destroyed, in a way that scientists didn’t predict. That oddball radioactive decay with 85 protons and 103 neutrons is almost (but not quite) a nuclear species that we would call stable. The finding was made by researchers at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, and it’s a major development for nuclear physics. It describes something that just shouldn’t be and then shows us what the forces are that make for heavy atomic structures.

Rare Proton Decay in 188At Sheds Light on Extreme Nuclear Shapes and Stability Limits

As per a report published in Nature Communications on May 29, 2025, the isotope was produced using a fusion-evaporation reaction that entailed the irradiation of a natural silver target with strontium-84 ions. The exotic nucleus, 188 At, has a pronouncedly prolate form (of a ”watermelon” type) generated by the neutron and proton normal and attractive interaction in the inner shells of heavy nuclei experienced as a projectile in our case study.

Henna Kokkonen, the doctoral researcher who made the discovery, has mentioned that the proton emitted allows an unstable nucleus to progress towards stability by getting rid of a proton. The 190 At isotope was found by Kokkonen with the investigation of rare decay in the heavy nucleus, the rare interaction in the binding energy of the proton, and presumably a tendency change in the heavy atom region.

The team of the theory and experiment workshop pointed out the importance of exploring new decay modes and testing predictive models at the extremes of the periodic table. They also talked about how technology has improved in making and studying isotopes with short lifetimes.

Isotope discoveries of this scale remain rare in modern nuclear physics. Kokkonen expressed pride in contributing to a global effort that deepens our understanding of atomic structure. Each such finding helps refine our knowledge of nuclear forces, elemental formation, and the fundamental limits of matter. The breakthrough underscores how even after a century of nuclear science, the field continues to yield surprises from the smallest building blocks of the universe.

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