I write about life sciences, health and the environment. My first book "The Genesis Quest" is about how life on Earth began and is out now
Women's pelvises are shrinking – how is that changing childbirth?
Over the past 150 years, the rise in Caesarean sections and changes in diet could have led to smaller pelvises among women – which may make vaginal birth more difficult but could also reduce common conditions associated with childbirth
Why you should assume that even the simplest animals are conscious
There is mounting evidence that even surprisingly simple animals, like invertebrates, have a level of consciousness - but not in the way you might think
First skull of mysterious human ancestor
An ancient skull discovered in China has been confirmed to belong to a Denisovan.
We finally know what the face of a Denisovan looked like
The Denisovans, a mysterious group of ancient humans originally identified purely from DNA, finally have a face
Ancient humans’ extraordinary journey to South America
Humans first arrived in South America through a series of extraordinary migrations – and genetic studies now reveal more about how they settled and then split into four distinct groups on the continent
Ancient humans evolved to be better teachers as technology advanced
As our ancestors developed more advanced tools and cultural practices, they also developed new ways of explaining concepts to others – culminating in the emergence of complex language
We’re about to unlock the secrets of ancient human brains
For the first time, we have a method for extracting proteins from preserved soft tissues like brains – which could be a treasure trove of evolutionary information
Your imagination doesn’t get worse as you age – but it does change
It’s natural to associate wild flights of fantasy with children and a more mundane internal world with adult life. The latest research, though, shows that isn't the whole picture
The first teeth were sensory organs on the skin of ancient fish
Teeth are good for chewing and biting, but they are also sensitive – and that may have been their original function hundreds of millions of years ago
Who were the ancient Denisovans? Fossils reveal secrets about the mysterious humans
Clues are emerging about the ghostly clan that settled eastern Asia and left a genetic legacy in people today
What the complete ape genome is revealing about the earliest humans
We now have full genome sequences for six species of apes, helping us to pin down our last common ancestor – and potentially changing how we think of the earliest hominins
Don't ban kids from social media; create a site that works for them
Rather than simply keeping children away from social media, we need a specially designed option for them. This is how it should look.
Strange microbes give clues to the ancestor of all complex life
The origin of complex eukaryotic cells, of the type found in all plants and animals, is shrouded in mystery. Now, strange microbes from wetlands in China are helping us to understand when they first emerged, and what they were like
Stone Age hunter-gatherers may have been surprisingly skilled seafarers
Malta's first settlers arrived from mainland Europe 1,000 years earlier than thought
Arabia has been green for long spells in the past 8 million years
Ancient rocks reveal there were several humid spells in Arabia’s past, which might have given early hominins a route out of Africa long before our genus migrated