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Humans

Partial skeleton gives ancient hominids a new look

African hominid fossils, including a partial skeleton, reveal a surprising mix of features suitable for upright walking and tree climbing 4.4 million years ago.

Health & Medicine

Excreted Tamiflu found in rivers

A Japanese study finds that excreted Tamiflu ends up in river water, raising concerns that birds hosting a flu virus will develop drug-resistant strains.

Astronomy

MESSENGER captures new images of Mercury during a third passage

MESSENGER flew past Mercury for a third time on September 29. The spacecraft's mission will continue, with MESSENGER due to settle into a yearlong orbit around Mercury in March 2011.

Chemistry

Earth’s ‘boring billion’ years blamed on sulfur-loving microbes

A new study suggests these organisms could have kept oxygen levels low and waters toxic, stalling the evolution of complex life.

Paleontology

Parasite may have felled a mighty T. rex

An infection known to afflict modern birds may have led to starvation in several dinosaurs.

Paleontology

Fish death, mammal extinction and tiny dino footprints

Paleontologists in Bristol, England, at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology report on fish fossils in Wyoming, the loss of Australia’s megafauna and the smallest dinosaur tracks.

Life

Better sensing through empty receptors

A new model suggests cells may be more sensitive to their environment than previously thought.