Ancient bones suggest "lefties" have been coping with a right-handed world for more than half a million years. A study of Homo heidelbergensis, an ancestor of Neanderthals, seems to show that the ancient humans were predominately right-handed.
"Finding that a hominin species as old as Homo heidelbergensis is already right-handed helps to trace back the chain of modernity concerning hand laterality," says Marina Mosquera, a paleoanthropologist at Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain, who was involved in the study.
Humans are the only animal believed to show a strong preference for performing tasks with one hand or the other. Determining when right-handedness first evolved could shed light on traits linked to lateralised brains, such as language and technology, Mosquera says. Efforts to solve this mystery have looked to ancient human skulls and marks left on tools.
Science & Technology
© LABAT Jean Michel / Sunset / Rex Features
According to the researchers' analysis, Lascaux's management history is a catalogue of errors
According to the researchers' analysis, Lascaux's management history is a catalogue of errors
The Lascaux cave in south-west France houses invaluable animal paintings that are between 16,000 and 17,000 years old, making them among the oldest examples of cave art ever found. Now conservationists must deal with the twin threats of the Fusarium solani fungus and the new bacterial populations.
The latest invasion came to light when a team of Spanish and French microbiologists analysed 11 swabs from the cave walls, comparing the profile of species found in Lascaux with those in undisturbed caves in Spain. Almost all the bacteria and protozoa found in Lascaux were associated with human activity.
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The fossil, nicknamed "Ida", was discovered in 1983 but the scientific paper describing it has only just been published amid great secrecy to coincide with the commercial launch of a popular science book and a television documentary. The creature in question has been named Darwinius masillae in honour of Charles Darwin and it lived 47 million years ago.
It is the most complete fossils of any member of the primate group of animals, which include lorises, lemurs, monkeys, apes and of course Man. The skeleton is almost perfectly preserved, clearly showing anatomical details that mark the animal out as a member of the group of animals that were part of the transition from the prosimians, such as the lemurs, to anthropoids, such as apes and humans. It is for this reason that the people behind the discovery and its publicity have called the fossil "the link" between the very first primates and the lineage that eventually led to Homo sapiens.
Designers increasingly see the question of copyright and intellectual property as an important issue. More and more, they are concerned about being 'ripped off', and are told that establishing copyright is essential. But there is little understanding of what copyright is, how it works, whom it benefits or what alternatives there are. This Agenda hopes to raise awareness of the issues surrounding copyright and to empower the designer to make informed choices about how to use copyright and its alternative: copyleft.
© Unknown
Julia Pastrana
Julia Pastrana
The case of bearded Mexican-born woman Julia Pastrana in the mid-1800s was the condition's first appearance in medical literature, noted Chinese researchers whose study was published in the May 21 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Researchers uncovered the specific genetic mutations that underlie congenital generalised hypertrichosis (CGH), a condition that spurs excessive hair growth over the entire human body.
© Unknown
Astronauts aboard the space station are drinking water that has been recycled from urine and sweat.
Astronauts aboard the space station are drinking water that has been recycled from urine and sweat.
Astronauts aboard the space station celebrated a space first on Wednesday by drinking water that had been recycled from their urine, sweat and water that condenses from exhaled air. They said "cheers," clicked drinking bags and toasted NASA workers on the ground who were sipping their own version of recycled drinking water.
"The taste is great," American astronaut Michael Barratt said. Then as Russian Gennady Padalka tried to catch little bubbles of the clear water floating in front of him, Barratt called the taste "worth chasing."
© Unknown
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will circle the moon's polar areas to make three-dimensional maps.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will circle the moon's polar areas to make three-dimensional maps.
The space agency hopes to launch a dual craft in June, part of which would survey the moon's surface from orbit while another unit ploughs into the lunar surface in search of water.
"We had the original target of providing information back for being able to safely return to the moon for exploration," said Mike Wargo, NASA's chief lunar scientist, on Thursday.
The mission will focus on the little-known lunar poles, hoping to confirm reports of hydrogen accumulation and possible water ice not found at the equatorial regions that where famously explored by humans in the last century.
The world's first battery fuelled by air - with 10 times the storage capacity of conventional cells - has been unveiled.
Scientists say the revolutionary 'STAIR' (St Andrews Air) battery could now pave the way for a new generation of electric cars, laptops and mobile phones.
The cells are charged in a traditional way but as power is used or 'discharged' an open mesh section of battery draws in oxygen from the surrounding air.
Scientists say the revolutionary 'STAIR' (St Andrews Air) battery could now pave the way for a new generation of electric cars, laptops and mobile phones.
The cells are charged in a traditional way but as power is used or 'discharged' an open mesh section of battery draws in oxygen from the surrounding air.
© SPL
NIF can recreate the conditions inside an exploding star
NIF can recreate the conditions inside an exploding star
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California aims to demonstrate the feasibility of nuclear fusion, the reaction at the heart of the Sun and a potentially abundant, clean energy source for the planet.
But whilst many eyes at the facility will be locked on the goal of satisfying humanity's energy demands, many scientists hope to answer other fundamental questions for mankind.
"In recreating the process of fusion it was always understood that we could pursue three areas of interest and value," explained Dr Erik Storm of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the home of NIF.
© Associated Press
The find dates to different phases of the Middle Canaanite period (2200-1900 B.C.) and the last years of the First Temple period (8th-7th centuries B.C.), and includes a handle engraved with the name "Menachem," written in ancient Hebrew script. It was recently exposed in an archaeological excavation the Israel Antiquities Authority is conducting near the Mount of Olives in preparation for the school.
The Israel Antiquities Authority's excavation director, Dr. Ron Beeri, said: "This important find joins similar names that were found in archaeological excavations in the Ancient East and in Israel in particular. The names Menachem and Yinachem are expressions of condolence - possibly related to the death of family members."
