Science news · October 16, 2026 · 4 min read

A study of 18 fossils from a South African cave found that Homo erectus, likely our direct ancestor, lived there 2 million years ago. At that site, it was outnumbered 10 to 1 by another human species.

About 2 million years ago, a cave in what is now South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind collected the bones of two very different kinds of early human. One had a…

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Friday, October 16, 2026 Published today: 2 articles

Medical Research & Innovations

Scientists found that night owls were 70% more likely than morning people to stop working early because of poor health, and their jobs did not explain it

In 2012, thousands of 46-year-olds in northern Finland answered a short set of questions: how easily do you wake up, how tired…

4 min read · Occupational & Environmental Medicine Read article →

Medical Research & Innovations

Scientists found that a plastic chemical sold as the safer replacement for phthalates showed up in over half of pregnant women and was linked to smaller babies

In 2002, a new plastic softener called DINCH went on sale as the answer to a growing health scare. Phthalates, the chemicals…

5 min read · Environment International Read article →

Psychology

A study of 21,797 Swedish twins found that teens who spent 6+ hours a day gaming or online on weekdays had over 3 times the rate of later depression or anxiety. Then researchers compared each teen with their own twin.

Most parents of teenagers have heard the warning: too many hours on screens, and depression and anxiety follow. Studies keep finding the…

5 min read · Nature Human Behaviour Read article →

Psychology

Scientists found that men who never married were about two years older biologically than married men, but women who never married showed no such gap

Married people tend to live longer, and for decades studies have hinted that men get more out of marriage than women do. Researchers at Chapman University and UCLA went looking…