Science Daily

• Fossil feet may be misleading scientists about human evolution

  Wild monkeys in West Africa can climb vertical tree trunks using foot flexibility scientists did not realize they possessed. The discovery challenges a key assumption about what the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees looked like and how it moved.

• Hundreds of hidden earthquakes found at Antarctica’s Doomsday Glacier

  Hundreds of previously overlooked seismic events have been detected beneath Antarctica, including 245 near the marine edge of the Thwaites Glacier. Many appear to be glacial earthquakes caused when huge icebergs break off, capsize, and collide with the glacier. The surge in activity coincided with a period when Thwaites was flowing faster toward the ocean, hinting that changing ocean conditions may be destabilizing the ice.

• Researchers unveil sustainable spirulina solution to vitamin B12 deficiency

  Researchers have produced a form of Spirulina containing biologically active vitamin B12 at levels comparable to beef. By carefully controlling the light used to grow the algae, they overcame a major problem with conventional Spirulina, which mainly contains a form of B12 the human body cannot use. The carbon-neutral system could provide a more sustainable source of the essential vitamin.

• 1.4-million-year-old footprints reveal a surprisingly large human relative

  Ancient footprints in Kenya reveal that eight Paranthropus boisei may have traveled together 1.4 million years ago, with some individuals reaching surprisingly large, human-like body sizes. The tracks offer a rare glimpse of their social behavior and suggest these extinct human relatives may have lived in more complex groups than previously thought.

• Australia’s red soil may be hiding a massive clean energy source

  Researchers have discovered that Western Australia’s iron-rich rocks can naturally generate hydrogen and that the process may be boosted to produce much larger amounts. If it can be scaled up, the vast formations beneath the Pilbara could become a major new source of low-emission energy for Australia and potentially the world.