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Editor's note
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The growing number of species disappearing from the planet has led some conservationists to speak of a “sixth mass extinction”. But this process isn’t new. Humans have been wiping other creatures off the face of the Earth for thousands of years, from mammoths to moa.
And what was the first casualty? Nick Longrich argues that it might well have been other human species. As many as eight species of human once walked the Earth alongside us, from Neanderthals to the recently discovered Homo naledi. Now they’re all gone.
The sad truth is that our ancestors couldn’t share. As our numbers grew we likely came into increasing conflict with these other species over land and resources. And while our DNA reveals that we also mated with some of them, our natural tendency towards violence may simply have got the better of us all.
Elsewhere, we continue to bring you up-to-date coverage of the UK election and Labour’s manifesto launch yesterday. To start, we examine the party’s “bold” plans for business, with more responses to come throughout the day.
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Stephen Harris
Commissioning + Science Editor
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Top stories
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A Neanderthal skull shows head trauma, evidence of ancient violence.
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Nick Longrich, University of Bath
300,000 years ago, there were lots of different species of human. Now it’s only us – and we're probably the reason why.
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Corbyn channelling Usain Bolt?
Joe Giddens/PA Wire/PA Images
Stephen Roper, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick
The manifesto is perhaps unsurprisingly dominated by the big picture, with the economic emphasis on nationalisation and climate change.
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George Eliot (1819-1880), aged 30.
Alexandre-Louis-François d'Albert-Durade/National Portrait Gallery
Helen Kingstone, University of Surrey
Born the same year as Queen Victoria, Eliot faced similar life choices to many young women today
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Health + Medicine
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Jane Chang, King's College London
The first personalised medicine trial for a nutritional supplement has just reported its results.
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Science + Technology
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Kevin Mitchell, Trinity College Dublin; Uta Frith, UCL
The evolution of reading clearly demonstrates that nature and nurture are intimately linked.
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Allison Gardner, Keele University
An AI trained to look at heart scans was able to successfully predict risk of death. But one expert cautions we still need to be careful about designing -- and using -- AI for medical diagnosis.
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Environment + Energy
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Denis J Murphy, University of South Wales
Instead of boycotting palm oil, source it from pastureland and not recently logged forests.
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Lee Bosher, Loughborough University
More than 300,000 homes have been built in areas of high flood risk since 1989.
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Business + Economy
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Gavin Brown, Manchester Metropolitan University; Richard Whittle, Manchester Metropolitan University
With Wall Street slowly taking charge of crypto, the days of radical outsiders launching successful altcoins may be numbered.
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Emilia Onyema, SOAS, University of London
Why Africa needs more African arbitrators.
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Arts + Culture
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Simon Horobin, University of Oxford
Behind the magical tale is a deep layer of linguistic meaning.
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Jan Haywood, The Open University
From art that centres the African-American experience to feminist retellings, the British Museum's new exhibition explores culture's enduring fascination with the legend of Troy
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Politics + Society
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Emily Thomas, Durham University
This World Philosophy Day we remember three female philosophers who are largely unknown, yet made important contributions to idealism
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Lauren Alex O' Hagan, Cardiff University
Many trendy 'Instagrammable' foods have a long association with poverty.
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Alia Middleton, University of Surrey; David Cutts, University of Birmingham
Corbyn can't get enough of Scotland while Johnson is playing it safe with strategic stop offs.
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Helen Claire Hart, Teesside University
People can find themselves waiting for an asylum decision for many years, facing multiple barriers and struggling to fill the hours in their days.
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Peter McPhee, University of Melbourne
People get angry far more often than they rebel. And rebellions rarely become revolutions. An expert on the French Revolution explains why today's protest movements are different.
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Andreas Johansson, Lund University
The political comeback of the Rajapaksa family has left some Sri Lankans worried.
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Featured events
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Dragon Hall, 115 - 123 King Street, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 1QE, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of East Anglia
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Park Building (Room 2.23) King Henry I Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 2DZ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Portsmouth
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Julian Study Centre Lecture Theatre, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of East Anglia
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