The Guardian

Researchers have stumbled upon the oldest known ancestor of all modern birds after breaking open a lump of ancient rock near a town in north-eastern China.

Finding is most convincing evidence so far that male and female dinosaurs looked different and may have had mating selection rituals comparable to birds

Scientists searching for an explanation for an unusually cool area of sky instead discovered a supervoid: an empty spherical blob 1.8 billion light years across

Researchers in the US may have uncovered an new side-effect of paracetamol with a study that suggests the drug dampens down people’s emotional reactions. The over-the-counter pills are among the most popular painkillers on the market, but if the findings are confirmed, it would mean the drug also reduces the sense of pleasure as well…

The underlying realities of the world – from Earth’s rotation around the sun to Darwin’s theory of evolution – are rarely obvious or expected

New technology could allow doctors to further personalise treatment for patients and assess the effects of anti-ageing therapies

Scientists reached the conclusion after showing that almost every man alive can trace his origins to one common male ancestor who lived about 250,000 years ago. The discovery that so-called “genetic Adam”, lived about 100,000 years more recently than previously understood suggests that humans must have been genetically diverging at a more rapid rate than…

Carnivorous amphibian Metoposaurus algarvensis grew to the size of a small car and dates back to the Late Triassic Period

Whether it was a Druid temple, an astronomical calendar or a centre for healing, the mystery of Stonehenge has long been a source of speculation and debate. Now a dramatic new theory suggests that the prehistoric monument was in fact “an ancient Mecca on stilts”.