International
Oldest human relative walked upright 7 mn years ago: study
AFP
The earliest known human ancestor walked on two feet as well as climbing through trees around seven million years ago, scientists said Wednesday after studying three limb bones.
When the skull of Sahelanthropus tchadensis was discovered in Chad in 2001, it pushed back the age of the oldest known representative species of humanity by a million years.
Nicknamed “Toumai”, the nearly complete cranium was thought to indicate that the species walked on two feet because of the position of its vertebral column and other factors.
However the subject triggered fierce debate among scientists, partly due to the scarcity and quality of the available bones, with some even claiming that Toumai was not a human relative but just an ancient ape.
In a study published in the Nature journal on Wednesday, a team of researchers exhaustively analysed a thigh bone and two forearm bones found at the same site as the Toumai skull.
“The skull tells us that Sahelanthropus is part of the human lineage,” said paleoanthropologist Franck Guy, one of the authors of the study.
The new research on the limb bones demonstrates that walking on two feet was its “preferred mode of getting around, depending on the situation,” he told a press conference.
But they also sometimes moved through the trees, he added.
– ‘Not a magical trait’ –
The leg and arm bones were found alongside thousands of other fossils in 2001, and the researchers were not able to confirm that they belonged to the same individual as the Toumai skull.
After years of testing and measuring the bones, they identified 23 characteristics which were then compared to fossils from great apes as well as hominins — which are species more closely related to humans than chimpanzees.
They concluded that “these characteristics are much closer to what would be seen in a hominin than any other primate,” the study’s lead author Guillaume Daver told the press conference.
For example, the forearm bones did not show evidence that the Sahelanthropus leaned on the back of its hands, as is done by gorillas and chimpanzees.
The Sahelanthropus lived in an area with a combination of forests, palm groves and tropical savannahs, meaning that being able to both walk and climb through trees would have been an advantage.
There have been previous suggestions that it was the ability to walk on two feet that drove humans to evolve separately from chimpanzees, putting us on the path to where we are today.
However the researchers emphasised that what made Sahelanthropus human was its ability to adapt to its environment.
“Bipedalism (walking on two legs) is not a magical trait that strictly defines humanity,” paleontologist Jean-Renaud Boisserie told the press conference.
“It is a characteristic that we find at the present time in all the representatives of humanity.”
– Our ‘bushy’ family tree –
Paleoanthropologist Antoine Balzeau of France’s National Museum of Natural History said the “extremely substantial” study gives “a more complete image of Toumai and therefore of the first humans”.
It also bolstered the theory that the human family tree is “bushy”, and was not like the “simplistic image of humans who follow one another, with abilities that improve over time,” Balzeau, who was not involved in the research, told AFP.
Daniel Lieberman, a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University, said in a linked paper in Nature that the study’s “authors have squeezed as much information as possible from the fossil data”.
But he added that the research will not offer “full resolution” of the debate.
Milford Wolpoff, a paleoanthropologist at the US University of Michigan cast doubt on whether Toumai is a hominin, telling AFP that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”.
Wednesday’s study was carried out by researchers from the PALEVOPRIM paleontology institute, a collaboration between France’s CNRS research centre and Poitiers University, as well as scientists in Chad.
Guy said the team hopes to continue its research in Chad next year — “security permitting”.
Chadian paleontologist Clarisse Nekoulnang said the team was “trying to find sites older than that of Toumai”.
International
Rubio rules out 2028 presidential bid if Vance runs
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would not seek the presidency in 2028 if current Vice President JD Vancedecides to run as the Republican nominee to succeed President Donald Trump.
“If JD Vance runs for president, he will be our candidate, and I will be one of the first people to support him,” Rubio said in an interview with Vanity Fair, in which he appeared alongside other senior members of the presidential cabinet.
Rubio, 54, and Vance, 41, are widely viewed as two of the leading Republican figures who could headline the party’s ticket in the 2028 election. Under the U.S. Constitution, Trump is barred from seeking another term after completing two presidential mandates.
In a lighthearted moment during the interview, Vance jokingly offered photographers $1,000 if they managed to make him look better than Rubio in the photos. Both leaders have received public backing from Trump, who last October floated the idea of a joint ticket featuring Rubio and Vance, without clarifying who would lead it.
“I think that if they ever teamed up, they would be unstoppable. I don’t think anyone would run against us,” Trump said at the time.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who also took part in the interview, confirmed that Trump does not intend to violate the 22nd Amendment, which prohibits a third presidential term, though she acknowledged that the president is “having fun” with speculation about a possible return to office.
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, served as a Republican senator from 2010 to 2025. He sought the party’s presidential nomination in 2016 but was defeated by Trump after a bruising primary contest. His name was floated as a potential vice presidential pick in 2024, but Vance ultimately secured the spot. After taking office, Trump appointed Rubio as secretary of state, making him the first Latino to hold the position.
International
Authorities search for armed and dangerous suspect in fatal Brown University attack
According to the statement, investigators are “seeking the public’s help to identify and speak with an individual” who was seen “near” the suspect at the time of the attack.
The Providence Police Department in Rhode Island released three photos of the person of interest, whose face has been blurred. In the images, the individual is wearing navy blue clothing, what appears to be a green hood, and carrying a light-colored backpack.
Earlier, authorities had released several photos and videos of a suspect described as “approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a stocky build,” dressed in dark clothing, with their face covered by a surgical mask and wearing a beanie. The suspect’s identity remains unknown.
Authorities are offering a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the person responsible for the killings, who is considered armed and dangerous.
The gunman opened fire on Saturday at Brown University’s engineering and physics building, where exams were being held, killing students Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov. The names of the nine people injured have not been released.
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
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