First skull of mysterious human ancestor; Decoding whale language; Heatwaves 20x more likely to happen

The world, the universe and us

Episode 308

An ancient skull discovered in China has been confirmed to belong to a Denisovan. It’s been tough to study this mysterious human ancestor, as we’ve only ever found a finger and jaw bone - so this new discovery could reshape our understanding of them. After being kept secret for decades, the “dragon man” skull is opening up a new window into our past.

We’ve unlocked another clue in our quest to decode whale language. Analysis of 15 sperm whales in the Caribbean suggest their language may contain vowels, used in a similar way to human language. Using their various clicks, researchers have discovered interesting patterns in the way they communicate.

Feeling hot and sweaty? Well, strap in - because these heatwaves are set to continue…and get worse. Summers are evolving fast as a result of climate change and weather events that would’ve once been rare are becoming much more common. Find out how the UK could be in for a string of long 40C summers in the very near future.

The winner of The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction has been revealed - Dr Rachel Clarke claims the title for her book “The Story of a Heart”. The book explores the history of heart transplants and tells the story of a nine year old girl whose heart saved two other children and two adults. Rachel explains why she chose to write this story and the surprising things she learnt along the way.

Chapters:

(00:41) Denisovan skull discovery

(14:02) Deconding whale language

(18:14) Hot summers becoming more common

(26:16) Winner of The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction

Hosted by Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet, with guests Madeleine Cuff, Mike Marshall, Gillian Kay, Alison Flood and Rachel Clarke.

To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/

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