Scientists have discovered a curious creature with no anus is not the earliest human ancestor, as previously thought. The mysterious microscopic creature is instead part of a different family tree, a new study suggests.

— and the trauma and impact of flooding disasters examined in It Takes A Flood

Researchers have announced the naming of a new species of human ancestor, Homo bodoensis. This species lived in Africa, about half a million years ago – during the Middle Pleistocene – and was the direct ancestor of modern humans, experts say.