Biggest Science Story Oldest Human Origin Ardipithecus ramidus

Probably the biggest science story out there right now, Straight from Science AAAS.

		In the century and a half since Darwin first published On the Origin of Species, we have learned a great deal about human evolution. Now, as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Darwin's seminal work, Science is publishing a set of papers that provide a new view of human evolution. Produced by an international team of researchers including first authors Tim White, Giday WoldeGabriel, Antoine Louchart, Gen Suwa, and C. Owen Lovejoy, these 11 papers comprise a detailed and voluminous look at all aspects of Ardipithecus ramidus including one remarkably complete specimen (ARA-VP-6/500) discovered in Ethiopia. Dated to 4.4 million years ago, Ardipithecus ramidus provides powerful new insights into evolution of both early humans and other close primate relatives (the chimpanzee and gorilla) and helps reveal the nature of our last common ancestor with chimpanzees. Visit sciencemag.org/ardipithecus to read coverage of this tremendous discovery.

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