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Volume 519 Issue 7541, 5 March 2015

A reconstructed Homo habilis skull based on the bones of the 1.8-million-year-old type specimen Olduvai Hominid 7 (OH 7) from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Transparent parts are based on cranium KNM-ER 1813 from Kenya, morphed to fit OH 7. The species Homo habilis or handy man, was first described in the 4 April 1964 issue of Nature as the then earliest known member of the genus Homo. The challenge in the intervening years has been to work out which other fossils also belong to Homo habilis, a task complicated by the distortion of the OH 7 mandible which disguises its original shape. Now the mandible and vault bones of OH 7 have been subjected to state-of-the-art virtual reconstruction, using computed tomography and 3D imaging technology to realign the broken parts. The Homo habilis type emerges in a new light, combining a primitive jaw shape, resembling that of Australopithecus afarensis ('Lucy') with a brain as large as that of early Homo erectus. This new evidence indicates that multiple evolutionary lineages of the genus Homo existed well before 2 million years ago. Cover illustration: P. Gunz, S. Neubauer & F. Spoor

Editorial

  • An investigation into the funding sources of climate scientists who have testified to the US Congress makes demands that have the potential to infringe on academic freedom.

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  • The week in science: China’s panda survey concerns experts; Russia finally agrees with US on the International Space Station’s timeline; and science world pays tribute to Leonard Nimoy.

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  • A combination of two catalysts — one of which is light-activated — has been used to promote new chemical reactivity, opening up fresh opportunities for the synthesis of structurally complex organic molecules. See Letter p.74

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Article

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Letter

  • The probable evolution of the planetary nebula Henize 2-428 is examined, from a close binary system in which both stars ejected their envelopes to the white dwarf stage with a short orbital period and combined mass above the Chandrasekhar limit, suggesting that the system should merge in about 700 million years and trigger a type Ia supernova.

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    • Xu Hou
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    • Alaji Bah
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    • Timothy M. Colussi
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  • Detailed career data will help people to plan for life after a PhD, say Viviane Callier and Nathan L. Vanderford.

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