News Desk

There Is a Misinformation Problem in Mainstream Psychedelic Policy Reporting
2nd February 2026 doubleblindmag.com

Misleading headlines around New Jersey’s psilocybin pilot program reveal how misinformation and weak media literacy are distorting psychedelic policy debates nationwide.

“Existential risk” – Why scientists are racing to define consciousness
2nd February 2026 | sciencedaily.com | Humans, Tech

In a new review published in Frontiers in Science, researchers warn that progress in AI and neurotechnology is moving faster than scientific understanding of consciousness. This gap, they argue, could lead to serious ethical problems if it is not addressed.

Catch a falling star: cosmic dust may reveal how life began, and a Sydney lab is making it from scratch
2nd February 2026 | theguardian.com | Ancient, Earth, Humans, Space, Tech

Recreating cosmic dust may help answer questions about how meteorites hitting Earth came to contain organic matter

More than 43,000 years ago, Neanderthals spent centuries collecting animal skulls in a cave; but archaeologists aren’t sure why
2nd February 2026 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Neanderthals purposefully collected and positioned horned and antlered animal skulls in a cave in what is now Spain, suggesting that these extinct human relatives had complex cultural practices over 43,000 years ago, a new study finds. The study was published Jan. 3 in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.

A dream-like psychedelic might help traumatized veterans reset their brains
30th January 2026 | psypost.org | Humans, Misc.

A new study suggests that the intensity of spiritual or “mystical” moments felt during psychedelic treatment may predict how well veterans recover from trauma symptoms. Researchers found that soldiers who reported profound feelings of unity and sacredness while taking ibogaine experienced lasting relief from post-traumatic stress disorder. These findings were published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

5,000-year-old rock art from ancient Egypt depicts ‘terrifying’ conquest of the Sinai Peninsula
30th January 2026 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Archaeologists have discovered 5,000-year-old rock art in the Sinai Desert that depicts ancient Egypt’s brutal conquest of the region. The artwork “shows in a terrifying manner how the Egyptians colonized the Sinai and subjugated the inhabitants,” the archaeologists said in a statement. The new related study was published in the 2025 edition of the journal Blätter Abrahams.

If an Asteroid Hits The Moon in 2032, The Aftermath Might Reach Earth
29th January 2026 | sciencealert.com | Earth, Humans, Space

There’s a bright side to every situation. In 2032, the Moon itself might have a particularly bright side if it is blasted by a 60-meter-wide asteroid. The chances of such an event are still relatively small (only around 4 per cent), but non-negligible… A new paper from Yifan He of Tsinghua University and co-authors, released as a preprint on arXiv, looks at the bright side of the potential science we could do if a collision does indeed happen.

160,000-year-old sophisticated stone tools discovered in China may not have been made by Homo sapiens
29th January 2026 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans

Archaeologists have found that early humans in what is now China were using sophisticated stone tools as far back as 160,000 years ago.”This discovery challenges the perception that stone tool technology in Asia lagged behind Europe and Africa during this period”…The study was published Tuesday (Jan. 27) in the journal Nature Communications.

Ochre used in ancient graves in Finland reflects identity of deceased
28th January 2026 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

Roughly 5,500–6,000 years ago, the area including present-day Finland was inhabited by hunter-fisher-gatherers living in small village-like clusters…They also colored their dead and objects, before burial, with the same pigment. The fiery red color was undoubtedly meaningful in itself, but other meanings were also associated with the pigment’s ritual use. A study on this topic is published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

430,000-Year-Old Stick Found in Greece Among Humanity’s Oldest Wooden Tools
28th January 2026 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Humans

Two artefacts found at a lake shore in Greece are the oldest wooden tools to be uncovered so far and date back 430,000 years. The research was published on Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Ancient lake full of crop circles lurks in the shadow of Saudi Arabia’s ‘camel-hump’ mountain — Earth from space
28th January 2026 | livescience.com | Ancient, Earth, Humans

This intriguing astronaut photo shows an oasis town and crop circles lurking within the shadowy tail of a “camel-hump” mountain in the harsh Saudi Arabian desert. The unlikely settlement lies within an ancient lake bed and is home to rock art dating back thousands of years.

Refined radiocarbon dating provides clearer timeline of human activity along Cantabrian coast 18,000 years ago
26th January 2026 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

A new study refines radiocarbon dating of marine remains and significantly improves the precision with which the human past of the Magdalenian period in the Cantabrian region of Spain can be reconstructed, a key phase of European prehistory dating to around 18,000 years ago

South African San rock art reveals trance dances and initiation ceremonies
26th January 2026 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

In a study published in Telestes, Dr. Joshua Kumbani and Dr. Margarita Díaz-Andreu categorized the various dance scenes depicted in South African rock art…

480,000-year-old ax sharpener is the oldest known elephant bone tool ever discovered in Europe
26th January 2026 | livescience.com | Ancient, Humans
Psilocybin could treat depression via a non-hallucinogenic receptor
23rd January 2026 medicalxpress.com | Humans, Misc.

Researchers at Dartmouth College in the U.S. recently carried out a study aimed at further investigating the biological mechanisms that could underpin psilocybin’s antidepressant effects. Their findings, published in Molecular Psychiatry, suggest that another serotonin receptor, which does not induce hallucinations when activated, could be responsible for some of the drug’s beneficial effects.

Social networks spanned thousands of square kilometers during the Upper Paleolithic period, study finds
23rd January 2026 phys.org | Ancient, Humans

Researchers from several European institutions…have demonstrated that the hunter-gatherers who inhabited the interior of the Iberian Peninsula during the Last Glacial Maximum (between approximately 26,000 and 19,000 years ago) were part of large-scale social networks capable of connecting vast territories in western Europe. The study was published in the journal Science Advances.

Daily alternative news articles at the GrahamHancock News Desk. Featuring science, alternative history, archaeology, Ancient Egypt, paranormal and much more. Check in daily for updates!