Lead poisoning has plagued millions of people ever since the world became industrialized, but humans' troubled relationship with the toxic metal goes back much further in time. Our ancient ancestors ...

Researchers found that ancient hominids—including early humans—were exposed to lead throughout childhood, leaving chemical traces in fossil teeth. Experiments suggest this exposure may have driven ...

Lead exposure may have negatively affected Neanderthal abilities for language and speech development. Despite this knowledge, lead is still used to manufacture many vehicle batteries, ceramics, ...

Long before humans built cities or wrote words, our ancestors may have faced a hidden threat that shaped who we became. Scientists studying ancient teeth found that early humans, great apes, and even ...

Renaud Joannes-Boyau receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Manish Arora receives funding from US National Institutes of Health. He is the founder of Linus Biotechnology, a start-up ...

Long before factories, mines, and cars filled the air with pollution, our distant ancestors were already living with a silent toxin: lead. A groundbreaking study reveals that hominids — from early ...