Archived news articles
2012
December
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Top 10 events news for 2012 - 27/12/2012
Wildlife photo competition, new gallery full of treasures, NASA's Curiosity Mars landing live and more.
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Piltdown Man tests could solve hoax - 12/12/2012
Chris Stringer and a team are using new tests to try to reveal the Piltdown hoaxer.
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Fossils could be first dinosaur to roam planet - 05/12/2012
245-million-year-old fossils belong to Nyasasaurus, possibly the earliest dinosaur.
November
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HRH The Duchess of Cambridge unveils Museum Treasures - 28/11/2012
The Duchess was guest of honour at the opening of new Treasures Cadogan Gallery.
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Important role of citizen science in monitoring UK biodiversity - 26/11/2012
More than 200 projects are reviewed and a citizen science project guide produced.
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Museum appoints new Director of Public Engagement - 26/11/2012
The Museum is delighted to announce the appointment of Justin Morris as Director of Public Engagement.
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22 treasures announced for new Natural History Museum gallery - 24/11/2012
From dodo bones to the first Neanderthal skull, find out the full 22 treasures.
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The hunt for treasures is on, this weekend - 22/11/2012
Take part in a treasure hunt around London for the opening of the Museum's new gallery.
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New ancient mosquitoes, could there be blood? - 19/11/2012
Could there be blood in 2 new 46-million-year-old mosquitoes?
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Museum human origins expert makes most influential list - 15/11/2012
Chris Stringer is one of London's 1,000 most influential people in 2012.
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Duchess and Attenborough to unveil Museum Treasures - 12/11/2012
HRH The Duchess of Cambridge will be guest of honour at opening of new Treasures gallery.
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Get your ice skates on at London's Natural History Museum - 02/11/2012
The ice rink is in the magical setting on the Museum east lawn.
October
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Winning wildlife photos 2012 revealed - 17/10/2012
Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners are revealed.
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Ancient fish holds key to teeth origin - 17/10/2012
Evidence of teeth in primitive jawed vertebrates has been found.
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Scientists blog from Borneo - 15/10/2012
Hungry leeches, rummaging macaques and a praying mantis in the dining room, follow the blog.
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New proof that Museum meteorite comes from Mars - 11/10/2012
Museum scientists reveal new proof of the Tissint meteorite's origin.
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Oldest fossil of complex brain identified - 10/10/2012
Scientists at the Museum identify a 520-million-year-old fossilised brain.
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Whopping diversity of wasps identified in tropical America - 03/10/2012
A huge 177 undescribed species of parasitoid wasps are identified.
September
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Unwrap a mummified Egyptian cat at Science Uncovered - 26/09/2012
Use a state-of-the-art digital specimen table at the Museum's largest science festival.
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Ancient crocodiles ate like killer whales - 18/09/2012
Museum scientists help reveal feeding habits of crocodylians.
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World’s smallest vertebrate: fish versus frog - 17/09/2012
How do you determine what is the smallest animal? Museum scientist Ralf Britz explains.
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Mad about Mars? Come to Science Uncovered - 14/09/2012
The Museum's largest festival of science on 28 September has plenty for Mars fans.
August
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Denisovan DNA suggests a dark complexion and interbreeding - 31/08/2012
Museum's Chris Stringer comments on the ancient human genome research.
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Best commended wildlife photos 2012 revealed - 29/08/2012
Commended images for the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year are revealed.
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First glimpse of world's most stunning wildlife photos - 17/08/2012
See one of the entries for the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
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First ever adult Dino Snores sleepover at Museum - 15/08/2012
The eagerly awaited Museum sleepover event has arrived!
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NASA's Curiosity Mars landing live at Natural History Museum - 04/08/2012
Museum's Joe Michalski talks about the mission to land Curiosity on Mars.
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Invisible volcanic ash gives clues to Neanderthal demise - 03/08/2012
Scientists detect cryptotephra, a microscopic volcanic glass, from an ancient Italian eruption.
July
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Tissint meteorite helps build Museum Martian library - 30/07/2012
Museum's Martian library gets a boost with the Tissint meteorite.
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Daring Explorers exhibition opens at the Museum at Tring
- 24/07/2012Discover true stories of danger, death and disaster.
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First display of Medusa emerald at Natural History Museum - 20/07/2012
The Medusa emerald goes on show in its first public display in Europe.
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Bumper year for bee orchids, share your sightings - 17/07/2012
Summer-flowering orchids are flourishing and now’s a good time to spot them.
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Diplodocus stripped branches at feeding time - 16/07/2012
Museum scientists use techniques for designing F1 cars to reveal dinosaur feeding habits.
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New NHM Evolution iPad app launched - 03/07/2012
More than 650 million years of Earth history are brought to life.
June
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Latest bugs sent to Museum for identification - 26/06/2012
It's National Insect Week and so the perfect time to take a look at the latest bugs sent to the Museum. Watch the video.
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Muscle reconstruction reveals how dinosaurs stood - 20/06/2012
Museum scientists reveal how the 4-legged dinosaurs stood for the first time.
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Largest group of fossil humans are Neanderthals after all - 12/06/2012
The world's largest known sample of fossil humans are Neanderthals, according to a study by the Museum's Chris Stringer.
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Penguin sex habits study rediscovered at Museum - 09/06/2012
A study on the sex lives of penguins, too graphic for 100 years ago, is published. Watch the video.
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Is your birthday on the 6 June? - 02/06/2012
Get free entry to the Museum's Scott's Last Expedition exhibition on Wednesday.
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Big Nature Day is a big success - 01/06/2012
More than 5,000 visitors came to the free event, the largest of its kind in the UK.
May
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Tomato genome is sequenced - 30/05/2012
35,000 genes are identified by sequencing the tomato genome.
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World's smallest mini mammoth is identified - 09/05/2012
Museum scientists identify a dwarf mammoth in the Mediterranean. Watch the video.
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How the pufferfish got its beak - 07/05/2012
The origin of the unusual beak of pufferfishes has been discovered by Museum scientists.
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How to ID a modern human - 02/05/2012
One human skull may look a lot like another. Chris Stringer highlights the features that ID Homo sapiens.
April
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Mission to map 10 million species in 50 years - 19/04/2012
Scientists have produced a plan to make mapping all the species on the planet achievable.
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Harlequin ladybird causes declines in 7 out of 8 UK species - 14/04/2012
The impact of the invasive beetle is tracked with help from the public.
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Could giant feathered dinosaur hint at feathers for T.rex? - 11/04/2012
Other large dinosaurs may have had feathers. Dinosaur expert Paul Barrett gives his view.
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Get ready for Animal Inside Out at the Natural History Museum - 03/04/2012
The UK premiere from the team behind Gunther von Hagens’ Body Worlds opens Friday 6 April.
March
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Spirit of Scott team united with rocks from epic expedition - 29/03/2012
Special guests visit the Museum's exhibition, Scott's Last Expedition, 100 years on from Scott's last diary entry.
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Wild Planet opens at the Natural History Museum - 23/03/2012
Wild Planet showcases 80 award-winning photos from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year archives.
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Did taking refuge from climate change spur human evolution? - 16/03/2012
Models on ice-age plant and animal movements reveal clues to human evolution.
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Underwater tropical twilight zone explored with Museum's ROV - 08/03/2012
Follow scientists' research with a remotely-operated vehicle as they send back daily blog posts and videos.
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Scientists dig up new branch of amphibian family tree - 02/03/2012
Caecilians are the least well-known of the amphibians, but scientists have identified a new family.
February
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Noble false widow spider marches north in the UK - 22/02/2012
Museum enquiries show that the noble false widow spider is moving north.
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Last call for best wildlife photos 2012 - 20/02/2012
Entries for the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition close on Thursday 23 February.
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Animal Record-Breakers at the Natural History Museum at Tring - 11/02/2012
Discover the fastest, strongest and loudest creatures on the planet in this exhibition.
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Mighty Martian meteorite lands at Natural History Museum - 08/02/2012
A rare Martian meteorite could help unravel the mysteries of Mars. Watch the video.
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A few great plant hunters find most species - 03/02/2012
Just 2% of plant collectors find the majority of new species, new research shows.
January
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Naming new plant species moves online - 31/01/2012
A landmark change has been made in the process of naming new plant species.
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First Earth Debate asks Can we put a price on nature? - 25/01/2012
The first debate streams live from the Museum and looks at the issues coming up at Rio+20.
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Horseshoe crabs are one of nature’s great survivors - 23/01/2012
They may look like something out of a science fiction movie, but the living horseshoe crab has survived major extinctions.
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Royalty opens new Scott exhibition - 20/01/2012
The Princess Royal attended the opening of Scott's Last Expedition, the Natural History Museum's new exhibition.
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Could 2012 be the year we find extraterrestrial life? - 18/01/2012
Does the discovery of an Earth-like planet, Kepler-22b, and other planets bring the search for alien life closer?
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Scott's South Pole expedition science legacy - 17/01/2012
The remarkable scientific achievements of Scott’s Terra Nova expedition are explored in our new exhibition.
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Animals inside out, Captain Scott, 2012 Museum exhibitions - 05/01/2012
From an exploration of the insides of animals to the last expedition of Captain Scott, find out what's new at the Museum this year.
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Find out what is going on around the Museum in this blog.