National Geographic Magazine - UK February 2025

WE HAVE A LONG-STANDING interest in human evolution here at National Geographic, and we have endeavored over many decades to bring you the latest science on the subject, because it continues to shift our understanding of our own species. Although humans and their predecessors have been around for millennia, we know surprisingly little about our collective history. That is rapidly changing, thanks not only to new discoveries in the fossil record but also to technology that is helping us extract more information from those finds. The cover story this month puts to gether the most recent paleoanthropology puzzle pieces, notably, important discoveries in Asia and what breakthroughs in protein analysis and genetic testing are now able to tell us about our ancestors. And indeed, although we Homo sapiens are a…

CULTURE “Through the picture we see the resourcefulness in Bangladesh, where livelihoods, traditions, and values are shaped by the unique landscape and challenges of the RURAL ENVIRONMENT.”SYED MAHABUBUL KADER, photographer Rice paddies can provide two sources of income. After the grain is harvested, the leftover straw can be used as cattle feed, fuel, and thatch. Here, workers near the village of Kazipur unload a large bundle to sell along the Jamuna River.…

“I decided to show these flies in a clean place to elevate the dialogue on using insects as SUSTAINABLE FOOD. Only by showing a way forward can we inspire people to abandon a bleak worldview and fight for a better one.”MAURIZIO DI PIETRO, photographer Black soldier flies land on scientist Laura Gasco as she collects a box of fly eggs. Gasco leads an Italian research project exploring how protein alternatives, such as insect larva flours, could lead to the creation of more sustainable food for livestock.…

“As I was scouting over Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, I saw the most BEAUTIFUL PATTERNS in the water below. The perspective was challenging, but finally a herd of goats began walking up the river’s edge, and I knew I had subject for scale.”PAUL NICKLEN, photographer Lençóis means “bedsheets” in Portuguese, referring to the rippling sand dunes that dominate this Brazilian park. Named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2024, it’s famous for the lagoons that form during the rainy season.…

Laurent Ballesta, p.56 The French diver, photographer, and marine biologist spent weeks living in a pressurized chamber that enabled him to withstand more time at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea for this month’s story about puzzling rings that have formed there. An Explorer since 2022, he’s drawn to both the wonder of the ocean and its “timeless mysteries.” Justin Jin, p.14 An Explorer since 2024, the Hong Kongborn photographer traveled to China’s Gansu Province to photograph the excavation of a newly discovered species of hominin in a sacred cave. Our cover story surveys human ancestors and the exciting developments that are offering a more complete picture of our evolution. Ingo Arndt, p.110 The German wildlife photographer captured rare images of red wood ants for a story on the hidden…

DEEP INSIDE COBRA CAVE, IN THE REMOTE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHEASTERN LAOS, THE BEAM FROM ERIC SUZZONI’S HEADLAMP BOUNCED ACROSS BARREN ROCK UNTIL IT flashed on something unusual: dozens of bones and teeth protruding from a layer of sediment and rock. Suzzoni, a tall, 50-year-old caving specialist with a tiger tattoo on his arm, yelled out to his partner, Sébastien Frangeul. This was the French explorers’ first foray into Cobra Cave. They had just scaled 65 feet of limestone cliff, ascending from the forest floor to the cave’s entrance with their unlikely companions: a pair of local teenagers in flip-flops. The Hmong boys knew the terrain vvaround the cave and the namesake cobras that sometimes lurked inside. Today the snakes were nowhere to be seen. But soon after climbing into the cave,…