The Leakey Foundation

Explore the fascinating world of orangutans with Leakey Foundation grantee Cheryl Knott in this episode of?Lunch Break Science! Discover how their diet and environment influence their physiology and reproduction, and efforts to conserve these remarkable primates and their habitats.

Meet Stephen Magohe, a geologist and PhD student at the University of Calgary. In 2024, Magohe received a Francis H. Brown African Scholarship for his research project "Investigating the early?Homo?habitat through geoscience at Oldupai Gorge." This project will shed new light on one of the world's most iconic and important human origins field sites. In his work, Magohe hopes to foster greater collaboration between geologists and archaeologists and inspire other Tanzanians to pursue careers in geoscience.?

Discover the secrets of 20-million-year-old botanical fossils from the site of Koru in western Kenya with scientist Venanzio Munyaka! In this episode of Lunch Break Science, we explore what these fossils tell us about the climate, vegetation, and early ape evolution in this diverse Early Miocene ecosystem.

Have you ever seen a drone's-eye view of Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania? Leakey Foundation grantee Alex Pelissero from Colorado State University is using this drone to make high-resolution maps of this famous fossil site. He's working to learn how ancient humans lived and moved across the landscape, how the gorge may have changed through time, and how big carnivores may have influenced where our ancestors chose to spend their time.? ? Drones give researchers like Alex new ways to investigate our past. "When I joined my current department," he said. "I realized how incredibly useful these tools could be for big research questions at big sites! I ultimately want to understand how our ancestors moved across the landscape, where they were hanging out, and what ecological and behavioral factors would have impacted their decisions in the short and long term." ? ? #drone #dronemapping #humanevolution #science #leakeyfoundation #paleoanthropology? ?

Happy #InternationalPodcastDay! What have you been listening to lately? Share your human evolution, science, (and other) podcast recommendations in the replies!

It's #WorldGorillaDay, a day to celebrate gorillas and empower global communities to take action for gorilla conservation. At The Leakey Foundation, we're proud to support gorilla research and conservation through grants, fellowships, and studies that help us understand and protect endangered mountain gorillas. ? ? We hope you'll join us in celebrating our gorilla cousins–today and every day!?

How do gorillas live in the highest and coldest habitat of any non-human primate? McKensey Miller is a Leakey Foundation grantee who's studying how mountain gorillas adapt to changing and extreme environments in the mountains of Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda.? ? McKensey's project will combine environmental, behavioral, and physiological data to learn how mountain gorillas cope with their extreme environment, including high elevation. ? ? Why is this work so important? Research like McKensey's helps to inform conservation strategies to help protect endangered mountain gorillas. This study will also help us understand how human ancestors may have coped with environmental variation and extremes.? ? #worldgorilladay #mountaingorilla #science #womeninstem

Join The Leakey Foundation, Lucy and ASU Institute of Human Origins, and PAST AFRICA for a free webinar exploring the past, present, and future of human origins research in Africa through the lens of two iconic discoveries.

?? Meet Giulia Gallo, an archaeologist and Leakey Foundation grantee studying Neanderthal fire technology. Her research explores variations in how Neanderthals used fire and compares that with how ancient humans used fire. In these photos, Giulia is working at a Neanderthal site in Dordogne called Combe-Grenal. The site dates back to around 130,000 to 50,000 years ago. ? ? Tune in to Lunch Break Science on 8/15 at 11 am Pacific / 2 pm Eastern / 6 pm GMT to learn all about Neanderthal fire. You can also ask Giulia your questions and she'll answer them live on air! You can watch right here on Linked In - or head over to our YouTube channel! ? #fire #neanderthal #science #archaeology

Meet the 2024 Francis H. Brown African Scholars! We are pleased to announce that Bahru Zinaye Asegahegn, Stephen Magohe, and Husna Mashaka have been recognized for their outstanding research and scholarship in the earth sciences. We are proud to support them and we hope you join us in congratulating the new Francis H. Brown African Scholars!? ? The Francis H. Brown African Scholarship Fund honors geologist Frank Brown and works towards his goal of expanding knowledge of earth sciences and botany related to human origins by supporting East African researchers and students. The fund is further intended to build on Frank's work and increase capacity in the earth and botanical sciences in East African institutions and countries.? Read more –> https://lnkd.in/g38shkmr