Ever since Charles Darwin, the idea that humans originated in Africa from an ape ancestor was hotly debated, but progressively gained support. The British naturalist, however, was unable to determine the kinship between humans and modern hominoid primates (gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and gibbons). Recent molecular studies, however, have determined that humans and chimps share a common ancestor (LCA) that lived during the Upper Miocene, between 9 and 7 million years ago, a fact that is frequently interpreted as evidence that it was chimp-like. This idea has dominated discussions of human ancestry for decades, and consequently, the more primitive Miocene apes were excluded as potential candidates. There are two major points of view in assessing the role of the ape fossil record in our evolutionary history. One rejects the idea that they are relevant in the debate over the origins of humans, while others think they play a crucial role. The fact that today's hominoids are just the survivors of terminal specialized branches of a group that was much larger and more diverse in the past, provides little evidence for the evolutionary history of human ancestors. It is exactly for this reason that the study of Miocene apes is required.

The inclusion of Miocene apes in the analysis sheds a new perspective on the reconstruction of the LCA of humans and chimps. The fossil record clearly indicates that living hominoids constitute a narrow representation of an ancient radiation of more widely distributed, diverse taxa, none of which exhibits the entire suite of locomotor adaptations present in their extant relatives. Introducing Miocene apes into the equation allows us to understand that some modern ape similarities might have evolved in parallel in response to similar selection pressures. Early hominins originated in Africa from a Miocene LCA that does not match any living ape. Despite phylogenetic uncertainties, fossil apes remain key to reconstructing the "starting point" from which humans and chimps diverged. Future research should focus on fieldwork in new areas and methodological advances in morphology-based phylogenetics and paleoproteomics.

Air pollution from fuel combustion is a great environmental problem. The presence of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide (CO) in the air of densely populated cities seriously harms the human health and increases mortality. Collaboration between researchers from the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) and the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis (BIC) of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk opens a way for reducing polluting car emissions. In a study published in the Applied Catalysis B: Environmental journal the scientists propose design principles and synthesize catalysts for transforming toxic molecules in air at temperatures even below 0ºC.

Most of toxic molecules generated in combustion engines are abated by transforming them into harmless molecules in the catalytic converters. The majority of the harmful pollutions during an average drive are cold-start emissions generated by cars during the first few minutes after ignition, when the motors are insufficiently warm for the catalyst to start operating. Thus, the design of catalysts working at low temperatures remains a challenge.

To address this challenge, the BIC researchers explored low-temperature efficiency of catalysts and identified particular formulations able to convert CO already at -50°C. This extraordinary low-temperature efficiency was achieved by dispersing metal platinum (Pt) on nanostructured cerium oxide (CeO₂). The key to this performance is the synergy between the oxide and distributed thereon oxidized platinum. These components can be identified spectroscopically, but characterizing their roles requires computational modelling. The UB team of ICREA Professor Konstantin Neyman modelled these materials using sophisticated quantum mechanical computer calculations to decipher the role of each component in the outstanding catalytic performance measured experimentally.

The societal impact of this advancement in the developing of catalytic materials for the low-temperature oxidation of air pollutants is not limited to automotive emissions. These materials can also be used for the oxidative abatement of the pollutants produced by stationary sources, such as fossil-fuelled power plants.