Sophie is a U.K.-based staff writer at Live Science. She covers a wide range of topics, having previously reported on research spanning from bonobo communication to the first water in the universe. Her work has also appeared in outlets including New Scientist, The Observer and BBC Wildlife, and she was shortlisted for the Association of British Science Writers' 2025 "Newcomer of the Year" award for her freelance work at New Scientist. Before becoming a science journalist, she completed a doctorate in evolutionary anthropology from the University of Oxford, where she spent four years looking at why some chimps are better at using tools than others.
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World's oldest known rock art predates modern humans' entrance into Europe — and it was found in an Indonesian caveThe hand stencil is more than 1,000 years older than the previous earliest evidence of rock art.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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Human origins quiz: How well do you know the story of humanity?Think you know about our human relatives? Take our quiz to find out — and remember, it's human to make mistakes.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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A man's sudden seizures were set off by sudokuIn the weeks following a ski accident, a German man experienced seizures when he completed sudoku puzzles.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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Tiny bump on 7 million-year-old fossil suggests ancient ape walked upright — and might even be a human ancestorThe way Sahelanthropus tchadensis moved has long been debated. The discovery of a small bump on the front of the thigh bone is "beyond convincing" evidence this ape was bipedal.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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60,000-year-old poison arrows from South Africa are the oldest poison weapons ever discoveredFive quartz arrowheads found in a South African cave were laced with a slow-acting tumbleweed poison that would have tired prey during long hunts.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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A rare condition caused a man to get 'scales' on his hands whenever he washed themA man's rare condition caused "excessive wrinkling" in his hands which spread to his wrists and elbows.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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Primates Quiz: Go ape and test your knowledge on our closest relativesTime to stop monkeying around — just don't go bananas if you get the wrong answer!
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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AI is getting better and better at generating faces — but you can train to spot the fakesEven the most skilled face recognizers are duped by AI-generated faces, a new study finds. But they can improve with training.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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Scientists claim 'Lucy' may not be our direct ancestor after all, stoking fierce debateRecent fossil finds could mean that "Lucy" wasn't our direct ancestor, some scientists say. Others strongly disagree.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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A fossilized foot found 15 years ago belonged to enigmatic human relative that lived alongside Lucy, scientists sayFreshly unearthed jaw bones and teeth that were found close to a previously discovered foot suggest human relatives tried several ways of walking before honing in on one strategy.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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'A forest with bonobos has never been so quiet': Most extreme case of violence in 'hippie' species recorded, with females ganging up on male in unprecedented attackFemale bonobos routinely form coalitions to stamp out threats from males, but the level of violence in this attack was unprecedented.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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Study reveals why the brain 'zones out' when you're exhaustedYour sleep-deprived brain behaves as if you were about to nod off to sleep, even when you're awake.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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Prehistoric Jomon people in Japan had 'little to no' DNA from the mysterious Denisovans, study findsThe prehistoric Jomon people of Japan had "unexpectedly low" levels of DNA from the Denisovans, our mysterious human relatives.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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'DST just seems so pointless': Poll reveals most Live Science readers want to eliminate daylight saving timeThousands of Live Science readers responded to our poll asking if they would get rid of daylight saving time.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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Crimean Stone Age 'crayons' were used by Neanderthals for symbolic drawings, study claimsScientists have discovered Stone Age "crayons" in Crimea, hinting that Neanderthals may have used them for symbolic drawings or markings. But not everyone agrees.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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'Chemo brain' may stem from damage to the brain's drainage systemAn early-stage study has found that a common chemotherapy drug disrupts lymphatic cells in the tissue surrounding the brain. This is linked to memory issues in mice.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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Would you get rid of daylight saving time?The clocks in the U.S. will be "falling back" on Sunday, Nov. 2, marking the end of daylight saving time for 2025. If you could decide, would you abandon it forever?
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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'Puzzling' object discovered by James Webb telescope may be the earliest known galaxy in the universeWhile scouring images from the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers spotted Capotauro, "one of the most puzzling discoveries" to date.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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Meat eaten by city-dwelling Americans produces more CO2 than the entire UK — but there are easy ways to slash itHalving how much edible food is thrown away, swapping beef for pork or chicken and having one meatless day a week could slash the carbon "hoofprint" of U.S. cities by up to 51%, a new study finds.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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Easter Island statues may have 'walked' thanks to 'pendulum dynamics' and with as few as 15 people, study findsSimple physics may explain how the Easter Island statues could "walk" miles with only a handful of people, but the debate over their transport is far from over.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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Jane Goodall revolutionized animal research, but her work had some unintended consequences. Here's what we've learned from them.Following Jane Goodall's death, chimp experts explain how her early observations still influence our understanding of our ape cousins.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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James Webb telescope finds something 'very exciting' shooting out of first black hole ever imagedUsing the James Webb Space Telescope's infrared camera, scientists have captured the gigantic jet blasting out of M87* in a new light.
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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James Webb telescope could have spotted controversial 'dark stars' in the far universeUsing observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, astrophysicists have spotted what they say is compelling evidence of a new type of cosmic object called a 'dark star.'
By Sophie Berdugo Published
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Scientists invent 'Pulse-Fi' prototype — a Wi-Fi heart rate monitor that's cheaper to set up than the best wearable devicesEngineers are in the early stages of harnessing Wi-Fi as a way to monitor heart rates, but don't expect to use your home router anytime soon.
By Sophie Berdugo Published

