Science this week | The discovery of an ancient human skeleton, a new atlas to chart bird migration routes and more

Here is a recap of all the major findings and discoveries from this week in the field of science.

This week has shed some great insight into the world of science. Here are some of the most interesting science discoveries this week—from the ancient human skeleton found in Mexico to the gut microbes that evolved along with humans.

A new study has found that though climate change is responsible for a 50% increase in rainfall late last month in two provinces in Pakistan, it was not the primary reason for the devastating floods which killed more than 1,500 people. 

Pakistan’s overall vulnerability, including people living in harm’s way, is the chief reason in the disaster, the scientists who conducted the study said. Other weather phenomenon, like a severe heatwave in the region earlier in the summer and a wetter monsoon than normal due to La Niña were factors that also contributed to the intensity of the floods.

Saturn’s rings and its tilt are iconic. A study based on simulations by MIT scientists has found that a ‘missing moon’, dubbed Chrysalis, could have been the reason for the tilt. The scientists theorise that sometime between 200 to 100 million years ago, Chrysalis’s orbit became unstable. In a grazing encounter that caused Saturn to tilt, the moon was ripped to bits and formed parts of the planet’s rings. 

A pre-historic human skeleton has been found in a cave system near Mexico’s Caribbean coast. Scientists think the cave system was flooded at the end of the last ice age 8,000 years ago.

Some of the oldest human remains have been found in sinkhole caves or ‘cenotes’. The recently discovered one was found near a site where the Mexican government is planning to build railway tracks. A swathe of jungle has already been cut down to lay the tracks. Scientists fear that the cave system could collapse, be contaminated or closed off for the project and subsequent development.

A new study has found that gut microbes have evolved in tandem with humans. A pronounced variation has been found in the microbial composition and the diversity of gut microbiomes of people living in different parts of the world.