Lethal conflict during the fission of a Chimpanzee group in Kibale National Park, Uganda.

Warfare, and other forms of collective violence, are one of the more distinctive, if less pleasant, forms of Human behaviour. In these acts, Humans are able to sort themselves into groups defined by traits other than kinship, such as ethnicity, religion, language, or other cultural traits, in order to engage in conflict against other groups of Humans. It has been proposed that this is a result of our ability to use cultural traits to define cohesive social groups, giving us a distinct sense of who is 'us' and who is 'them', enabling closer cooperation with members of our group, while at the same time maintaining a hostility to outsiders. 

However, this cannot explain how conflict can erupt within formerly cohesive groups, leading to rebellions and civil wars. This has been explained by suggesting that shifting interpersonal ties and rivalries can sometimes reach a point where internal hostilities overcome the cohesion of the group, regardless of the cultural connections which have been built up. This hypothesis has some evidential support, with observations suggesting that Humans can rapidly come to regard former members of an in-group as members of an out-group for the most arbitrary of reasons. 

Non-Human Animals also engage in territorial aggression, and sometimes lethal conflict with cospecifics, despite not having the religious, cultural, or political ideologies seen in Humans. This has been observed in a variety of Animals, including Banded Mongooses, Lions, Wolves, and Primates. Non-Human Animals living in social groups also have episodes of fission, in which one group splits permanently into two or more, something which is often explained in terms of feeding competition and social pressures, although most Animal groups do not engage in lethal combat during such fission episodes.

Chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, are among our closest relatives, and in some ways can be seen as a bridge over the gap between Human and non-Human behaviour. Male Chimpanzees stay within the group they were born in, and engage in cooperative defence of the group's territory, as well as raids on the territories of neighbouring groups. Lethal violence between males of different groups is quite common during both of these activities. This can be explained in terms of hostility towards outsiders, while remaining loyal to members of the kin group. Chimpanzee groups are known to occasionally split, a process which is thought to involve lethal violence between males familiar with one-another.

In the 1970s, a group of Chimpanzees living in the Gombe National Park in Tanzania was thought to split in two, with the males of one of the new groups subsequently killing one of the adult females and all six adult males in the other group over a period of about four years. However, this group was not under constant observation, so that much of this activity is inferred rather than having been directly witnessed, and no subsequent observations of similar splits in Chimpanzee groups were recorded in the following decades. Furthermore, a study published in 2014 which looked at the genetic structure of Chimpanzee groups suggested that such ruptures were extremely uncommon, with groups splitting on average once every 500 years.

In a paper published in the journal Science on 9 April 2026, a group of scientists led by Aaron Sandel of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin, present a detailed and extensively documented study of a fission event which split a group of Chimpanzees living in the Kibale National Park in Uganda, and the lethal violence associated with this split.

Sandel et al. analysed 24 years of data on the social interactions of the group, ten years of GPS data, and 30 years of demographic data on the Ngogo Chimpanzee Group, which demonstrated a three step process, in which a formerly cohesive group polarised into two clusters with little social interaction between these clusters, these clusters then actively avoided one-another for two years, before engaging in a series of lethal aggressive actions. Sandel et al. take this as evidence that Chimpanzee groups can fracture and engage in collective violence against members of the same community without any of the cultural markers seen in Humans.

The Ngogo Chimpanzees have been the subject of a continuous research project since 1995. For the first two decades of the study, they remained a single group, although they did go through a regular fission-fusion dynamic in which the larger group split into parties which changed throughout the day, though individuals frequently moved between parties and all remained within the overall territory; this is something commonly seen in Chimpanzee groups. Females typically migrated from (or to) the group at adolescence, while males born into the group remained there for life. The males formed a strict dominance hierarchy, associated in mixed-sex parties, hunted together, and cooperated in territorial patrols.

Each adult male in the group was followed for 2-3 months each year between 1998 and 2024 to see which other individuals they associated with, stayed close to, and engaged in grooming with. Despite being a single group, the Ngogo Chimpanzees typically split into two-to-four clusters over the course of a year, with two persistent and long-lived clusters, the Western and Central clusters. Membership of these clusters was fluid, with 29% of Chimpanzees switching cluster each year, and extensive ties maintained between Chimpanzees in different clusters. 

As well as clusters, Sandel et al. identified a number of 'cliques' of males that consistently stayed together, even when switching clusters. One of these cliques comprised a group of three males that would go on to form the core of the post-fission Western Group. These three males remained together consistently, even when forming clusters with males that would go on to be in the post-fission Central Group. A cluster comprising exclusively males that would go on to form the post-fission Western Group first appeared in 2014.

In 2015, Ngogo Chimpanzees at the edge of their territory hear calls from neighbouring Chimpanzees; adult males embrace each other in an act of reassurance before moving toward the calls and engaging in an intergroup encounter. 'C' and 'W' designations refer to males who would later become members of the Central and Western groups, respectively. Sandal et al. (2026).

Despite the different social clusters, all of the Ngogo Chimpanzees, including all of the males, had overlapping space use patterns, and all males shared the same set of reproductive partners. All Chimpanzees born within the Ngogo Group between 2004 and 2014 that it was possible to genetically sample had both parents from within the group, though 44% had parents from two different clusters. 

The first sign of a split between the clusters was observed on 24 June 2015, when members of the Western and Central clusters were seen to approach one-another near the centre of the territory. Unexpectedly, rather than the two groups merging as usually happened on such occasions, the Chimpanzees of the Western Cluster ran away, with the Chimpanzees of the Central Cluster chasing them. The two clusters then avoided one-another for six weeks, something which had never been observed before.

The events of 2015 precipitated the greatest change of social change seen throughout the decades-long study of the group. What had been a single large group of Chimpanzees split into a number of smaller units, stabilising as two new groups by 2018.

The first patrol by one group against another happened in 2016, when males of the Western Group, accompanied by two of the Central Group males, staged a patrol against the Central Group. All subsequent patrols by the Western males contained only members of that group. In 2017, the Central Group males staged their first patrol against the Western Group, with aggressive interactions between the two groups escalating rapidly from that point. During one encounter in 2017 the males of the Western Cluster attacked the alpha male of the Central Cluster (who had been part of the Western Cluster before 2014), severely injuring him. Both groups subsequently increased the number of patrols against the other group.

By 2017 the two groups were using largely distinct territories, with the overlap between the two groups being similar in size to that seen between unrelated groups. The centre of the shared territory had become a border. This was accompanied by reproductive isolation between the two emerging groups, with the last infant with parents from different groups being conceived in March 2015. All subsequent births had both parents from the same new group.

By 2018, the original group appeared to have split into two new groups, entirely separated from one another. At this time the Western Group included 10 males and 22 females over the age of 12, and the Central Group comprised 30 males and 39 females over the age of 12. Until 2018, a few of the females and infants from the Central Group would occasionally join the Western Group when foraging from Fig trees. After 2018 all such activity ceased.

Following this complete split, the Western Group initiated a series of lethal attacks against members of the Central Group. On all occasions members of the Central Group were attacked by multiple members of the Western Group, during a patrol by members of the Western Group into the territory of the Central Group. Six lethal attacks on males belonging to the Central Group were observed between 2018 and 2024, with a seventh attributed with a high degree of confidence. From 2021 these attacks were also carried out on infants from the Central group, with fourteen infanticides observed, and another three inferred. 

Sandal et al. note that this is a conservative estimate. Between 2021 and 2024 another 14 adult and adolescent males from the Central Group disappeared, and are thought likely to have been killed. None of these individuals showed signs of any illness when they were last observed.

In 2019, the Western Chimpanzees, including W1, W2, and W3, attack and kill the adult male Central Chimpanzee C1, who they had associated with before the fission, marking a notable shift in relationships. Sandal et al. (2026).

By using decades of data gathered on the Ngogo Chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Sandel et al. have been able to demonstrate the occurrence of a fission event within a wild group of Chimpanzees, something predicted to happen only once every 500 years. This was followed by a series of lethal aggressive interactions, with targeted violence continuing years after the split, something not observed in any other non-Human Primate. The rate at which killings occurred was far higher than that seen in small Human societies. This demonstrates that Chimpanzees can develop new group boundaries and defend them violently, despite not having any concept of ethnicity, religion, or political ideology.

Sandal et al. speculate that a number of factors might have contributed towards the division of the Ngogo Chimpanzee Group. Firstly, the group was unusually large, with almost 200 individuals, and almost 30 males, much larger than other known Chimpanzee groups, which may have strained the males ability to maintain good relations with all other members of the group. Secondly, feeding competition has been shown to play a role in group fission in other Primate species. The area occupied by the Ngogo Group had abundant food, but the large size of the group may have caused strain at some times of the year. Thirdly, the two groups became reproductively isolated before finally separating into two groups, something which may have increased male-male aggression as they had to compete for a smaller number of mates.

Other factors which may have played a role are also observed by Sandal et al.. Firstly, six adult members of the group, five males and a female, died in 2014. The cause of these deaths is unknown, but two showed signs of illness before their deaths, making it possible that the group was hit by a disease. The loss of more than 10% of the male Chimpanzees in the group may have weakened the groups network of social relationships, leading to the group beginning to break up in 2015. 

Next, the dominant male in the group changed in 2015, immediately before the fission of the group. Such changeovers are known to raise tensions among male Chimpanzees, leading to increases in behaviours such as aggression and avoidance. The former dominant male belonged to the Central Group, whereas the new dominant male came from the Western Group, but moved to the Central Group when he ascended to the top of the hierarchy, which Sandal et al. suspect may have increased tensions between the two groups.

Finally, in January 2017, the group was hit by a respiratory epidemic which killed 25 Chimpanzees, including four adult males and ten adult females. Two of the males that died were from the Western Group, including one of the last males in that group to be maintaining relations with the Central Group. Thus, even though this event happened after the groups had started to split, it may have contributed to the final breakdown in relations between the two. 

Chimpanzees are known to have a strong sense of who is in their group, and who is not. Female Chimpanzees leave the group they were born into as adolescents and look for a new group to join, but males remain in the group they were born into their entire lives. Thus any unfamiliar male Chimpanzee is treated as a stranger, with no recorded instances of wild male Chimpanzees forming relationships or cooperating with Chimpanzees in other groups. Under these circumstances, intense hostility towards outside males appears to be an adaptive trait in male Chimpanzees, leading to potential territorial extensions for the group, which in turn leads to more food and other resources, increased female fertility, and a greater survival rate among juveniles. 

This cannot, however, explain the lethal aggression sometimes displayed to members, or former members, of the same group. During the fission of the Ngogo Group, males which had lived, fed, groomed, and patrolled together for years became targets of lethal attacks on the basis of their new group membership. This leads Sandal et al. to conclude that Chimpanzees have a sense of who belongs to their group which is based upon more than simple familiarity, and which can be updated to reflect changes in circumstances.

These results challenge previous assumptions about intergroup conflict in Chimpanzees in a number of ways. All observed attacks were initiated by the numerically smaller Western Group, which contradicts the assumption that larger groups have an advantage in such conflicts. The emergence of greater social cohesion in the smaller group appears to have given them an advantage in conflict which more than made up for the greater numbers of their opponents. These closer bonds appear to have developed before the onset of aggressive activity, suggesting that an external threat is not needed to forge these bonds. Conversely, the original Ngogo Group underwent a territorial expansion in 2009, which appears to have reduced the threat that it faced from rival groups, something which may have contributed to the long-term decline in social cohesion within the group. If this is the case, than an external threat may not be needed to forge close bonds, but it may be needed to maintain them.

Sandal et al.'s findings also have implications for Human behaviour. If Chimpanzee groups can split in this way without any of the cultural markers associated with Human conflict, then these may be less important to Humans than we generally assume, masking the actual roots of aggression, which may have more to do with interpersonal relationships. Humans tend to attribute the conflict to ethnic, religious, or political divisions, but this may be misleading, covering the actual causes of conflict. If this is the case, then  it may be in the small, daily acts of reconciliation and reunion between individuals that we find opportunities for peace.

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Herder killed by Hippopotamus in The Gambia.

A herder was killed by a Hippopotamus in the Niamina East District of The Gambia on the morning of Sunday 12 April 2026. Dawda Jallow, from Brikama Ba in Fulladu West District, had walked to the area with a mixed herd of Cattle and Goats. He reportedly encountered the Hippopotamus, a female who had recently given birth and was defending a calf, while searching in long grass for some missing Goats.

The journey taken by Dawda Jallow on the day he was killed. Google Maps.

Farmers in the area have raised concerns about the local Hippopotamus population, which they feel is becoming increasingly dangerous, with the Department of Parks and Wildlife. While this is the first reported Human death in the region, there have been a series of attacks on Cattle, with four Cows recently killed within the space of a month. 

While Hippos can appear benign to people unfamiliar to them, they are generally considered to be one of the most dangerous Animals in Africa, and probably the world. Hippopotamuses are the largest land Mammals after Elephants and Rhinoceroses, as well as being the closest terrestrial relatives of Whales. Adult Hippos typically weigh about 1.4 tonnes (males tend to be slightly larger than females, but this is marginal, and the sex of Hippos can be hard to differentiate). Hippos can open their mouths to almost 110°, and their jaws are highly muscled, allowing them to slap there mouths shut abruptly, driving canine and incisor teeth that can be 50 cm long into anything which offends them. This weapon is primarily used in intraspecific fights particularly between the males, which are highly territorial. However, they are also notoriously aggressive towards other species, particularly Humans, possibly as a result as having evolved alongside Pliocene and Pleistocene hunting Hominids. Hippopotamuses tend to stay in the water during the day, lowering the threat they present to Humans, but come out of the water to graze at night, when they are generally considered to be at their most dangerous.

Hippos by the Gambia River. The Akamba Times.

Hippopotamus are listed as Vulnerable under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, with a global population of 115 000-130 000 individuals, spread across most of Sub-Saharan Africa. The species is considered to be threatened by human activities, including expanding urban development along waterways, the loss of feeding grounds to agriculture (Hippopotamus spend most of their time in water, but feed principally on land), damming rivers and other waterway modifications, and hunting, with illegal poaching becoming a problem in many areas as their teeth are used as a substitute for Elephant ivory.

As a protected species, Hippopotamuses are strictly protected by Gambian law, and cannot be killed. However, the aggressive nature of these animals often brings them into conflict with local Human populations, particularly farmers and herders. Local community representatives have been asking authorities to consider options which balance the need to conserve wildlife with that to protect Human lives and livelihoods, with some suggesting that a relocation program might be possible.

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At least five people dead due to unknown haemorrhagic fever outbreak in Burundi.

Five people, including a child, are known to have died and another 35 people are reported to be ill in an outbreak of an unknown haemorrhagic fever in the Mpanda Commune in Bubanza Province, Burundi, according to a press release issued by the World Health Organization's Africa Regional Office on 11 April 2026. The disease was first reported on 28 March 2026, with several members of a household in the village of Kibuye being the first affected. The disease subsequently spread to contacts of the original victims, with six households now affected. 

Patients have been admitted to the Mpanda General Hospital with a range of symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, blood in urine, fatigue and abdominal pain, and in some cases jaundice and anaemia. Such symptoms are consistent with an haemorrhagic fever such as Ebola or Marburg Virus, however, tests for Ebola, Marburg, Rift Valley Fever, Yellow Fever, and Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever have all come back negative, raising the possibility that this represents a new, as yet unknown, disease. Samples have been sent to the National Institute of Biomedical Research in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo for further analysis.

Mpanda General Hospital. Afrigift TV.

In the absence of a diagnosis, health authorities in Burundi has deployed joint team of experts from the country’s Public Health Emergency Operations Centre and the National Reference Laboratory to the region to strengthen disease surveillance, field investigation, clinical care, laboratory diagnosis and infection prevention and control, while also providing logistical support to sustain key operations. Local people are advised to maintain good hygiene standards, practice social distancing, and to seek immediate help should they develop any symptoms.

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Understanding the reasons for the use of historical anatomical skeleton collections for research in the US.

While scientists generally like to see their work as politically neutral, the nature of research carried out generally reflects the social and moral norms of the day, and these change over time. In recent years there has been an increasing discussion of the use of Human skeletal remains from historical collections in research, particularly as many such remains originally belonged to members of marginalised communities and other non-consenting individuals. A central part of this debate is whether scientists should continue to use such skeletons, and what should be done with them if it is determined that their continued use is unethical. Many such collections were amassed via processes which would be considered unethical today, such as the 'Anatomy Acts' in the US, which were passed by various state legislatures, and which allowed for the dissection and curation of unclaimed Human remains, often with a relatively short window of opportunity for the claiming of remains. This disproportionately affected poor and marginalised communities, who were often unable to afford to claim and bury the remains of their relatives within the short time available. 

In a paper published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology on 27 March 2026, Allyson Simon and Nicholas Passalacqua of the Department of Anthropology at The Ohio State University, and Mark Hubbe of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, present a review of research which has used Human remains from four Historical Anthropological Skeletal Collections, with a view to understanding current and past standards and social values in biological anthropology.

The use of historical anthropological skeletal collections has played a key role in the field of biological anthropology, with techniques such as the methods for estimating sex, age, stature, and population affinity, having first been developed using material from such collections. Despite this, until relatively recently little-or-no consideration was given to the lived experiences of the people whose remains found their way into such collections, or of the circumstances under which they got there. Today, there are ongoing discussions about the continued use and curation of these skeletons, with some scholars calling for such collections to be permanently dismantled and the remains held in them buried or cremated, while others argue that these are still vital resources that it will not be possible to replace once they are gone, and that they should therefore continue to be preserved.

Historical anatomical skeleton collections often include records of individuals' names, sex, age, cause of death, and other identifying information, presenting a unique set of ethical considerations. Because of this, Simon et al. felt it was important to distinguish between collections where such information has been preserved and those where it has not. They note that some previous ethical studies have lumped the two types of collections together, thereby ignoring some nuanced differences in both the demographics of these collections, and the way in which they are used by researchers. They further note that the views of both the scientific and non-scientific communities should be taken into account when determining the potential benefits of any research involving such collections.

Understanding how Human remains in historical collections have been used by researchers in the past, as well as how they are used today is an important step in evaluating the ethical dilemmas relating to these collections. When skeletons have been used in the development and validation of osteological methods without any consideration of the lived experiences of those individuals, there is a danger of those individuals being reduced to their value as osteological specimens, with their lives and individual identities being lost. It has also been noted that the value of studies based upon such collections might be lower than expected, as the way in which collections acquired skeletons makes the collections unrepresentative of the wider population. However, few previous studies have asked whether those methodological studies are ethically appropriate. Anthropological studies, in contrast, focus primarily on the lifetime experiences of the individuals involved, and often engage with current social theory. While such studies cannot undo past injustices, they do tend to re-emphasise the fact that the remains involved were once living people.

Understanding the aims of research is an important way of understanding the communities which that research serves, and can act as a proxy for the social perspective of the researchers. The Ghent Phrenological Collection comprised about 200 skulls transferred from the prison in Ghent, Belgium, to the University Museum in the same city in 1845. For the next century it was used as both a teaching aid and a research tool. However, much of the research for which the skulls were used was concentrated on the now discredited fields of eugenics and racial science, and some of that research was used to justify the atrocities of the Holocaust. Because of this the collection was felt to have become tainted by association, and following the Second World War the decision was taken to cremate the remains. However, it has been suggested that this could be seen as another act of violence against the people whose remains were held in the collection, as the method of disposal was chosen without reference to their wishes or the cultural norms of the societies which produced them.

Simon et al. believe that the debate around the continuing use of human remains from historical collections should be informed by accurate information on the uses to which they are put by researchers. To this end, they reviewed articles published in academic journals between 1920 and 2024, and the abstracts of presentations from the annual conferences of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences between 2014 and 2024, which referenced samples from four historical anthropological collections, the Hamann-Todd Human Osteological Collection held by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Skeletal Collection held by the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the W. Montague Cobb Human Skeletal Collection held by Howard University, and the George S. Huntington Anatomical Collection, also held by the Smithsonian Museum.

Deathmask, skull, and cadaver photograph of number 709 from the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection. Hunt & Albanese (2004).

These publications were analysed to determine the aims of the research being carried out in each case, with the studies being divided into five categories, 'anthropological' research, which sought to understand past human lives and experiences, often shaped by social theory, 'comparative' studies, in which specimens from one or more of the collections were compared to another sample in order to make an assessment of that sample, 'methodological' studies, concerned with the development, validation, and refinement of osteological methods and procedures for data collection and analysis, 'clinical' studies which aimed to contribute to medical knowledge and clinical practice, and 'other' studies, where the aims of the research could not be fit into one of the other categories, or could not be determined at all. These categories were not exclusive, in some cases studies were placed into more than one category.

Based upon this, Simon et al. attempted to answer four questions, (1) whether research with methodological aims was becoming less common, (2) whether work with anthropological aims was becoming more common, (3) whether different forms of research were rewarded better in terms of citations by other authors, and (4) how the preponderance of different types of research varied across journals.

The Hamann-Todd Human Osteological Collection and the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Skeletal Collection were the most commonly used in both journal articles and conference abstracts. Twelve percent of journal articles used samples from more than one of the studied collections, while 32% used samples from at least one of the studied collections, plus samples from another collection, with the most commonly cited being the Knoxville Donated Skeletal Collection at the University of Tennessee. 

Collection usage based upon (a) journal articles, (b) American Association of Biological Anthropologists conference abstracts, and (c) American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference abstracts. Simon et al. (2026).

The majority of both research papers and conference abstracts had methodological aims. Anthropological aims were most common in the American Association of Biological Anthropologists conference abstracts, but almost absent from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference abstracts. 

The oldest journal article was from 1920, and was a paper by Thomas Wingate Todd discussing ageing of the pubic symphysis in individuals in the Hamman-Todd Collection.

Ossa innominata of specimen 571, male, white, age sixty-nine. An illustration from Thomas Wingate Todd's 1920 paper Age changes in the pubic bone. I. The male white pubis. At the time Todd was an advocate of the theory of racial determinism, which held that education and environment were less important than heredity in development, but in later life came to reject these ideas. Todd (1920).

Methodological aims became less common over the 124 years of the study, but still represent the largest category, representing 69% of all journal articles. The number of research articles using historical anatomical skeletons has been increasing over the past decade. The number of anthropological studies has increased over the total time-frame, but still makes up only 14% of the total. Thirteen studies from journals were placed into more than one category, but in only three of these was anthropology one of those categories. Eighty one percent of the journal articles were hypothesis-driven research. Only three of the journal articles were review studies or meta-analyses.

Total count of journal articles with each research aim category between 2014 and 2024. Some journal articles are counted more than once due to having more than one research aim. Simon et al. (2026). 

Slightly over half of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists conference abstracts had methodological research aims, while 36% had anthropological aims. Six of these abstracts had both methodological and anthropological aims. In the American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference abstracts, 98.3% had methodological aims, while one had an anthropological aim and one had both an anthropological and a methodological aim. Almost all of the conference abstracts related to hypothesis-driven research, there were no review papers or meta analyses. The most common subject of the methodological research was sex determination, comprising 39.1% of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists conference abstracts and 50.9% of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference abstracts. This was followed by age determination, which made up 23.4% of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists conference abstracts and 33.3% of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference abstracts.

Frequency of methodological and anthropological research aims from journal articles between (a) 1975 and 2024, and (b) 2014 and 2024. Simon et al. (2026).

The number of American Association of Biological Anthropologists conference abstracts fluctuated considerably from year-to-year over the course of the studied period, but there has been no evidence of any decline in the number of methodological samples. There did appear to be an increase in the number of anthropological studies over the time period, although the variation in the number of anthropological studies over the entire period was less than the year-to-year variation in the number of methodological studies.

Total count of American Association of Biological Anthropologists abstracts with each research aim category between 2014 and 2024. Some abstracts are counted more than once due to having more than one research aim. Simon et al. (2026).

Due to the overwhelming preponderance of Methodology driven research in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference abstracts, no statistical analysis of this data was attempted. However, Simon et al. did note that there the number of studies using specimens from historical anatomical collections did decline over time.

Frequency of American Academy of Forensic Sciences abstracts that address methodological research aims with a historical anatomical skeleton collection sample between 2014 and 2024. Simon et al. (2026).

Of the ten most cited journal articles in the study, eight were methodology-based, while two fell in the 'other' category, one of these having addressed the subject of secular change in bone length, and the other the demographics of the skeletons in the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection. These most referenced papers were typically studies which had introduced methods which had become widely used, with six of the eight written before 2000.

Simon et al. also looked at what sort of journals tended to publish articles containing data from historical anatomical skeleton collections, concluding that the majority of such articles were published in forensic anthropology journals.

Simon et al. note an overall decline in the use of historical anatomical skeleton collections in research, along with a declining number of methodology-related studies, which have previously been the greatest users of such collections. The number of anthropological studies of material from historic collections was observed, but only in the American Association of Biological Anthropologists conference abstracts. Simon et al. propose two possible explanations for these results, either a declining usefulness for historical specimens within forensic anthropology, or a cultural shift away from studying the remains of marginalised individuals without there consent. 

Much of the development of the science of forensic anthropology has come about through the use of remains from historical collections. However, in recent years, collections made up of donated skeletons have become increasingly available. At the same time, studies of secular changes in skeletal changes have shown that these historical collections are less scientifically useful for understanding modern populations. This decline in the use of historical collections for forensic purposes has not been accompanied by an equivalent increase in anthropological studies, probably because this lies outside the traditional goals of the science.

The ongoing discussion about the ethics of using human material that was not voluntarily surrendered appears to have driven a shift in the way they are used in research. As such collections have become less useful for forensic studies, it has also become clear that they are able to provide useful information about the lives of historically marginalised communities. This creates a moral dilemma which scientists are now beginning to address, and which will probably result in the development of new ethical codes for the use of such material.

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More than 100 dead in outbreak of Measles in Bangladesh.

More than 100 people have died of suspected Measles in an outbreak of the disease in Bangladesh. Cases started appearing in mid-March 2026, since when more than 7500 suspected cases have been reported, with more than 4600 people hospitalised, almost all of whom are young children, with about one third of those affected being under nine months old. Over 900 cases have been laboratory-confirmed, including 16 of those who lost their lives.

A patient being treated for Measles at the Dhaka Medical College in Bangladesh. Drik Picture Library/Getty Images.

Measles is a human disease caused by a Virus in the Paramyxovirus family. The Virus infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body. It can lead to major epidemics with significant morbidity and mortality, especially among vulnerable people. Among young and malnourished children, pregnant women, and immunocompromised individuals, including those with HIV, cancer or treated with immunosuppressives, Measles can cause serious complications, including severe diarrhoea, blindness, encephalitis, pneumonia, and death.

Thin-section transmission electron micrograph revealing the ultrastructural appearance of a single Viron, of the Measles Virus. The measles Virus is a Paramyxovirus, of the genus Morbillivirus. It is 100-200 nm in diameter, with a core of single-stranded RNA, and is closely related to the Rinderpest and Canine Distemper Viruses. Two membrane envelope proteins are important in pathogenesis. They are the F (fusion) protein, which is responsible for fusion of virus and host cell membranes, viral penetration, and hemolysis, and the H (hemagglutinin) protein, which is responsible for adsorption of virus to cells. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Wikimedia Commons.

Transmission is primarily person-to-person by airborne respiratory droplets that disperse rapidly when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Transmission can also occur through direct contact with infected secretions. Transmission from asymptomatic exposed immune persons has not been demonstrated. The Virus remains contagious in the air or on contaminated surfaces for up to two hours. A patient is infectious from four days before the start of the rash to four days after its appearance. There is no specific antiviral treatment for Measles, but most people recover within 2-3 weeks.

An effective and safe vaccine is available for prevention and control. The Measles-containing-vaccine first-dose is given at the age of nine months, while the Measles-containing-vaccine second dose is given at the age of 15 months. A 95% population coverage of Measles-containing-vaccine first-dose and Measles-containing-vaccine second dose is required to stop measles circulation.

In areas with low vaccination coverage, epidemics typically occur every two to three years and usually last between two and three months. However, their duration varies according to population size, crowding, and the population’s immunity status.

The Measles outbreak in Bangladesh this year is thought to have been linked to the recent political instability in the country, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic. Bangladesh typically runs a major Measles vaccination campaign every four years. However, the 2020 campaign is thought to have been disrupted by the diverting of staff and resources to deal with the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the 2024 campaign was cancelled amid the political turmoil which led to the removal of the country's president, Sheikh Hasina, and the installation of an interim government under the economist Muhammad Yunus, which made repairing the country's economic and political systems a priority.

Following elections in February 2026, a new government was sworn in, led by Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh National Party. This new government has launched a major new Measles vaccination campaign in response to the epidemic, beginning with 30 identified hotspots in 20 of the country's 64 districts, targeting 1.2 million children between the ages of six months and five years who have not received the vaccination. 

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