Like everyone else, I’ve been distracted by Chinese New Year events and so have probably done less reading than usual this month.

• We’ve known that human life expectancy has been increasing as societies grow richer and medical science improves. This study however finds that the pace of life expectancy gains around the world has been slowing since 1950. In a way this isn’t very surprising, as science has improved, the low-hanging fruit of healthcare gains have been harvested and we might be coming near hard biological limits on the human lifespan.
• Probably the most viral bit of science news this past month has been the DNA analysis of the so-called Cheddar Man fossil in the UK that sheds some light on how he might have looked like when alive some 10,000 years ago. Contrary to expectations, this early Briton seems to have had dark brown to black skin, dark curly hair and blue eyes. The fossil clearly demonstrates that modern classifications of race don’t apply to the past and of course it upsets racists who like to think that Britain was always inhabited by white people.
• Finally here’s a fascinating study that purports to demonstrate that rats in Norway are capable of engaging in transactions with each other that amount to trading. Essentially they put the rats in a situation in which the rats needed help from another rat to groom themselves and noted that they subsequently reciprocated this assistance with an offer of food.