Africa’s widening rift is thinning the crust and reshaping the land, helping preserve fossils that reveal new clues about human history.

This study is led by Dr. Shaohong Xia (South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences). The Qiongdongnan Basin (QDNB), a typical rifted basin in the northwestern South China Sea ...

Scientists have confirmed that a geological fracture running through East Africa has reached the point of no return. A study published April 23, 2026, in Nature Communications by researchers at ...

New research shows the Turkana Rift in East Africa has reached an advanced stage of crustal thinning, suggesting the continent is closer to splitting apart than previously believed. The rift, part of ...

A long, low basin in eastern Africa has spent millions of years collecting some of the most important clues to human origins. Now it is offering another kind of evidence, this time from far below the ...