Has the world’s oldest known animal been discovered?

Researchers debate whether an ancient fossil is the oldest animal yet discovered, and a new way to eavesdrop on glaciers.In this episode:01:04 Early spongeThis week in Nature, a researcher claims to have found a fossil sponge from 890-million-years-ago. If confirmed, this would be more than 300-million-years older than the earliest uncontested animal fossils but not all palaeontologists are convinced.Research Article: Turner10:13 Research HighlightsA caffeine buzz appears to improve bees’ memory, and reconstructing an Iron Age man’s final meal.Research Highlight: A caffeine buzz gives bees flower powerResearch Highlight: The guts of a ‘bog body’ reveal sacrificed man’s final meal12:34 Eavesdropping on a glacier’s baseWe hear about one researcher’s unorthodox attempt to listen in to the seismic-whisper at the foot of a Greenland glacier – a method that might reveal more about conditions under these enormous blocks of ice.Research Article: Podolskiy et al.Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.