Humans aren’t the only species that use tools, many animals do. Our closest relatives, the great apes, have long been known for their intelligence and ability to manipulate objects in their environment. Among the great apes, orangutans stand out for their complex tool use, which may hold important clues about how early human technologies evolved. A recent Outlook article authored by Dr. Robert Shumaker and Dr. Christopher Martin, both of the Indianapolis Zoo, delves into the existing research into ways that orangutans use stone tools, exploring the cognitive processes behind this behavior and what it can tell us about human evolution.

Over the next few decades, the Earth’s urban population is set to explode, with the large majority of growth happening in cities across the Global South. A team of researchers at the Universities of Kassel and Göttingen, led by Prof. Andreas Bürkert and Prof. Nikolaus Schareika, predicts that these changes will be widely characterized by a merging of rural and urban features: a concept defined as ‘rurbanity’ in a recent landmark publication authored by Dr. Ellen Hoffmann and colleagues. By studying this phenomenon closely, the team aims to support cities in the Global South in their efforts to better prepare for the challenges to come. The concept is comprehensive enough to allow researchers to also understand ongoing processes of change in more mature cities of the North, such as climate-smart and socially inclusive adaptations, through the lens of rurbanity.