Ancestry & Evolution
The desire to understand our origins is primal. By examining our DNA over successive generations through the evolutionary process of inherited characteristics of human and animal populations–as well as from those species from which humans share a common ancestry–we can decipher our individual and collective past and develop medical innovations for the future.
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How human-like apes spurred theory of evolution
In 1838, orangutans were still frighteningly unfamiliar to Europeans. In fact, all the great apes were a mystery because they lived thousands ...
Progress in de-extinction genetics might bring extinct frog back to life
For the past six years, Australian researchers have had just one week every year to chase the stuff of science ...
Primate sleep patterns help explain human evolution
Watching an orangutan sleep is like watching a giant, orange baby slumbering sweetly. These huge great apes like to get ...
Seal placentas prove invaluable to conservation genetics research
Conservationists regularly test the genetic makeup of many endangered species in order to understand the threats they face and, sometimes, ...
Why dieting won’t help you lose weight, explained by evolution
When it comes to keeping weight off, a combination of circumstances conspires against you. Each one on its own makes ...
What explains the dog-human love affair?
Wolves are wild, powerful, and fearsome predators, capable of bringing down even large prey. And yet, tens of thousands of ...
How is genetic risk for breast cancer evaluated?
A letter in the current People magazine referring to Jolie’s recent announcement of the removal of her ovaries, following a double ...
Racial health differences caused by society, not genetics
It is no secret that a longer life is a white privilege in the U.S. In 2011, the Centers for ...
“Orphan Black” is back! Reflections on reproductive cloning and eugenics
The Clones are Coming: Airing on BBC America, the popular show Orphan Black already has included a goldmine of conversation ...
Dutch height shows humans still subject to natural selection
Insecure about your height? You may want to avoid this tiny country by the North Sea, whose population has gained ...
Zuckerberg-Chan? Moonves-Chen? Jewish-Chinese intermarriage has ancient precedents
When Facebook's co-founder Mark Zuckerberg's married Priscilla Chan, it highlighted a growing and seemingly recent trend: Jewish men marrying Asian ...
How ancient mammal spurred war between paleontologists
I’m not sure why I’m so taken with Uintatherium and its relatives. Maybe it’s because poorly-made models of the beast ...
Were women the masterminds behind hunting with weapons?
Women could have been the first humans to use weapons to hunt. An analysis of spear-wielding chimps, most of which ...
Game of Life and Death: Can you dare the odds and make it past 100?
Washington Post releases a new interactive feature online that delves into 7 ways medical technology has evolved over the past ...
GENeS launches: New project provides journalists, NGOs, policy analysts scientific expertise on breaking stories
Journalists and policymakers take note: GENeS--Genetic Expert News Service--is now live! Turn to GENeS for independent expert analysis and commentary ...
Texas boy discovers dinosaur fossil near shopping mall
Sometimes, big discoveries are made in the most unlikely circumstances. A 5-year-old boy in Mansfield, Texas has now become a ...
Are humans genetically unique?
A new paper in Science reports high (20-40 percent) derived frequencies for an allele which seems correlated with higher rates of ...
Challenging Darwin as the patron saint of science and secularism
It has become a press custom to ask Republican presidential hopefuls, such as Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, whether they believe in ...
Mountain gorillas’ genome sequenced in hope of saving declining species from extinction
Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) are among the most iconic endangered species in the world and, as such, have become ...
One decade old, Genographic Project’s probe into human history boasts numerous successes
Ten years ago, a group of international scientists and indigenous community members gathered at National Geographic Society’s headquarters in Washington, D.C ...
What rocks women? Evolution suggests tall guys with hot cars
In prehistoric times, the more dominant male was the more successful hunter, and he was physically stronger than most other ...
Humans and chimps seen as not as similar as once thought
When geneticist Mary Claire King became the first scientist to compare the genes of chimps and humans in 1975, she was in ...
Northern European hunter-gatherers resisted agricultural revolution
Crops and livestock have been a part of the human experience for thousands of years. But, for some of our ...
History repeating itself? Rising acidity in oceans may drive species to extinction
Earth’s greatest extinction event happened in a one-two punch 252 million years ago. Research now suggests that the second pulse ...
Moms’ breastmilk helps establish healthy microbe community in babies’ gut
Breast milk seems like a simple nutritious cocktail for feeding babies, but it is so much more than that. It ...
Attractive men bring out gambler in less-sexy males
There's nothing like the sight of a rival to embolden a man, it seems. If you want a straight man ...
Might astronauts bring back a deadly disease from Mars?
While it's possible that a human pathogen might exist on Mars or on another alien world , the extraterrestrial environment ...
