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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Viewpoint: ‘Instead of science and technology leading to post-humanism, perhaps it will lead to a slightly more human condition’
What it means to be human, then, is not a constant, but continually constituted, altered and re-constituted ...
This sheep has horns like a male — but a female reproductive system. Some animals are naturally intersex
In rare cases, humans can also be born with both male and female reproductive organs, and the same goes for ...
GLP podcast and video: How marriage impacted human evolution; ‘Tech bros’ back RFK, Jr. for president; Ban milk to slow climate change?
Marriage is a major milestone for many people, but how has the institution influenced human evolution? A growing list of ...
Characterizations of indigenous people as ‘savages’ and ‘monkeys’ permeate pop culture
Systemic racism and sexism have permeated civilization since the rise of agriculture, when people started living in one place for a long ...
How will humans make it through climate upheavals? Here’s how we’ve done it before
New research conducted by an international team, published in the journal Science, reveals that early human species were capable of ...
What happens to bad smells — do they disappear or does the world get smellier every day?
Does smell disappear? Or does our planet become more and more smelly every day? ...
Pair bonding: How wedding vows have contributed to human evolution
An evolutionary perspective on pair-bonding can help people to understand wedding vows at a deeper level, even generic vows turn ...
How hot is too hot? Record breaking temperatures across the world test human body heat limits
The hottest June ever and a record-breaking start to July should be a wake-up call. We weren’t built for this ...
Prospective planning: Are humans the only animals capable of preparing for the future?
Humans can plan for their future needs: We must choose between satisfying our current desires and postponing our gratification to ...
‘Like veins in a leaf, rather than branches on a tree’: Updated human origin model illuminates how Homo sapiens arose in Africa
There's a promising new model for human origins in Africa — but scientists don't quite know what to do with ...
Evidence of life on Mars? NASA may have accidentally destroyed it in the 1970s
Life may have been discovered on Mars almost 50 years ago, but it could have been unintentionally destroyed ...
The world is quickly getting too hot for human bodies. Can we adapt to rapid climate change?
By the time Homo erectus appeared about two million years ago, our ancestors were on their way to becoming endurance ...
Why stop at three-parent babies? How many biological parents can organisms have?
Most organisms have two parents, but not all. Could an individual have three parents, or even more? ...
‘Last of Us’ in real life? Drug-resistant ‘super fungus’ lurking in the Himalayan mountains
Researchers collected the disease-causing super fungus, Aspergillus fumigatus, from the Three Parallel Rivers region in Yunnan, China ...
Dial of Destiny decoded: What does Indiana Jones get right and wrong about archaeology?
As Dr. Jones returns to the big screen, a real archaeologist acknowledges the movie franchise's shortcomings while espousing its merits ...
‘Oldest decorated cave in France, if not Europe’: Ancient Neanderthal engravings give glimpse into hominid culture
The oldest known engravings made by Neanderthals were discovered on the wall of a cave in France ...
Infographic: Pathway of human evolution, from protocells to people
[C]over the four stages of earth’s history and how they relate to our species’ development as well as what happened ...
Tracing the chickpea: How trade and migration shaped this popular legume’s genetics
With its nutty flavor and dense nutrient profile, the humble chickpea has captivated palates and nourished civilizations for millennia ...
Immorality, lack of empathy, anti-social behavior: The evolution of psychopathological tendencies
By one estimate, as many as 20% of business leaders have “clinically relevant levels” of psychopathic tendencies ...
Earth’s first predators and our most ancient ancestors: Previously unknown micro-organisms that pillaged the world’s oceans
Traces of molecules found in ancient rocks are revealing a wild ecosystem of early life that hunted and thrived in ...
‘Half-land, half-tree lifestyle’: This 3D computer model of Lucy the Australopithecus afarensis reveals a powerful body
We may only ever have 47 of the 207 bones that made up the skeleton of this 3.18-million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis specimen known ...
Rewriting human evolution: Technological breakthroughs have helped us decode ancient DNA. What have we learned so far?
New fossil finds and technological breakthroughs in collecting and decoding ancient DNA are re-writing the history of human evolution, often ...
Self love: Why masturbation evolved
The behavior may help males be fertile and disease-free. But data on females are lacking ...
Humans have been genetically modifying crops for thousands of years. Here are some examples of what some popular foods used to look like.
Ever wonder how your food would look and taste if humans had not genetically modified them over the course of ...
Video: From wild wolves to domesticated pets, here’s the history of dog evolution
Survival of the friendliest: How dogs evolved to be man's best friend ...
‘An ancestral form of art’: Homo naledi orchestrated elaborate funerals for their dead — but they had brains the size of a chimpanzee
A team of paleontologists believe they have found evidence of ceremonial burials dating back 240,000 years, long before our species, Homo sapiens, came ...
Human pedigree through the ages: 14 reasons why people may want to know more about their family history
Pedigrees have long been the backbone of genetics. Not surprisingly, therefore, we tend to think of pedigrees as primarily medical ...
