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.
Below is the complete archive of related articles sorted by date.
Epigenetic ‘eraser’ can reset behavior, disease vulnerability and life experiences
Many epigenetic changes that occur in humans in genetic response to the environment are erased within the embryo. Certain diseases, ...
African American English is its own dialect, and learning to speak it is no simple task
Unless you’ve been on a media blackout this summer, you likely have heard the story of civil-rights activist Rachel Dolezal, ...
Brain confusion: Why it’s so difficult to find cures for mental disorders
Many mental illnesses still defy treatment. The problem may be that we do not "know" how the brain functions very ...
Is romantic kissing a universal human behavior?
Scholars from a wide range of human social and behavioral sciences have become interested in the romantic–sexual kiss. This research, ...
Are Jews a genetic ‘race’ or ‘population’? 12 examples of Jewish genetic distinctiveness
Jewish communities around the word share certain genetic traits with each other — some of which they also share with surrounding populations. These ...
Couples’ perception of partners’ attractiveness can evolve over time
It seems logical for people with high mate value to insist on comparable partners, and there’s some evidence that they ...
Bonobos’ tool use mirrors that of early humans
Bonobos can be just as handy as chimpanzees. In fact, bonobos' tool-using abilities look a lot like those of early humans, ...
Children of genetically diverse parents are taller and have higher IQs on average
The children of parents who are more distantly related tend to be taller and smarter than their peers, according to ...
Conservation genetics turns to IVF to save rare livestock breeds
IVF — a procedure in which an egg and sperm are combined in a laboratory dish and the resulting embryo ...
Bed bugs’ odd genetic inheritance might help manage infestations
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. We already know that ...
African immigrant blacks do better on IQ tests than other blacks, some whites
The fact that black immigrants to the United States have shown achievements that are superior to native black Americans has ...
X and Y chromosomes locked in evolutionary battle of the sexes
New DNA sequencing data reinforce the notion that the X and Y chromosomes, which determine biological sex in mammals, are ...
Researchers look into animal genomes in search of causes of human diseases
Precision medicine still struggles with a basic problem: understanding how genomic context can amplify or mute the effects of isolated mutations ...
Humans evolved across Africa and hybridized creating diversity
Homo sapiens appeared on the African landscape some 200,000 years ago. While scientists have long imagined eastern Africa as a ...
Dolezal delusion: Scientists challenge claim there’s no biological basis to racial differences
The saga of Rachel Dolezal, who recently resigned as president of the Spokane, Wash., chapter of the NAACP after it ...
Livestock, pets increasingly bred with modified genes
Genetically modified crops are so widespread it's hard to imagine civilization without them. Genetically modified animals are also more common ...
Kennewick Man’s genome to solve long dispute over remains
The genome of a famous 8,500-year-old North American skeleton, known as Kennewick Man, shows that he is closely related to ...
New genome mapping technique can explain tuberculosis susceptibility
The fight against tuberculosis (TB) has been extended through the use of a genetic mapping technique called admixture mapping. This ...
Speed gene may explain why racehorses getting faster
Racehorses have been getting ever faster in races over all distances, a study of finishing times over the past 162 ...
Who did modern Asian and European populations evolve from?
Modern Europeans can be thought of as compounds. The first element are a set of populations which descend from, or ...
Headlines tout Jurassic World in offing but scientists, journalists separate fact from fiction
A real-life "Jurassic World" with genetically engineered dinosaurs is an enthralling or frightening scenario — depending upon your perspective — ...
Could the world’s species experience another mass extinction? Maybe.
According to a study published in Science Advances, the current extinction rate could be more than 100 times higher than normal—and that’s ...
Scientists just calculated the total amount of DNA there is on Earth
The Earth is brimming with life, and within that life, is information, stored in strands of deoxyribonucleic acid: DNA. This ...
Neanderthal ancestors closer than previously thought, new fossil evidence shows
Modern humans and Neanderthals interbred in Europe, an analysis of 40,000-year-old DNA suggests. The study suggests an early Homo sapiens ...
Epigenetics can help humans understand our ancient past
Some types of epigenetic modifications are directly influenced by environmental factors. Thus, characterizing and understanding the "epigenome" can help us ...
Jumping genes make your genome not quite human
What if a gene from an insect insinuated itself straight into your DNA? What if more than a hundred genes ...
Ancient Kennewick man Native American, not European, DNA shows
In July 1996, two college students were wading in the shallows of the Columbia River near the town of Kennewick, ...
