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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Saving extinct and endangered species will benefit humans, too
The Sixth Extinction is upon us, and this time the depopulation of the planet is Man’s fault. But the upside ...
How every living European is related to Charlemagne, and why this is entirely unremarkable
Sometimes I get asked if I’m related to the great physicist Ernest Rutherford. His discoveries about the atomic nucleus gave ...
Mystery of the shrinking Y chromosome solved
Several genes have been lost from the Y chromosome in humans and other mammals but essential Y genes are rescued ...
Three parent babies: Parent #3’s impact may go beyond mitochondria
New research shows mitochondrial and nuclear DNA interact throughout a person’s lifetime. What does that mean for parents seeking mitochondrial ...
People’s IQs are rising every year, but why?
IQ tests are “normed”: Your score reflects how you did compared with other people, like being graded on a curve ...
Does Africa’s rich genetic diversity explain dominance of elite African runners?
Africans are more genetically diverse than the rest of the world combined. Modern humans evolved in Africa about 200,000 years ago, and ...
Fact-checking pro-organic lobby group GMO ‘facts’, attacks on conventional agriculture
Fact-checking pro-organic lobby group Cornucopia.org's 'facts' yield surprising results ...
Mysteries of cat, human health revealed through microbiome
Studying the bacteria that live in an on our feline friends maybe a good proxy for humans. They live in ...
Are genetic ancestry companies taking you for a ride?
I can reveal that I am a direct descendent of someone of similar greatness: Charlemagne, Carolingian King of the Franks, ...
Is there a genetic basis for being unfaithful?
When I was trained as a psychiatrist we were told to look for various emotional and developmental factors to explain ...
Arm chair geneticists looking for enlightenment could provide useful data
People who sequence their genomes don’t hinder public health; they offer an opportunity for free data. We should capitalize on ...
Forensic analysis reveals hominid who lived 430,000 years ago was murdered
It's the coldest of cold cases: a forensic analysis suggests that an ancient human who lived 430,000 years ago died ...
New fossil evidence reignites debate on pace of human evolution
For scientists who study human evolution, the last few months have been a whirlwind. Every couple of weeks, it seems, ...
John Nash, inspiration for ‘A Beautiful Mind,’ dies in car accident
John F. Nash Jr., a mathematician who shared a Nobel Prize in 1994 for work that greatly extended the reach ...
Tampering with nature is how humans can avoid extinction
Technology causes problems and yes we've been irresponsible to the very environment that keeps us alive. But it can also ...
Are men really necessary to evolution of a species?
Sex is a messy, inefficient method of reproducing, but most multicellular organisms have evolved to rely on a partner regardless ...
Nature vs nuture debate put to rest: Both equally important in determining traits
It has long been a subject of debate: are human traits determined by nurture or nature? Now, a team of ...
700,000-year-old tool discovery raises question of evolution of human intelligence
Was there someone before human existence who had the same or may be higher intelligence level? A research conducted by ...
Even after death, the body is teeming with life
Far from being ‘dead’, a rotting corpse is teeming with life. A growing number of scientists view a rotting corpse ...
Brain has special process for distinguishing human speech from other noises
Researchers from Duke University and MIT discovered that part of our brains that is responsible for human speech recognition. Until recently, ...
Should there be tighter regulations on gene editing in wildlife?
The ethical issues raised by human germline engineering are not new. They deserve consideration, but outcry over designer babies and ...
What are the odds? Family celebrates birth of 13th consecutive son
Beyond X and Y chromosomes, scientists postulate genes and environmental exposures play a roll in making sons or daughters more ...
If we encountered extraterrestrial aliens, what would they look like?
With thousands of planets outside Earth's solar system, there's a pretty good chance that some of them have the conditions ...
Human origins debate: Did diversity evolve exclusively in Africa?
Analyses of the genomes of Neanderthals and Denisovans, the closest evolutionary relatives of present-day humans, suggest that our ancestors were ...
Do flies feel fear like humans do?
When a fly escapes being swatted, what is going on in its head? Is it as terrified as we would be after ...
Genetics of depression: Could a test have prevented the Germanwings catastrophe?
Major depression affects an estimated 10 percent of the population and often runs in families. Could a genetic test could ...
