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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Is there a scientific basis to the paleo diet?
The problem with modern diets is that they rely too heavily on modern, processed foods. If only we emulated the ...
Private umbilical cord cell banking: Good idea or scam?
You only have to Google search “cord blood” or similar phrases, or even just read an article about pregnancy and ...
How beneficial gut bacteria survive the host’s immune response
Mammalian hosts fight gut infections in part by releasing antimicrobial peptides that disrupt bacterial membranes. But it has been unclear ...
Melting pot? Not in the USA. Yet. But coming soon?
A recent study further debunks the myth that the U.S. is a genetic melting pot. The study, the largest ever ...
Is there a method to the chaos of evolution?
Is the natural world creative? Just take a look around it. Look at the brilliant plumage of tropical birds, the ...
Apple juice may help ward off Alzheimer’s disease
Emerging evidence suggests nutrition plays a more critical role in neurodegeneration than originally thought. As little as two glasses of ...
Reaching beyond Darwinian evolution to explain the diversity of life
Is the natural world creative? Just take a look around it. Look at the brilliant plumage of tropical birds, the ...
Does a whale’s genome hold the secret to longevity?
In a search for genes that fight off aging, researchers have now charted the bowhead whale genome. Bowheads are filter ...
Dogs tell story of ancient human migration
Dogs successfully migrated to the Americas about 10,000 years ago, according to a new study. That's a long time ago ...
Is obesity rooted in your genes? Not exactly
In what seems to be another piece of evidence in favor of genes being impacted in differential ways over time ...
Unusual reproduction of nematodes may illuminate sexual evolution in animals
The vinegar worm (officially known as Caenorhabditis elegans) is about as simple as an animal can be. When this soil-dwelling ...
New antibiotic thwarts bacterial resistance
The British chemist Lesley Orgel had a rule: Evolution is cleverer than you. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have repeatedly proven him right. Since ...
Can we yet use genetics to determine which sports are best for our kids?
Can you choose sport based on your biology, or better yet a sport that might be good for your kids? ...
‘Abominable Snowman’ hairs match DNA of ancient polar bear
Last year, Oxford University genetics professor Bryan Sykes revealed the results of DNA tests on hairs said to be from ...
Insects provide valuable look into genetics of how societies are built
Eusocial insects are among the most successful living creatures on Earth. Found in terrestrial ecosystems across the globe (on every ...
Genes have a time clock, new obesity study reveals
Although genes drive many human behaviors, new research suggests their impact changes over time—when the environment changes so does the ...
To women looking for sperm donor, does personality trump career?
A study of online sperm markets shows women value more than just money when it comes to choosing a father ...
Worriers more likely to be smart
Worriers can be kept awake at night replaying the day, or imagining all the possible worst case scenarios in their ...
How to spot a science ideologue
Critics of consensus science--those who challenge the certainty of evolution, the reality of human caused global warming, or the safety ...
Scientists urge revamped regulations for genetic engineering
Scientists are calling for revamped regulation of genetic modification, especially the new techniques not subject to current rules ...
Does neuroscience need to revise how it looks at the brain?
How much of our brain do we actually need? A number of stories have appeared in the news in recent ...
Can chemicals evolve? Testing recipes for the origin of life
Scientists are testing the ability of simple chemicals to evolve under the guidance of a robot. Could this be one ...
What’s the genetic ancestry of average Americans?
In the United States, almost no one can trace their ancestry back to just one place. And for many, the ...
What Charles Darwin got wrong
It’s hard to overstate just how brilliant and huge an idea Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection was ...
Why we see faces in inanimate objects
Most people are obsessed with faces. We see faces everywhere, even in things that are most definitely not faces. The most ...
Reconstructing ancestors’ genomes using DNA data from descendants
David Speegle was a preacher in Alabama in the 1800s. Apparently he was very serious about the Bible's charge to ...
