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.
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 ...
Ancestry.com launches genetic service, but how much can it tell about heritage?
With only a bit of your saliva, Ancestry.com can send you a list of people you are related to, even ...
Ancient remains give oldest Neanderthal DNA sample to date
Altamura Man was discovered in a cave in southern Italy in 1993 by cave explorers. The finding was reported to ...
Decisions and environment of a parent can genetically effect offspring
For the last few years and extremely hot topics has been epigenetics, which broadly speaking is the study of proteins ...
Ken Burns’ cancer documentary a tour de force
Forbes The 6-hour Ken Burns and Barak Goodman television documentary “Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies,” television documentary “Cancer: The Emperor of All ...
‘European’ genetic traits evolved recently, spread rapidly over continent
The origins of Europeans have come into sharp focus as researchers have sequenced the genomes of ancient populations, rather than ...
Bizarre new insect-like fossil found in Canada
Following hot on the heels – or is that fins? – of the filter-feeder Aegirocassis– Yawunik kootenayi is the latest ancient ...
Could climate change increase species diversity?
A decade ago, ecologist Chris Thomas warned that climate change would wipe out a quarter of all species. In the following ...
Is cancer a byproduct of modernity?
If there’s one claim that irritates me that various proponents of alternative medicine like to make, it’s that cancer is ...
Why some organisms sacrifice own reproduction for evolution of community
In 2010 three authors—Martin Nowak, Corina Tarnita, and E. O. Wilson—published a paper in Nature (reference and link below) purporting ...
Microbiome of rural populations distinctly different, more ‘diverse’ than in Western populations
The study of the human microbiome—the motley assortment of microbes that live in our bodies—has largely been the study of ...
Human evolution ‘now in our hands,’ some scientists say
After my public lectures on evolution, someone in the audience invariably asks, “Are we still evolving?” People want to know ...
Space twins: Scott Kelly’s one-year space mission could yield genetic bounty
On a one-year space mission, astronaut Scott Kelly will be the subject of medical and genetic experiments while his identical ...
In Iceland, treasure chest of genetic information may help find cures
Scientists in Iceland have produced an unprecedented snapshot of a nation’s genetic makeup, discovering a host of previously unknown gene ...
Can neuroscience explain why people love to torture?
It is fascinating to read about torture because one realizes how much ordinary people were involved in it and enjoy ...
Real paleo human microbiome specially designed for hunter-gatherer diet
Eat like a hunter-gatherer and you’ll be healthier—so goes the thinking behind so-called paleo diets. But a new study suggests ...
Did dogs team up with humans to drive Neanderthals to extinction?
Ancient humans drove Neanderthals to extinction around 40,000 years ago with the help of dogs soon after canines diverged from ...
Iceland’s population proves invaluable to genetic research
The journal Nature Genetics released a set of four papers based entirely on the genetic sequences of Icelanders. Their results, which ...
Genetic Adam and Eve may have lived around same time, study shows
Humans are evolving more rapidly than previously thought, according to the largest ever genetics study of a single population. Scientists ...
Fair or Fear: The anti-GMO game plan. You decide
Fair or Fear Mongering? What do you think? (Credit: @chucklasker) ...
