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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After 150 years, Mendelian genetics still unchallenged by biology
Using the garden as a genetics laboratory, Gregor Mendel could manipulate and select for certain traits to formulate and test ...
Modern European languages traced to waves of migrating ancient Russian herders
New DNA evidence suggests that herders from the grasslands of today's Russia and Ukraine carried the roots of modern European ...
The Death of death? Review of “Evolving Ourselves” and unnatural selection
The meat of this controversial new book is the immense array of futurist and transhumanist possibilities for driving change on ...
Why are we good to one another?
Altruism may seem a good thing—unless you happen to be an evolutionary biologist. Then it may seem a mixture of ...
Whale aging hints at mysteries of menopause
A new study led by the Universities of Exeter and York has shown that female killer whales survive after menopause ...
Faustian bargain: Has Huntington’s disease killer mutation contributed to human IQ?
Huntington's disease is awful. It slowly robs its victims of mobility, wits and emotions. And there is no cure. The ...
Man’s best friend also our closest evolutionary ally
Dogs are humanity’s oldest friends, renowned for their loyalty and abilities to guard, hunt and chase. But modern humans may ...
You probably inherited more traits from Dad than Mom
We humans get one copy of each gene from mom and one from dad (ignoring those pesky sex chromosomes) – ...
Natural aptitude for math emerges early in life
Scientists have found that we may actually be born with a deep instinct for numbers. And a new study suggests ...
Genetics’ shaky history with racism contrary to what science says
As someone who writes about evolution and genetics – both of which involve the study of inheritance, and both of ...
New Mexico evolution event scuttled after attack from Intelligent Design creationists
Mexico Museum of Natural History canceled a series of events honoring scientist Charles Darwin after two local retired engineers lobbied ...
Sex, drugs and … vocabulary? Hedonism not only thing that rewards the brain!
For some people, learning new words activates the same machinery in the brain as sex, drugs and possibly fatty and ...
Software uses DNA to predict facial appearance
Mark D. Shriver, a professor of anthropology and genetics at Penn State University and his colleagues have studied the ways ...
Why do East Asians have 20% more Neanderthal DNA than Europeans?
In 2010, scientists made a startling discovery about our past: About 50,000 years ago, Neanderthals interbred with the ancestors of ...
Sexual reproduction is good for the human genome
Theories on the genetic advantages of sexual reproduction abound within the biological sciences community, but there has been scant evidence ...
Only a few genes separate human and animal intelligence
Some parts of our genome have evolved at particularly high speed, quickly accumulating mutations that distinguish them from their counterparts ...
Your genes: Part dad, part mom and a dollop of mother’s bacteria
A good mom always knows to pack a little something extra — even when it comes to genetic material. According ...
How Beethoven can help us understand the human epigenome
Almost every cell in your body has the same DNA sequence. So why is a heart cell different from a ...
Ancient battle of sexes explains promiscuity, good parenting
Making babies is one of the fundamental conflicts of interest between the sexes. Care by either partner is beneficial to ...
What did the real paleo diet look like?
Reconstructions of human evolution are prone to simple, overly-tidy scenarios. Our ancestors, for example, stood on two legs to look ...
Dinosaurs guided evolution of early mammals
In the days of the Jurassic, dinosaurs ruled the Earth, while early mammals cowered in their shadows. That used to ...
Kit expands genetic screening options for Ashkenazi Jewish couples
When a Jewish couple is planning their wedding or anticipating starting a family, they probably aren’t thinking much about rare ...
Mystery of obesity: Failed ‘rectal transplant’ raises questions about role of gut microbes
A recent fecal transplant case leading to serious weight gain has resulted in a rule against overweight fecal donors. Did ...
Deoxyribonucleic acid, it’s fantastic! A Presidents Day rap
Intimidated by genetics? Maybe music is the cure ...
Trouble settling down? Sexual promiscuity may be hardwired in genes
Next time your significant other catches you in bed with someone else, try this defense: "Don't take it personally, babe ...
Hate GMOs? Don’t look now, they’re everywhere!
For those who hate GMOs, the Westminster Dog Show must be quite a nightmare-inducing event: Humans, over the course of ...
Fit to be cloned: Making case for reintroducing extinct species
De-extinction raises a host of questions: ethical, practical, philosophical. But for advocates, there’s a rhetorical question as well: How do ...
