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.
Mothers contribute more to human gene pool than fathers
Mothers outnumbered fathers throughout much of human history, a new DNA analysis of people around the world shows. The genetic ...
Who makes better space travelers–introverts or extroverts?
Is the long-run future of civilization to select-for those who are introverts? Is intro/extroversion genetically mediated? How might extended space ...
Apes R’ Us: Online misogynists wrongly hide behind the veil of ‘human nature’
As celebrity nudes were leaked online, hackers and their supporters justified the behavior by claiming that men are hardwired to ...
How very similar genes give rise to diversity of life
There’s a unity to life. Sometimes it’s plain to see, but very often it lurks underneath a distraction of differences ...
New sign language challenges genetic basis for similarities between languages
Languages, like human bodies, come in a variety of shapes—but only to a point. Just as people don’t sprout multiple ...
What does increasing life expectancy mean for future society?
If current trends persist, we can expect that Americans born in the year 2084 will live to be 100. That's up ...
Are modern Jews converted Khazarian pagans? More evidence of Middle Eastern roots
A new database of Ashkenazi Jewish genomes will aid disease research. It's also strengthened the evidence that most Jews are ...
Our Darwinian ideas of male infidelity and female loyalty have long been misguided
Ever since Darwin there had been an assumption among evolutionary biologists that females were coy and choosy in their sexual ...
Video: How do new genes get made?
When life emerged on Earth about 4 billion years ago, the earliest microbes had a set of basic genes that ...
Older BRCA test results may need retesting
As a naturopathic physician, I am interested in primary prevention, preventing illness, not just catching it early. Because of that, ...
Mobile chunks of DNA important for recent human evolution
Mobile pieces of DNA can jump around in the human genome and exert powerful regulatory effects on neighboring genes at ...
European Jews closley related and not converted Khazars
If you're European Jewish and meet another European member of the community, odds are you're at least 30th cousins. A ...
Night owl or early bird, your genes matter
A couple of weeks ago I asked students in one of my classes whether they were early risers or night ...
Ebola virus preys on human caretaking behaviors for transmission
As the Ebola epidemic in West Africa has spiraled out of control, affecting thousands of Liberians, Sierra Leonians, and Guineans, ...
Human language gene linked to early attentional multi-tasking
Neuroscientists have found that a gene mutation that arose more than half a million years ago may be key to ...
GMO ‘foreign gene’ fears? Breeders incorporating unknown DNA into food crops for centuries
One of the more popular criticisms of genetically modified food revolves around fears that foods are being "contaminated" by "foreign" ...
Is genetic screening for all a new eugenics?
In recent weeks, there’s been talk of three types of genetic testing transitioning from targeted populations to the general public: ...
More evidence IQ is in the genes
It was named the language gene before we really understood what it did. Now mice given the human version of ...
Some patients with genetic risk start Alzheimer’s prevention strategies in their 30s
Max Lugavere seems an unlikely patient to be sitting in an Alzheimer's clinic. The fit, 32-year-old, dressed in Converse All-Star ...
Researcher probes why viruses remain genetically stable for some time, then rapidly mutate
Unlike most kids, Katia Koelle’s first love was math, a passion she picked up from enthusiastic instructors. “One of my ...
Louisiana govenor in evolution hot seat, was Rhodes scholar who studied biology
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal dodged three questions on Tuesday about whether he personally believes the theory of evolution explains the ...
Neuroscience, mindfullness and reslience in school kids
For scientists the concept of psychological resilience began in the 1970s with studies of children who did fine – or ...
Cutting edge DNA test needed in rape case involving identical twin
The rape suspect, court papers said, was identified by a longtime friend who said they committed the crime together. The ...
Random events in human development important for both nature and nuture
Is our behavior determined by genetics, or are we products of our environments? What matters more for the development of ...
Alzheimer’s, heart disease and other age-related conditions share risk factors and genetics
The two seemingly unrelated conditions may be driven by similar unhealthy states, including high blood pressure and diabetes. According to ...
Evolution do-over might lead to the same place
Scientists have often wondered if evolution happened all over again, what would life on earth look like? A Harvard biologist ...
