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.
First avian pollinator discovered: 47 million years old
The discovery, uncovered in Germany's fossil-rich Messel Pit, reveals a three-inch-long (eight-centimeter) bird—about the size of a hummingbird you see ...
Peruvian village where many men go blind by 50 leads to stigmitization
Parán is a small dusty village in the foothills of the Andes in Peru, and for a long time, everyone ...
Metabolic changes in human evolution: Hungry brains and frugal muscles
For decades, scientists have wondered how our metabolism compares to that of other species. It’s been a hard question to ...
Wade responds to racial controversy over his book ‘A Troublesome Inheritance’
hree attacks on my book A Troublesome Inheritance have appeared on The Huffington Post's blog this month. For readers puzzled ...
Beliefs about creationism not good test of public’s science literacy
When asked if they believe in evolution, half of Americans say no. Experts largely regard this as a test of ...
Marmosets offer clue to human stillbirths, programmed while mom is in grandma’s womb
One way to learn about reproductive health is to observe how our primate cousins have babies. And a new study ...
Hawaiian crickets escape parasite through gene mutations that keep them quiet
The crickets hadn’t disappeared. Marlene Zuk would go for nighttime walks and see multitudes of the insects in the light ...
Predicting behavior based on our genes just got more complicated
How can we predict organisms behavior and physiology from their genomes? The language of DNA was always thought to be ...
DNA of colorblindness: One woman’s take on how the genetic lottery shaped her family
My 7-year-old son has fallen in love with Rainbow Loom, the wildly popular sets of pegs and rubber bands kids ...
Gene variations cause spiny sea bass to look dramatically different as babies and adults
Among divers and marine biologists, it’s common knowledge that ocean fish lead double lives. Like birds and butterflies, their young ...
Genetic susceptibility and well-timed exposures responsible for adult allergies
Allergies are largely genetic. If a parent has allergies, chances are good the children will too. But that doesn't necessarily ...
Antibiotics can harm even when they work, contributing to allergies, diabetes, maybe autism
Antibiotics have ended untold human misery by curing bacterial infections, yet we are losing these wonder drugs. New Scientist has ...
Chicken Coop project traces genetics, history of multi-talented domestic chicken
Who cares how the chicken crossed the road; the intriguing question is now did it become such a multi-tasker. Nature's ...
GM food fears block creation of new craft beers
For brewers today, there are few options for generating new yeasts to create tasty new craft beers. While the genetic ...
Modern techniques don’t change the fact that humans have genetically engineered plants and animals for centuries
Genetically modified plants and animals are often feared as "Frankenfoods," but is there really anything dangerously new about manipulation of ...
New York Times, Science stumble in overstated reports on microbiome research
A flood of journalistic supposition and health advice has galloped way ahead of the data on the latest research on ...
Animals who are both male and female offer insight into evolutionary development
A very odd creature flitted past friends James Adams and Irving Finkelstein—a swallowtail unlike any they had ever seen. Its ...
Genetics of ‘race’ unequivocal, only seems controversial because post-modernists, PC media dissimulate
Nicholas Wade’s "A Troublesome Inheritance" has come under attack in some circles because it acknowledges what is an unarguable fact ...
Scientific American blogger invokes KKK to try to discredit Wade’s “race” book
Old middle school trick: Instead of calling someone a name, ‘stupid’ for example, just say his ideas are stupid and ...
Did humans evolve to coexist with HPV? New study suggests maybe
In what is believed to be the largest and most detailed genetic analysis of its kind, researchers at NYU Langone ...
Unraveling the mystery of the links between Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals
BioCentury This Week recently interviewed Svante Pääbo, biologist and about his work sequencing the Neanderthal genome, as well as his ...
“Aliens of the sea” show there’s more than one way to build a brain
Comb jellies are surreal creatures that are more unique than previously thought; they appear to have evolved their own brains ...
Hispanics have higher risk for metabolic syndrome, but risk factors differ by ethnic origin
An ongoing federally funded study of the health of Hispanics in the United States is yielding nuanced and complex data, ...
Genes matter: People marry mates with similar DNA but different immune systems
DNA research suggests that the adage that opposites attract is off base when it comes to marriage. Humans pick spouses ...
Who founded the Americas? Meet Naia—Ancient DNA adds new layers to the mystery
Fourteen-thousand-year-old intact skeleton of a girl is providing modern science with complete DNA that is giving new light to the ...
Sequencing the Golden Eagle genome to help the birds avoid wind turbines
[A]n estimated 70 golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are killed annually at even a single large wind farm - the Altamont Pass ...
“Foreign” genes naturally jump between species, clouding anti-GMO criticism
In the paste of Roquefort and on the surface of Camembert, the microscopic filamentous fungi Penicillium roqueforti and Penicillium camembertii ...
