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.
DNA test claims to determine village of origin of our ancestors
For centuries, scientists have sought a biological method for tracing a person's geographic origin. Now, a group of researchers has ...
Neanderthals and modern humans: It’s personal
I never met my paternal grandfather. He died of the Spanish flu in 1919 at the age of 30, before ...
The X-Files: Looks like men aren’t on their way to extinction after all
The Y chromosome doesn’t get this benefit because it’s alone, and has nothing to swap with. It builds up harmful ...
Building a genomic encyclopedia of life
A genomic tree-of-life is the taxonomist's dream: a perfectly organized, annotated database of every species on earth, its genetics, and ...
Population size may be clue to why Neanderthals suffered and Neo-African humans survived
A new paper in PNAS, Patterns of coding variation in the complete exomes of three Neandertals, reiterates what seems to ...
Smithsonian exhibit releases online animated visualizaton of human genome
Using disarmingly simple animations of 2-D people, animals, and molecules, Sanan transmits more information about DNA and the human genome ...
Genetic advantage may be why farming societies displaced hunter-gatherers
How did farming take over the world? One theory is that farming was such an evidently good idea that it ...
Neanderthal epigenetics probably not a great target for autism research
Sensationalized headline used keywords of autism and Neanderthal to oversell an important story about differences in epigenetic regulation between humans ...
Not the end of men: Set of Y chromosome conserved through evolution
A core set of genes on the Y chromosome has been retained through much of animal evolution, not just for ...
How do you study the evolution of intelligence: look to animals
There are many scientists who study the mental abilities of animals. As intelligent animals ourselves, we’re keen to learn whether ...
Forget it Freud: Female phallus found
A Brazilian cave insect has done a most unusual sex-role reversal, a new study finds: Females have penises, and males ...
Common Alzheimer’s gene APOE4 raises risk for women but not men
While many genes contribute to Alzheimer's disease, early onset Alzheimer's is caused by mutations in one of three autosomal dominant ...
Epigenetics might explain how humans differed from Neanderthals despite very similar genes
The DNA sequences of Neanderthals and other extinct human relatives have exposed lost migrations, sexual escapades and even new species ...
Anti-GMO fear of ‘foreign’ genes? Ferns are latest examples of ‘natural’ genetic modification
Ag biotechnology opponents fret that transferring genes across species is "unnatural" and "dangerous." But it happens in nature--naturally. A study, ...
Investigating the microbiomes of modern hunters and gatherers
It is now abundantly clear that the microbes that live in our bodies are critical parts of our lives and ...
Cooking, farming and other ways our culture can change our genes
The way our ancestors ate, cooked, explored, and interacted with others has had a profound influence on our genetic inheritance ...
Genetic chimeras everyday realities, not just science fiction fodder
For years now the concept of a “genetic chimera” has sparked the imagination of writers: the idea that an individual ...
How much of our genome do we share with other organisms? Take this quiz.
Find out how much genetic material humans share with grapes, round worms and dogs ...
Inner life of your cells is controlled chaos
A new animated video sheds light on the jittery, jumbled inner lives of our cells. Carl Zimmer at the New ...
Call to end anonymous egg and sperm donation points to lack of fertility industry regulation
A renewed call to end the anonymity of egg and sperm donors hopes to provide donor-conceived kids with important health ...
Neanderthals and humans interbred longer than previously thought
Europeans may be closer to their Neanderthal cousins than was previously thought. Breeding with now-extinct Neanderthals is known to have ...
What is direct to consumer genetic testing actually worth?
Cyrus Farivar uses several direct to consumer genetic testing companies to explore his health risks, specifically for Alzheimer's disease. In ...
Evolution of E.coli’s most virulent strain happened since 2000
Scientists have come closer to understanding how a clone of E. coli, described as the most important of its kind ...
Parkinson’s researchers look for genetic connection to Ashkenazi Jews
The second part of a study of Ashkenazi Jews who carry the LRRK2 gene, the most common genetic contributor to ...
Two sides to knowing your genetic risk for disease
Dr Sharon Moalem recently diagnosed a mother with a rare type of hereditary ataxia, a neurological disorder for which there ...
Species catalogs may need resorting based on genetics
Deep within the labyrinthine interior of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, at the end of a cluster ...
Hummingbirds continue rapid diversification into new species
Hummingbirds took just 22 million years to diversify from a single common ancestor into 338 tiny, colourful species. And they ...
