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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Elephant intellect: Genius in the largest brain on land
Scientists are finally probing the elephant brain to find out how cooperative problem solving, tool use, and even self-awareness can ...
Big Balls Theory: Testicles drive genetic evolution
Large testicles drive genetic evolution, with animals with larger testis having an increased speed of genome evolution, researchers have found ...
Was Lamarck right? Epigenetic research suggests we might inherit learned traits. But how?
It seems almost certain that epigenetic effects -- an annotation to DNA that changes how genes are expressed -- can ...
Largest-ever virus discovered in (and revived from) 30,000-year-old permafrost
A record-setting little giant---the biggest virus ever discovered---has been revived from 30,000-year-old Siberian permafrost with little more than a thaw ...
Chromosomal fusion shows when you, me, and the Neanderthals evolutionarily split from great apes
Orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos have 24 chromosome pairs. But humans and our closest extinct ancestors have 23 as a ...
De-Extinction: If we’re being honest, it is a bit like Jurassic Park
Dinosaurs are not on the de-extinction agenda, but that doesn't mean that the philosophical questions raised by Jurassic Park are ...
Measuring genetic distance is harder than you’d think
You've probably heard or read that most genetic variation is within, not between races. This assertion has led, in my ...
50,000 generation experiment proves ‘adaptive evolution’ is relentless
In 1988, when evolutionary biologist Richard Lenski was an assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine, he started a ...
Secrets of a cold–It helps explain why we have skin and bones
Next time you have a cold, rather than cursing, maybe you should thank the virus for making your skin. Genes ...
Richard III DNA test sparks controversy
King Richard III has been dead for more than 500 years, but his bones continue to ignite fresh controversy. The ...
Evolutionary civil war of sperm production
"I thought, 'Oh my god, I have mixed all the samples, I have made a massive mistake here'. And I ...
Video: When it comes to sports success, genes matter most
David Epstein, author of "The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance" discusses the ways that human biological ...
Genetic odd couple: Humans traveling with (friendly?) infection-causing African bacteria for 100,000 years
Helicobacter pylori, which causes ulcers and stomach cancer, maybe the oldest our oldest bacterial infection: genetic studies suggest it came ...
Humans and dogs evolved to listen for emotional cues
Dog and human brains turn out to be surprisingly similar, at least where communication and emotions are concerned, a new ...
Family selects for children with lower genetic cancer risk
To shield any future children from the fear she harbors of getting breast cancer, Katie Dowdy underwent a controversial procedure ...
Memory — not perception — might be key to dyslexia
If auditory processing is at the core of the frustrating disorder dyslexia, then dyslexic musicians shouldn't exist. But they do ...
DNA of basketball: Generation after generation of NBA All-Stars
For a growing number of fathers and sons, the N.B.A. is a family business. This season, 19 second-generation players have ...
We made love, not war, with Neanderthals
What does it mean to be part Neanderthal? We’ve known since 2010 that if you have any non-African ancestry you ...
Ancient genetics may lead to future treatment for gout
We're susceptible to gout because of a mutated gene in humans and other primates that prevents us from producing uricase, ...
DNA hunter Svante Pääbo takes us back to our roots
DNA, the stuff from which our genes are made, decays the moment an organism dies. The long coils break down ...
Ancient Native American DNA remains present ethical minefield
Sequencing the genome of an ancient Native American reveals more about American history, and underscores the difficult, delicate dance of ...
Genetic Atlas: Human history of moving around and fooling around
New statistical approaches are giving us our first real shot at pulling apart the genome to see when human populations ...
Ancestry of first Americans revealed by a boy’s genome
We may never know who the Anzick child was. Why he died, just 3 years old, in the foothills of ...
Scientists hope for a glimpse of King Richard III through DNA analysis
Scientists are to analyze the DNA from the remains of Richard III to create the world's first complete genome sequence ...
Genetic mix lets Tibetans thrive at high altitudes
Genetic adaptations found in people living at high elevations on the Tibetan plateau probably originated around 30,000 years ago in ...
The cross-species merger that made life as we know it possible
The transition from the classic prokaryotic, nucleus-free model to the deluxe eukaryotic one is arguably the most important event in ...
Humans shaped the horse’s gait, through genetics
A genetic mutation in horses that causes them to move with a gait that humans find desirable was spread to ...
