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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A species of rat without the Y chromosome may foreshadow what might evolve in humans
The male Y chromosome has disappeared from a species of rat, leading scientists to investigate how humans might also lose ...
What is evolutionary medicine?
Basic scientists are good at proposing overarching theories, knocking down paradigms and erecting new ones. These are necessary and provide ...
Dispelling misconceptions about evolutionary psychology
Research in evolutionary psychology attracts considerable attention, from both enthusiasts and critics. Evolutionary researchers devote substantial effort to correcting misperceptions ...
Video: Where did the wolf go? Here’s why dogs are so friendly towards humans
What do you actually know about where dogs come from? You're probably aware they evolved from wolves — but how, ...
Ancient humans didn’t get sunburn. Here’s how living indoors has evolved our skin
Human beings have a conflicted relationship with the sun. People love sunshine, but then get hot. Sweat gets in your ...
Viewpoint: Reject GM crops because they’re ‘not natural’? Here’s a primer on 9,000 years of human tampering with our food supply
One of the most frequently cited concerns about ‘genetically modified’ food is that it is ‘unnatural’ or as the then ...
‘Quirks of our reptilian brains’: Why looming deadlines can cause paralyzing anxiety
Do you ever get so overwhelmed with schoolwork that all you can do is curl up on the couch and ...
Why has female sexual health research been so neglected?
In a recent News Hour segment on PBS television, doctors and researchers pointed out that female sexual topics were largely ...
Part I: Intelligence, disease, prejudice — and Jewish skeletal remains in a Norwich well
Who would have thought that bones found at the bottom of a medieval well in England could stir up such ...
‘Cities create a completely novel ecosystem’: How urban environments shape the evolution of plants, rats, fish and birds
Brown rats in New York City may be evolving smaller rows of teeth. Tiny fish across the Eastern US have ...
On foot: ‘Evolution of walking has everything to do with what makes us human’
Going places on foot isn’t a particularly glamorous way to get around. Sure, there are proven health, social and environmental ...
Want to buy a 76-million year old T-rex skull as an art object for your living room? Here’s how
Maximus Rex needs a home. What Sotheby’s calls one of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skulls ever discovered goes on ...
Is violence built into our genes and human nature?
Violence is clearly not a modern phenomenon, but is it an inherent part of being human? Have we evolved to ...
‘Unseen connections’: Iconic 3-million-year-old hominim Lucy marks 48th anniversary with a selfie
The iconic ancient hominin gets her hands on a smartphone in anticipation of the museum’s upcoming exhibition exploring the global ...
How closely are genes tied to our language abilities?
More than 7,000 languages are spoken in the world. This linguistic diversity is passed on from one generation to the ...
Smart octopuses: Getting to know one of the most intelligent invertebrates
Cephalopods like octopuses, squids, and cuttlefish are highly intelligent animals with complex nervous systems. A team of researchers has now ...
Did ancient humans experience depression or anxiety?
Operationalizing a perspective that discusses generalized anxiety and other mental health disorders without interpreting history through the lens of our ...
Ants: The world’s most successful species?
Given their centrality to life on the planet, not to mention their teeming populations, shouldn’t we think more highly of ...
‘I like my carp well done please’: Human ancestors 780,000 years ago were catching and barbecuing fish
Heaps of fish teeth found at a waterlogged prehistoric site in today’s northern Israel have revealed an important new piece ...
Claw-like hands, second eyelids, and 90-degree elbows? Here’s how overusing technology may affect human evolution
Claw-like hands, smaller brains, and 90-degree elbows? It sounds as ridiculous as it looks, but these researchers suggest it’s possible ...
Podcast: Humans may not be the evolutionary peak of consciousness. Here’s why
Researchers are endlessly fascinated by questions of consciousness. Ogi Ogas was a Department of Homeland Security fellow at the Department ...
Laughing our way through the tree of life: How dopamine may have shaped early human evolution
Most historians are interested to understand the most important factor when it comes to human evolution. As debated in many ...
Podcast: BMI useless? Lab-grown meat a ‘pipe dream;’ Did early humans eat each other?
Using body mass index (BMI) to assess a patient's health may yield misleading results and undermine public trust in medicine, ...
Nature, nurture and old age: How much is the human lifespan driven by our genes?
The research used our old friend, the UK Biobank, a repository of genetic information on a large number of Brits, ...
How climate chaos shaped human evolution
We owe much of our understanding of the human family tree to decades of fossil finds in East Africa. But ...
Viewpoint: Evidence does not support ‘plant good, animal bad’ mantra. Humans are hard-wired to eat meat
While some question whether humans are supposed to eat meat, a University of Melbourne professor in food science and human ...
An Intimate History of Evolution: Inside the influential Huxley family’s research into natural selection
Few concepts have had as important — and vexed — a role in the relationship between science and society as ...
