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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Hairless humans: We have all the genes to go full Chewbacca, but they’re just turned off. Here’s why
Have you ever wondered why you don’t have thick hair covering your whole body like a dog, cat or gorilla ...
6 (relatively) recent examples proving that humans are still evolving
[H]uman evolution hasn’t paused for a coffee break – it’s been running at full speed, reshaping our species in ways ...
Viewpoint: Why people do not accept the scientific fact of evolution
If the theory of evolution is so profound and proven, why doesn’t everyone accept it as true? ... Evolution is ...
Stinky plants: The evolutionary explanation
Not all flowers emit odors that are enticing to humans. Three types of flowering plants – Asarum simile, Eurya japonica, and Symplocarpus ...
Broken smiles: Why have some humans evolved to have crooked teeth
While malocclusions—crowded or misaligned teeth—have been found among our hunter-gatherer ancestors, they appear to be more prevalent in modern populations ...
What did a woman in present-day Belgium look like 10,500 years ago? DNA draws us a picture
With DNA extracted from the body’s remains, researchers have reconstructed the face of a woman who lived approximately 10,500 years ...
More evidence that intelligence is mostly genetic
Brain dynamics and cognition share genetic roots. Criticality may guide future brain health research. A recent study published on June ...
Putting faces on the human tree of life: From Hobbit to 300,000 year old humans, here’s what we looked like
Now, scientists have revealed the most scientifically accurate reconstructions of what those ancient humans would have looked like. This includes ...
Why evolution hasn’t eliminated human susceptibility to depression as it has for other diseases
Depression feels weird compared to things like fear or anger, which help us survive by warning us of danger or pushing us into action ...
Hyper-communication: How our phones, emails and social media are reshaping evolution
Intuition says that the astonishing speed with which this era of hyper-communication has occurred must change us in some way or other, but ...
Does reverse evolution exist? Tomatoes grown on the Galapagos Islands appear to be de-evolving
Researchers argue that despite how controversial it might sound, tomatoes in the Galápagos actually seem to be going backwards, not ...
Changing theories on how the universe works
Intelligent life is extremely unlikely, and we pose the question only because we are the supremely rare exception. ...[A]n interdisciplinary ...
Here’s how creationists have creatively tried to undermine the teachings of evolution in America’s classrooms since the Scopes trial in 1925
Bans on teaching evolution prevailed ... until high school teacher Susan Epperson took on Arkansas’ version [in the 1960s] As Science News wryly ...
Viewpoint: Darwin’s ‘Descent of Man’ is both deeply disturbing and more relevant than ever
Charles Darwin’s Descent of Man is full of unexpected delights — such as the trio of hard drinking, chain-smoking koalas ...
How testosterone and estrogen have driven human evolution
What makes us human? Most would say our minds. The ability to think, empathize, and build complex societies sets us ...
GLP podcast: Science of reproduction—what does evolution tell us about the ‘sex spectrum’?
Over the last decade, a growing chorus of scientists has declared that biological sex is not binary. Properly assessing human ...
Appreciating music: What are the evolutionary links between humans and other animals
Historically, many thought that humans were the only animals that could recognize an external beat and synchronously move to it ...
The disabled, the elderly and the poor: Trump administration flirts with eugenics
Trump has deployed in his administration and in his relationships with billionaires a group of the old and new eugenicists ...
Biology junkie? Here are some great summer reads
One of my favorite summer chores is finding a new book to take from the beach to the pool. ...
Can Africa’s indigenous ‘orphan crops’ play a meaningful role in improving the continent’s food security?
In 2021, the small village of Kanaani in eastern Kenya faced a devastating drought. For months, rain was scarce, leaving ...
‘Arsenal in the culture war’: The evangelical Australian Christian behind the Noah’s Ark creation museum
[Australian Ken] Ham is founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis [AIG], which opened the Ark Encounter in 2016. The ...
Blame human evolution for corporate jargon and thick academic prose
For anyone who’s ever worked in a large organization, this kind of message will be depressingly familiar: “Do you have ...
Viewpoint: Ethical questions about embryo screening and eugenics
Orchid and other start-ups like it take embryos produced by IVF and subject those embryos to polygenic screening. This process ...
Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA lives on in at least six living people
For more than five centuries, Leonardo Da Vinci has been celebrated as a visionary artist, scientist, and inventor, known for ...
Unraveling the genetic mystery of autism
Until the 1970s, the prevailing belief in psychiatry was that autism was a consequence of bad parenting. In the 1940s, ...
100 years after the Scopes trial, creationist beliefs show no sign of waning
Some people thought the 1925 Scopes monkey trial marked a cultural defeat for biblical fundamentalism. But a century after what ...
Ancient North American ancestry: Geneticist helps Pueblo tribe affirm its long-denied roots
Members of New Mexico’s Picuris Pueblo Tribal Nation have long told stories about having descended from ancient North American ancestors ...
