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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Infant amnesia: Brain scans provide clues about why we can’t recall our earliest years
"[W]e have memories from what happened earlier today and memories from what happened earlier last week and even from a ...
Women have long been encouraged to monitor their nutrition during pregnancy. Men need to watch their food intake too—but before conception
For decades, fertility research has focused on maternal health, but groundbreaking new research is shifting the conversation. A growing body ...
How did humans get so brainy? Advanced intelligence likely came from a lineage that split off for more than a millenium and then reconnected
The ancestors of all modern humans split off from a mystery population 1.5 million years ago and then reconnected with ...
Sociogenomics—How our environment molds genes and shapes our
The new field is called sociogenomics, a fusion of behavioral science and genetics that I have been closely involved with ...
Are humans in decline and doomed for extinction? This book argues ‘yes’
Sure, there’s always the threat of global nuclear war and a massive planet-killing asteroid or cometary impact. But in his ...
Animals throughout the world show signs of being perplexed by shorter winters
Temperature plays a role in determining when bears wake from hibernation and when birds return from warmer regions. If temperatures ...
Could reprogramming our genes stop the aging process?
Cellular reprogramming is now hailed by its supporters as the most promising scientific approach to improving human healthspans and lifespans. Proponents ...
Missing teeth? A drug that that spurs regrowth shows promise
Teeth ... are not bones. Although they’re made of some of the same stuff and are the hardest material in ...
The brain scans its surroundings in a steady rhythm and only turns off during deep sleep
The brain is not only concerned with where we are right now. It also explores places we haven't been yet ...
‘Biological rewind button’: Eye treatment on the horizon that some scientists believe literally turns back the clock on age-related health conditions
Later this year, a handful of people with a rare eye condition will receive a novel injection that is designed ...
Humans probably did not domesticate wolves into dogs—canines did it themselves
Scientists don't know exactly how wolves were domesticated into early dogs, but it's possible that they domesticated themselves by choosing to ...
45% of Americans will develop osteoporosis of the knee in their lifetime. How did evolution botch this?
The groans of pain as we get up from the sofa or the sound of crunching cartilage when taking the ...
The dangerous allure of immortality: Why death is critical to live a fulfilling life
Most of the longevity movement is not really about immortality but rather about extending life and limiting the damaging effects ...
No, more and more people are not living past 100
The allure of extreme longevity has beckoned for centuries. Research careers and marketing campaigns have been built on the idea ...
Low carb diet danger alert: It increases the risk of colorectal cancer
Researchers from the University of Toronto in Canada recently conducted a study to explore how low carb diets can affect ...
Are we alone in the universe? While many scientists believe we are unique, the magic elixirs that created human life are common
Humanity may not be extraordinary but rather the natural evolutionary outcome for our planet and likely others, according to a ...
Women really do live longer — here’s why
Women outlive men, by something of a long shot: In the United States, women have a life expectancy of about 80, compared ...
‘Impressive’ and ‘humbling’: Whale language skills equal and even surpass human speech capabilities in some ways
Two new studies have found eerily human-like sophistication in whale songs, challenging notions about our exceptionality and potentially shedding light ...
What will humans be like generations from now in a world transformed by artificial intelligence (AI)
What will humans be like generations from now in a world transformed by artificial intelligence (AI)? Plenty of thinkers have ...
Do you have a ‘favorite child’? Here’s how genes, birth order and other factors influence that
The idea of parental favoritism might seem inherently subjective (what do we mean by “favorite,” exactly?) but researchers have developed ...
Is intelligent life a ‘once in a universe’ likelihood? Recalibrating the possibility of extraterrestrial life
A popular model of evolution concludes that it was incredibly unlikely for humanity to evolve on Earth, and that extraterrestrial ...
Is there an evolutionary explanation for human’s love of music?
In a new study, researchers found universal features of songs across many cultures, suggesting that music evolved in our distant ...
Risky business: How human’s evolutionary response to danger has left all of us vulnerable
In The Gambling Animal: Humanity’s evolutionary winning streak – and how we risk it all, experimental economists Glenn Harrison and Don ...
Musk’s brain streaming Neuralink is far from commercialization
[Neuralink] is not yet a commercial product. The current studies are small-scale—they are true experiments, explorations of how the device ...
Claims of living well past 100 turn out to be mostly bogus
The allure of extreme longevity has beckoned for centuries. Research careers and marketing campaigns have been built on the idea ...
Sexual selection: How evolution is making men taller and larger while female growth only edges up
According to a new study, men around the world have gained height and weight twice as fast as women over ...
Genetic diversity and evolution: How our DNA is mixed and passed down during reproduction
Scientists at deCODE genetics, a subsidiary of Amgen, have created a comprehensive map of how human DNA is mixed and ...
