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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Polygamy and genetics: Short Creek, Utah’s inbreeding mutation epidemic
[In 1990], 10-year-old boy was presented to Theodore Tarby, a doctor specialising in rare childhood diseases. ... [S]oon Tarby had diagnosed a ...
Ancient ‘Tianyuan man’ is full-fledged Homo sapiens
When scientists excavated a 40,000-year-old skeleton in China in 2003, they thought they had discovered the offspring of a Neandertal and ...
Racists are wrong: Both light and dark skin originated in Africa
[L]ong-held racist assumptions based on skin color have been scientifically proven wrong, according to a groundbreaking new study in the ...
Human extinction could come within 5,100 years
Every day, it seems, brings with it fresh new horrors. Mass murder. Catastrophic climate change. Nuclear annihilation. It's all enough to make a ...
Mild to murderous: Zika’s one mutation evolution
Zika has been around for some time – first identified in 1947 in Uganda - but it was never really given much thought. It ...
What do your Neanderthal genes do?
By sequencing a remarkably complete genome from a 50,000-year-old bone fragment of a female Neandertal found in Vindija Cave in ...
9 reasons why IQ really matters
IQ is often dismissed as antiquated, misguided, or less important than personality traits. But according to Stuart Ritchie, an intelligence researcher ...
Pumpkins, cucumbers, and watermelons diverged from a single melon ancestor
About 100 million years ago, the genome of a single melon-like fruit copied itself. Over time, this one ancestor became ...
‘Final-cause thinking’: Does biology and evolution need to be ‘purposeful’?
In the world of evolutionary biology, in particular, there is still a huge amount of final-cause thinking, despite the fact ...
Video: Evolution at work–RNA in New York City mice has changed so they can eat fast food
With all its hustle, bustle, concrete, and congestion, they say New York City changes people. And that may be true, ...
Humans are still evolving–the evidence is in how we age and who survives
Although human evolution is seen as in the distant past, every minute biological decision results in ongoing human natural selection ...
How cosmology and creation coincide
Big Bang cosmology tells us that the universe has a beginning. Therefore, the universe as a whole has a cause; ...
Our Neanderthal ancestors affect how we look and act today
Neanderthals are the closest evolutionary relatives identified to date of all people living today. They are so close to us ...
Are you reading this because you want to? Or because the neurons in your brain want you to?
If you’ve ever read an article proclaiming that neuroscience disproves free will, you’ve probably heard of the Libet experiment. … ...
The role of emotions in problem solving
What is the purpose of emotion? More elaborately, how do the psychological and neurological mechanisms of emotion underlie a person’s ...
Being obese doesn’t always mean you are metabolically unhealthy
To date, countless epidemiological studies have shown that as you move from a normal weight (BMI = 18.5-24.9 kg/m2) towards ...
New species may be created by cellular ‘mitonuclear conflict’
In the complex cells of humans and other organisms, two different genomes collaborate to sustain life. The larger genome, with ...
Do GMOs, pesticides cause cancer? The Amish would say ‘no’
Amish farmers may not get cancer as much, but it's not because they don't use pesticides or GMOs. In fact, ...
Matrix phobia? Scientists put fears to rest—we are not living in computer simulation
Just in case it’s been weighing on your mind, you can relax now. A team of theoretical physicists from Oxford ...
Mom was right: We get wiser with age and manage stress better
[Professor Dilip] Jeste points out that some things get better with age, like the ability to make decisions, control emotions, ...
Viewpoint: What are the odds on the future of humanity?
The more we learn about the history of our own world, and the wider solar system, the more we see ...
Who gave humans genital herpes? Maybe this ancient ancestor
Genital herpes infects about one in six American adults. But who was patient zero, the individual responsible for this irritating scourge? Researchers in ...
Once and for all, Ashkenazi Jews have limited Euro-Asian Khazarian heritage
Since the late 19th century, the so-called “Khazarian theory” has promoted the idea that a bulk of Ashkenazic Jews living ...
Guided evolution of wheat and other grains could feed growing population
Can we breed wheat and other cereal grains with the ability to fertilize themselves? Researchers report promising results that could ...
Is ‘dark DNA’ lurking as ‘missing’ mystery force in animal evolution?
In some animals, stretches of essential DNA seem to be missing. However, this "dark DNA" is not really missing, it's ...
Sudden increase in Zika’s potency linked to small mutation
It remains one of the great mysteries of the Zika epidemic: Why did a virus that existed for decades elsewhere ...
Why evolution does not weed out all genetic diseases
To anyone with a basic understanding of evolution, it should seem puzzling that deadly genetic diseases, passed on from one generation to ...
