Ancestry & Evolution
Computer program hijacks 23andMe data, raises genetic discrimination concerns
23andMe bills itself as a company that "democratizes personal genetics" for the world. And that description's not necessarily all that ...
A rabbi and an alien walk into a bar: What happens when religious leaders meet extraterrestrials?
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) presents a challenge for the major religions, who might find themselves threatened if alien ...
US genetic health studies fail to accurately represent country’s ethnic makeup
The clock is ticking for experts charged with designing a U.S. government programme to collect genetic, physiological and other health ...
What did the first humans to leave Africa look like?
The most comprehensive dataset ever assembled on our early human ancestors provides evidence that the first humans emerged in South ...
Amazonians distant cousins of Australasians through ancient genetic link
Some people in the Brazilian Amazon are very distant relations of indigenous Australians, New Guineans and other Australasians, two groups ...
Ancestry following 23andMe into consumer genetics business
With the launch of its AncestryHealth website, Ancestry continues to play Microsoft to 23andMe’s Apple. It may not be as ...
Dogs love TV? Our canine partners have evolved human-like traits
It's likely no surprise to dog owners, but growing research suggests that man's best friend often acts more human than ...
“The Vital Question” book explores evolutionary origins of life
How did rocks, air and water coalesce into the first living creatures on the primordial Earth? Why did complex life like ...
20th century eugenists guided women on selecting perfect mate
For American women in the early twentieth century, marriage was a dangerous affair. Upon her marriage, a woman’s civic and ...
Synthetic components added to DNA expand genetic alphabet
DNA stores our genetic code in an elegant double helix. But some argue that this elegance is overrated. “DNA as a ...
Sex chromosomes get messy when they swap DNA
Variety is the spice of life—especially when it comes to genetics. Our species needs DNA to intermingle to create genetic ...
Can gene editing preserve line between medicine and eugenics?
CRISPR is the latest chapter in a long, darkly comic history of human genetic improvement. Like whole-gene engineering in the ...
5 Myths about GMOs
In the neverending debate about genetically modified foods, which myths do you believe? ...
Apes, like humans, show bias towards positive spin
Are you likelier to buy an expensive diet pill when you hear it has helped 40 percent of people or ...
Kissing around the world: How do different cultures show intimacy?
Not all people express love and adoration through their lips. In fact, new research published in American Anthropologist reports that only 46 percent of cultures kiss ...
What are the genes behind celiac disease inheritance?
The growing list of genetic diseases and disorders that are associated with the heterozygote advantage has led many researchers to ...
How oxytocin, the ‘breastfeeding hormone,’ makes social interactions possible
Oxytocin, this molecule that’s classically associated with child birth and breastfeeding, is released in all kinds of settings in which ...
Science explainer: We may not resurrect dinosaurs but other extinct animals likely to be revived
De-extinction is moving closer to reality--maybe not Jurassic World real, but a number of more recent animals may soon be ...
Popular claims of a genetic link between creativity and psychosis often exaggerated
For some, the mystery that surrounds creativity is at least partially rooted in the concept of the "mad genius," a ...
DNA ark: Concerns about mass species extinction prompts scientists to collect genes
An ambitious project was launched last week to collect the genomes of the planet's major plant groups within the next two ...
How did modern humans dominate Europe?
First Peoples: Europe came and went. I watched it. In case you didn’t see it there was a big reveal: archaeologists in ...
Epigenetic ‘eraser’ can reset behavior, disease vulnerability and life experiences
Many epigenetic changes that occur in humans in genetic response to the environment are erased within the embryo. Certain diseases, ...
African American English is its own dialect, and learning to speak it is no simple task
Unless you’ve been on a media blackout this summer, you likely have heard the story of civil-rights activist Rachel Dolezal, ...
Brain confusion: Why it’s so difficult to find cures for mental disorders
Many mental illnesses still defy treatment. The problem may be that we do not "know" how the brain functions very ...
Is romantic kissing a universal human behavior?
Scholars from a wide range of human social and behavioral sciences have become interested in the romantic–sexual kiss. This research, ...
Are Jews a genetic ‘race’ or ‘population’? 12 examples of Jewish genetic distinctiveness
Jewish communities around the word share certain genetic traits with each other — some of which they also share with surrounding populations. These ...
Couples’ perception of partners’ attractiveness can evolve over time
It seems logical for people with high mate value to insist on comparable partners, and there’s some evidence that they ...