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Why did Neanderthals lose their battle for survival to modern humans? Here’s a new theory
Our hypotheses surrounding the Neanderthals’ fate have... changed over time. The longest-standing theory is that we outcompeted them: We were ...
Why are so many people resistant to daydreaming?
Thinking is a funny thing because research has shown that we’re the only species that can do it aimlessly. While ...
Genetic advances could make sex unnecessary. Experts weigh on what that fantastical future might be like
"What would life be like without sex? In a nutshell, very impersonal and mechanical, to say the least. SOCIALLY, the ...
Many non-human animals end their lives through self-destructive behaviors. Is it suicide?
Are non-human animals actually capable of purposely ending their own lives? ... Famed field biologist George Schaller recounts an instance ...
Is there an evolutionary advantage to feeling pain?
For individuals that have either an acquired or naturally occurring reduced sensitivity to pain, the results can be fatal.... Clearly, ...
After decades of stumbles and mis-starts, a cure for many cancers is finally on the horizon: Injecting patients with a genetically engineered virus
Infecting a cancer patient with a virus — a procedure that once would have raised eyebrows, if not malpractice lawsuits ...
Facing an uncertain, climate-altered future, here is how scientists are revamping crops
[A new wheat variety called] Kernza brings higher yields and can contain more seeds per stem than average wheat. And ...
Are human brains the evolved pinnacle of problem-solving evolution? The reality may be more mundane
People often assume that evolution has progressed in an upward trajectory, from simple organisms to more complex ones. Because humans ...
Plants respond to injuries in fascinating ways. Can they feel pain?
Lacking the brain and nervous system needed to conjure consciousness (not to mention nociceptors, the animalian cells that react to ...
Coffee is good for you. There are dozens of carcinogens in coffee. What are the real facts about whether coffee is healthy or not?
Moderate coffee intake is linked to a lower likelihood of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver and endometrial cancers, Parkinson’s disease and depression. ... For years, researchers linked ...
What happens if toxic chemical pollution increases? Evolution unlikely to save us
Chemicals leached from old batteries can cause renal disease. Mercury from coal-fired power plants and carbon monoxide from vehicle exhausts ...
Some animals engage in heinous behaviors — cannibalism, eating offspring, torture and rape. Why did evolution make that happen?
While it is true that rape, torture and murder are more commonplace in the animal kingdom than they are in ...
What sparked the exodus of early humans from Africa?
Why, exactly, did our ancestors leave their homeland? Short of catching a time machine back some 60,000 years and witnessing ...
Nipples seem useless in men – so why do they have them?
Males and females do, in fact, start from the same genetic blueprint. Embryos, in their first weeks, develop structures with ...
We know the birthplace of humanity was in Africa but we still don’t know where
Pinpointing the place from which we steadily evolved into the strange, upright, over-sized brain creatures we are today would help ...
COVID vaccine roulette: Here’s why so many people are wary of a coronavirus shot
A June poll by University of Miami researchers found that 42 percent of Black respondents agreed with the statement: “The coronavirus is ...
Bog bodies of Europe: 2500-year-old, naturally preserved humans provide astonishing insight into ancient cultures
The peat bogs of Ireland, Denmark, the U.K. and other European countries have yielded human remains for well over a ...
Why your brain wants to believe in ghosts, the supernatural – and maybe God
While many scoff at tales of the supernatural, academia has not fully dismissed them. Specialists, like Christopher French, a psychologist ...
Quack or fact: Can a copper bracelet cure arthritis or other pains?
Although people have adorned themselves with copper since prehistory, the marketing of copper bracelets as a treatment for arthritis pain appears to date back only to ...
How to choose the best DNA tests to understand your health risks
The at-home genetic testing market for health conditions is soaring, and the kits are more affordable than ever. The process ...
Intricate high synergy brain regions likely explanation for complex thinking
[Researchers at the University of Cambridge are studying] a new aspect of brain organization: synergy between brain regions. Some networks ...
Neanderthals probably were not full time cave dwellers
Genetic, chemical and geological analysis tools help teams extract as much information as they can from the bones and tools ...
Gene editing may soon be able to cure inherited deafness. Here’s why some deaf parents oppose it
In June, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard and MIT announced that, using mice, they figured out how to use ...
Athletic evolution: Comparing modern athletes to ancestral warriors
Scholars have long argued that Neanderthal weapons were too hefty to hurl and, therefore, had to be thrust directly into ...
Why do we dream?
Here's [David] Eagleman and [Don] Vaughn's theory in nutshell: The role of dreams is to ensure that the brain's visual ...
How do antidepressants work? We still don’t know
[A]bout a third of Americans are showing signs of depression or anxiety, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s about ...
Why IQ tests still matter
[A]re IQ tests valid, unbiased measures of general intelligence? They certainly didn’t start out that way, says Stefan C. Dombrowski, ...
