Neandertal DNA linked to more muscle mass in modern adults
A Neandertal version of the growth hormone receptor is linked to slightly greater muscle mass, height and weight…
Why Do Humans Have A Uvula? An Evolutionary Biologist Explains
The uvula, a sturcture hanging from a part of the body people rarely think about, turns out to…
Ancient DNA in Oceania reveals hidden human evolution and health insights
A vast stretch of islands across the South Pacific holds one of the oldest human stories on Earth.…
Largest Denisovan DNA study reveals ancient genes still active in Oceanian populations
Ancient DNA inherited from Denisovans, an extinct group of human relatives, still influences the biology of people living…
100,000-year-old Homo sapiens bones from Ethiopia may preserve earliest evidence of human cremation
Researchers studying Ethiopia’s Afar Rift have reported what could be the oldest known evidence of human cremation. The…
China scientists argue that harsh settings, not warm climates, drive early human creativity
Archaeologists in central China have directly challenged the long-held belief that humanity’s earliest ancestors reached their creative peak…
Humans are the only primates with a lopsided hand preference
Of all the monkeys and apes scientists have studied, no species shows a population-level hand preference. Individual primates…
100,000-Year-Old Site in Ethiopia Offers Window into How Early Humans Lived
Large MSA tools and small debitage from Faro Daba. Credit: Yonas Beyene et al. / CC BY-NC-ND 4.0…
Ancient teeth unlock million-year-old secrets of where early humans evolved
Teeth are like tiny biological time capsules. They tell stories about ancient diets and environments long after their owners…
My sleepless night in a chimpanzee nest
(Meet Tatu and Loulis—the last of the ‘talking’ chimpanzees) The anthropologist David Samson has dedicated much of his…
Why Are Humans The Only Animals That Cook Their Food? An Evolutionary Biologist Explains
The human ability to cook may seem ordinary, but it marks one of the most important evolutionary turning…
Study Finds Europe’s Neanderthals Descended from a Single Population
Europe’s late Neanderthals largely came from a single population. Credit: GreekReporter Archive Europe’s Neanderthals may have traced most…