Human Evolution
CRISPR study helps answer a question that has long puzzled scientists.
New radiocarbon dating reveals astonishing insights.
Archaeologists have identified what may be Europe’s oldest human-made megastructure.
The study suggests that human ancestors expanded across Europe faster than previously thought.
Human civilization has always survived periods of change. Will our rapidly evolving technological era be an exception to the rule?
Skilled hunters adapted to the changing landscape and left tantalizing clues to who they were.
Two scientists recently wagered a bottle of whiskey. The bet? Whether we’ll find evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life in the next 15 years.
They have held our fascination ever since we first identified their remains.
Without even realizing it, we’ve actually become pretty god-like in our powers.
Perhaps it’s not just an oddly shaped hill, after all.
Scientists agree that eons ago, a bacterium took up residence inside another cell and became its powerhouse, the mitochondrion. But there are competing theories about the birth of other organelles such as the nucleus and endoplasmic reticulum.
Though over three billion people speak an Indo-European language, researchers are not sure where the language family originated.
A 1.5-million-year-old hominin bone shows signs that the victim was eaten by lions — and humans.
The structure is fully developed in humans, partially developed in chimps, and completely absent in Old World monkeys.
Metaphors like the Great Chain of Being can lead people to misunderstand evolution and humanity’s place in the web of life.
In polarized times, our shared cellular origin can unite us in solidarity and awe — from the embryonic scale to the grandest cosmic perspective.
There were at least eight other human species, some of whom existed for far longer than we have. Who were they?
From the laying out of the body plan to the organization and functioning of our nervous system, cells rule gene expression and make us who and what we are.
Modern memory athletes use this ancient technique to memorize thousands of digits of pi.
In numerous cultures worldwide, women were just as involved in bringing home the prehistoric bacon as their male counterparts.
There’s an entire Universe out there. So, with all that space, all those planets, and all those chances at life, why do we all live here?
The fear of deep bodies of water may be evolutionarily ingrained.
On the menu: stews, cheese, and fermented drinks.
If we manage to avoid a large catastrophe, we are living at the early beginnings of human history.
Evolutionary pressures drove the formation of tribes who encoded their values in myths and symbols. Was this cooperation cursed?
The chances that a newborn survives childhood have increased from 50% to 96% globally.
Nobody knows where the word “penguin” comes from.