Researchers identify regions in the human genome that are consistent across primates
After generating 187 new genomes from primate species, researchers found a large fraction of the human genome that is highly conserved across evolution.
Human Evolution
Scientists compare CRISPR screens in chimpanzee and human cells to understand evolution
In a recent study from UCSF and MIT, researchers found that they could identify evolutionary differences in biological function by comparing the results of CRISPR screens in humans and chimpanzees.
Ability to digest milk could have helped ancient peoples survive famine
The ability to digest milk into adulthood has recently evolved in humans. What has driven this evolution? Scientists have found that the ability to digest could have helped ancient peoples survive famines and plagues.
Grand Evolutionary Transitions: The eruption of multicellularity
by Piyush Nandafigures by Corena Loeb
Around 600 million years ago, single-celled life transitioned to multicellular life forms, begetting a paradigm shift in the definition of life on earth. This was an event so remarkable in earth’s timeline that it…
Understanding Our Evolution through our Mouth Microbes
An international team of researchers sequenced the microbes from dental scrapings of Neanderthals to understand more about their diet.
Evidence of an Ancient Human Species Unearthed in the Philippines
In 2007, during an excavation on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, archeologist Armand Salvador Mijares discovered a 67,000-year-old foot bone that led scientists to rethink the history of human evolution. The bone had features resembling…
What Pelvis Shape Can Teach Us About Human Evolution
If you are looking for an interesting case study on human evolution, look no further than the female pelvis. The shape of the pelvis is thought to be a compromise between two opposing evolutionary pressures. On one hand, a narrow pelvis is ideal for…
Oldest human fossil found outside of Africa throws popular theory into doubt
The closest ancestors of modern-day humans (Homo sapiens) and other subspecies of the genus Homo are thought to have originated in Eastern Africa around 2.85 million years ago. Archaeologists interested in the link between the earliest members of the…
When did the Americas encounter the first human?
Spreading of Homo sapiens [Image: created by NordNordWest, release into the public domain]
It is widely believed that humans first arrived in the Americas around 13,000 to 15,000 years ago. Discoveries at archeological sites such as Mesa Verde in Chile…
Human evolution. Discovery of fossils in Indonesia provide further evidence for “hobbit-like” ancient humans.
The 2004 discovery of a 1-meter-tall, ancient human (named Homo floresiensis, and nicknamed “the hobbit”) sparked great interest in the scientific community, but until recently only a single fossil had been found. Last month, however, scientists…