Human Evolution

Thanks to genetics and improving nutrition, denizens of the Western Balkans have surpassed the Dutch in height.

Nietzsche both wished he was as stupid as a cow so he wouldn’t have to contemplate existence, and pitied cows for being so stupid that they couldn’t contemplate existence.

While becoming a monk is an evolutionary dead end for the individual, celibacy reaps benefits for the group as a whole.

The answer is both disappointing and exciting.

More humans are being born with a third arm artery, an example of microevolution happening right before our eyes.

Fossils of Australopithecus in a South African cave are one million years older than previously thought. This challenges the consensus that humans first evolved in East Africa.

Science doesn’t fit neatly into ideology.

The chemistry of cooking over an open flame.

Shame is a powerful tool that must be used with care.

The simulation gave researchers some of the first concrete data linking climate change to human evolution and speciation.

Instead of a mental illness, some research suggests that psychopathy — in moderation — is a reasonable life strategy.

Archaic humans ventured into Eurasia in waves, not always successfully. They may have started their journey in North Africa or West Asia.

The “Clovis First” hypothesis for human settlement of North and South America has just been debunked. Where do we go from here?

Mutations that confer malaria resistance occur more frequently in people who live in regions where the disease is endemic.

Awe is a powerful force, a fact that is both exciting and terrifying.

Outrage is a useful emotion that helped our ancient ancestors survive. Today, it leaves us feeling angry, tired, powerless, and miserable.

Discussions of human evolution are usually backward looking, as if the greatest triumphs and challenges were in the distant past.

The human brain is only the latest chapter in the ancient story of thinking on Earth.

The dark genome makes up 98% of human DNA. Scientists are just beginning to understand its role in cognitive disorders.

As always, aDNA research raises as many questions as answers.

The paradox of tribalism is that humans need a sense of belonging to be healthy and happy, but too much tribalism is deadly. We are one tribe.

Was this a moment when humans interbred with Neanderthals?

After it became clear that the world wasn’t 6,000 years old, some proposed that northern peoples had emerged independently from others.

A new analysis of an ancient hominin fossil sheds light on the “Out of Africa” dispersal events that occurred more than one million years ago.

Ages 30 to 45 are now “the rush hour of life.”

Dating of volcanic ash suggests the remains are at least 230,000 years old.

Beautiful people really know how to catch a break.

We are generally taught that there is an arc of history — an inevitable path of progress that leads to modern society. Maybe it isn’t true.

A study describes how researchers conducted the first successful DNA sequencing on ancient Egyptian mummies.

Many key inventions were unique: one-offs.