Horizontal Gene Transfer in Bdelloid Rotifers Questioned
Abby Olena | Jul 12, 2018
A re-analysis of sequencing data from a 2016 study of these tiny metazoans reveals possible contamination, rather than an exchange of DNA among species.
Original North American Dogs Descended From Siberian Populations
Original North American Dogs Descended From Siberian Populations
European settlers likely wiped out these ancient dogs, but the animals seem to have left a lasting legacy in a transmissible canine cancer.
European settlers likely wiped out these ancient dogs, but the animals seem to have left a lasting legacy in a transmissible canine cancer.
Hominins Left Africa for Asia Much Earlier Than Thought
Shawna Williams | Jul 11, 2018
The dating of stone tools in China puts members of the Homo genus there more than 2 million years ago.
Infographic: Resurrecting Ancient Proteins
Amber Dance | Jul 1, 2018
Learn the basic steps researchers take when reconstructing proteins from the past and how these biomolecules can inform engineering projects.
Why Are Modern Humans Relatively Browless?
Jim Daley | Jul 1, 2018
The function of early hominins’ enlarged brow ridges, and their reduction in size in Homo sapiens, have puzzled paleoanthropologists for decades.
Amazonians Offer Clues to Human Childhood Development
Shawna Williams | Jul 1, 2018
A study of Shuar children in Ecuador provides a window into how the human body responds to infection in the sorts of conditions that shaped our species’ evolution.
How to Calculate Mutation Rate for Evolutionary Biology
Amber Dance | Jul 1, 2018
Four ways to study mutation rate, a crucial statistic in studies of evolution
Maiden Voyage, 1872–1876
Ashley Yeager | Jul 1, 2018
The Challenger expedition's data on ocean temperatures and currents, seawater chemistry, life in the deep sea, and the geology of the seafloor spurred the rise of modern oceanography.
Nick Pyenson Reconstructs Bygone Whale Populations Using Fossils
Jim Daley | Jul 1, 2018
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History paleobiologist also studies the evolution of echolocation and special sensory structures in modern whales.
Primer: Acoustics and Physiology of Human Speech
Philip Lieberman | Jul 1, 2018
People have a unique anatomy that supports our ability to produce complex language.