Many human traits, such as height and disease susceptibility, depend on genes that are encoded in our DNA. These genes are switched on and off and further fine-tuned by important but hard-to-find regions in the genome.
Evolution
Nov 16, 2020
0
6
For hundreds of thousands of years, early humans in the East African Rift Valley could expect certain things of their environment. Freshwater lakes in the region ensured a reliable source of water, and large grazing herbivores ...
Archaeology
Oct 21, 2020
4
403
One of the reasons humans are so resilient is our ability to mold our behavior to ever changing situations. It wasn't so long ago that many of us hugged when we met. In the middle of a pandemic, in which close contact between ...
Evolution
Sep 18, 2020
0
32
Until recently, little was known about how transposable elements contribute to gene regulation. These are little pieces of DNA that can replicate themselves and spread out in the genome. Although they make up nearly half ...
Biotechnology
Apr 15, 2020
0
242
A new study led by the University of Kent has found evidence that human ancestors as recent as two million years ago may have regularly climbed trees.
Archaeology
Mar 30, 2020
0
351
Early cave paintings of hunting scenes may give the impression our Stone Age ancestors lived mainly on chunks of meat, but plants—and the ability to unlock the glucose inside—were just as key to their survival.
Archaeology
Mar 27, 2020
6
1333
The microbiome of our ancestors might have been more important for human evolution than previously thought, according to a new study published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. An adaptive gut microbiome could have been ...
Evolution
Feb 19, 2020
1
509
A team of researchers at the University of California, has found evidence of "ghost" DNA in some modern West African people. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their study of genetic ...
The human-caused biodiversity decline started much earlier than researchers used to believe. According to a new study published in the scientific journal Ecology Letters the process was not started by our own species but ...
Evolution
Jan 17, 2020
13
1469
How did humans learn to walk upright?
Archaeology
Nov 6, 2019
6
248
