Before epilepsy was understood to be a neurological condition, people believed it was caused by the moon, or by phlegm in the brain. They condemned seizures as evidence of witchcraft or demonic possession, and killed or castrated ...
Social Sciences
Oct 19, 2023
134
5926
More than 50 years after the last Apollo mission, the United States will try once again to land a craft on the moon on January 25, said the head of what could be the first private company to successfully touch down on the ...
Space Exploration
Nov 30, 2023
18
1688
New research from the University of Minnesota's Voyageurs Wolf Project found that human activities in northern Minnesota—logging, road and trail creation, and infrastructure development—have profoundly impacted where ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 30, 2023
17
735
Retraction Note: The research article "Geo‐archaeological prospecting of Gunung Padang buried prehistoric pyramid in West Java, Indonesia," originally published in the Archaeological Prospection, has been retracted.
Modern humans migrated to Eurasia 75,000 years ago, where they encountered and interbred with Neanderthals. A new study published in the journal Current Biology shows that at this time Neanderthals were already carrying human ...
Evolution
Oct 16, 2023
3
7499
Human aging may have been influenced by millions of years of dinosaur domination according to a new theory from a leading aging expert. The 'longevity bottleneck' hypothesis has been proposed by Professor Joao Pedro de Magalhaes ...
Evolution
Nov 29, 2023
2
1617
More than 20% of the filets of Atlantic salmon may have unattractive black and red spots, which are often >1 cm and create substantial financial losses. The spots are far more abundant in reared than in wild salmon, and their ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jan 8, 2024
1
322
The development of the earliest cities in Mesopotamia and the Middle East led to a substantial increase in violence between inhabitants. Laws, centralized administration, trade and culture then caused the ratio of violent ...
Archaeology
Oct 10, 2023
6
517
Biologists have long known mushrooms of the genus Mycena, commonly known as bonnet mushrooms, as fungi that live off of dead trees and plants. New research from the University of Copenhagen demonstrates that bonnets can also ...
Evolution
Oct 23, 2023
0
3309
An international team of scientists led by Oregon State University researchers has used a novel 500-year dataset to frame a "restorative" pathway through which humanity can avoid the worst ecological and social outcomes of ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 9, 2024
25
836
A human is a member of a species of bipedal primates in the family Hominidae (taxonomically Homo sapiens—Latin: "wise man" or "knowing man"). DNA and fossil evidence indicates that modern humans originated in east Africa about 200,000 years ago . When compared to other animals and primates, humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection and problem solving. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees the forelimbs (arms) for manipulating objects, has allowed humans to make far greater use of tools than any other species. Humans are distributed worldwide, with significant populations inhabiting most land areas of Earth. The human population on Earth is greater than 6.7 billion, as of February 2009,
Like most higher primates, humans are social by nature. Humans are particularly adept at utilizing systems of communication—primarily spoken, gestural, and written language—for self-expression, the exchange of ideas, and organization. Humans create complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families to nations. Social interactions between humans have established an extremely wide variety of traditions, rituals, ethics, values, social norms, and laws, which together form the basis of human society. Humans are distinctive as a species on the Earth by having a perception of beauty and aesthetics at least to a point which results in a material culture. This, when combined with the desire for self-expression and a proportionally large brain-size, has led to innovations such as art, written language, music and science.
Humans seek to understand and influence the environment around them by trying to explain and manipulate natural phenomena through philosophy, art, science, mythology, and religion. This natural curiosity has led to the development of advanced tools and skills. Although humans are not the only species to use tools, they are unique in building fires, cooking their food, and clothing themselves; as well as using other advanced technologies. Humans pass down their skills and knowledge to the next generations and so are regarded as dependent upon culture.
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