Mixed population provides insights into human genetic makeup
Genetic diseases and genetically mixed populations can help researchers understand human diversity and human origins according to a Penn State physical anthropologist.
View ArticleBook on ape evolution wins W. W. Howells Award
For the second time, Penn State University scientists Alan Walker and Pat Shipman together have won a national book award. A book they coauthored, The Ape in the Tree, A Natural and Intellectual...
View ArticleThe importance of grandmothers in the lives of their grandchildren
(PhysOrg.com) -- It is widely believed that women live long post-reproductive lives to help care for their grandchildren. According to the "Grandmother Hypothesis," post-menopausal women can increase...
View ArticleChimpanzees use sex tools
(PhysOrg.com) -- Many animals are known to use tools, but chimpanzees (our closest living relatives) show the most varied and complex use of tools, and the males in one group of chimps have even been...
View ArticleNew statistical model moves human evolution back 3 million years
Evolutionary divergence of humans from chimpanzees likely occurred some 8 million years ago rather than the 5 million year estimate widely accepted by scientists, a new statistical model suggests.
View ArticleGreenland's viking settlers gorged on seals
Greenland's viking settlers, the Norse, disappeared suddenly and mysteriously from Greenland about 500 years ago. Natural disasters, climate change and the inability to adapt have all been proposed as...
View ArticleHigh stress levels found in monkeys forced to spend more time foraging
(Phys.org)—New research shows that disturbed habitats are resulting in increasingly poor diets for monkeys, and that the additional time and energy required to find food is causing concerning levels of...
View ArticleOvarian tumor, with teeth and a bone fragment inside, found in a Roman-age...
A team of researchers led by the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in Spain has found the first ancient remains of a calcified ovarian teratoma, in the pelvis of the skeleton of a woman from the Roman...
View ArticleTeam reports on abuse of students doing anthropological fieldwork
College athletes are not the only ones who sometimes suffer at the hands of higher ups. A new report brings to light a more hidden and pernicious problem – the psychological, physical and sexual abuse...
View ArticleLooking at chimp's future, seeing man's
When researcher Richard Wrangham looks at the future of chimpanzees, he sees people.
View ArticleWhat is the fastest articulated motion a human can execute?
(Phys.org) —Humans are amazing throwers. We are unique among all animals, including our closest living relative, the chimpanzee, in our ability to throw projectiles at high speeds and with incredible...
View ArticleWas the dawn of man among trees in the cradle of disease?
A student-led conference to be webcast live will ask, in light of recent research, whether the story of human origin is radically different from established thinking, and what that might mean for...
View ArticleNew book explores evolution of human reproduction
Human beings would probably be known as pilosals rather than mammals if Carl Linnaeus had not been a proponent of breast-feeding. For social and political reasons, the famed taxonomist labeled the...
View ArticleEarly human ancestors used their hands like modern humans
New research suggests pre-Homo human ancestral species, such as Australopithecus africanus, used human-like hand postures much earlier than was previously thought.
View ArticleAustralia discovered by the 'Southern Route'
Genetic research indicates that Australian Aborigines initially arrived via south Asia. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology have found telltale mutations in...
View ArticleStudy: Evolutionary past may determine how we choose leaders
(PhysOrg.com) -- Why did Barack Obama win the US election and did the fact he is over six feet tall influence the voters? The authors of a paper published in Current Biology this month argue that due...
View Article'Peter Pan' Apes Never Seem To Learn Selfishness
(PhysOrg.com) -- Sharing is a behavior on which day care workers and kindergarten teachers tend to offer young humans a lot of coaching. But for our ape cousins the bonobos, sharing just comes naturally.
View ArticleAncient remains put teeth into Barker hypothesis
Ancient human teeth are telling secrets that may relate to modern-day health: Some stressful events that occurred early in development are linked to shorter life spans.
View ArticleOld dog, new tricks: Study IDs 9,400-year-old mutt
Nearly 10,000 years ago, man's best friend provided protection and companionship - and an occasional meal. That's what researchers are saying after finding a bone fragment from what they are calling...
View ArticleMissouri elk are being reintroduced in the wrong part of the state,...
According to prehistoric records, elk roamed the northwestern part of Missouri until 1865. Now, the Missouri Department of Conservation is planning to reintroduce elk, but this time in the southeast...
View ArticleContinents influenced human migration, spread of technology
How modern-day humans dispersed on the planet and the pace of civilization-changing technologies that accompanied their migrations are enduring mysteries. Scholars believe ancient peoples on Europe and...
View ArticleListen up, parents: For toddlers (and chimps), the majority rules
A study published online on April 12 in the journal Current Biology offers some news for parents: even toddlers have a tendency to follow the crowd. That sensitivity isn't unique to humans either;...
View ArticleWhat howler monkeys can tell us about the role of interbreeding in human...
Did different species of early humans interbreed and produce offspring of mixed ancestry?
View ArticleNeanderthal variants in genes involved in lipid catabolism
Contemporary Europeans have as many as three times more Neanderthal variants in genes involved in lipid catabolism than Asians and Africans.
View ArticleWild capuchin monkeys found able to remember where and when their food was...
(Phys.org)—Charles Janson, a professor of biological anthropology, zoology and evolutionary biology at the University of Montana, has found that capuchin monkeys have memory abilities that are far more...
View ArticleDiffering division rates of brain stem cells
Our similarities and differences to chimpanzees, our great ape cousins, have intrigued people for centuries. Of particular interest is the brain. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular...
View ArticleStudy finds that mothers determine chimps' lifelong grooming behavior
Think of all the things your mom taught you—sit up straight, close your mouth when you chew, remember to say please and thank you … the list goes on.
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