To Shakespeare’s Hamlet we humans are “the paragon of animals”. But recent advances in genetics are suggesting that humans are far from being evolution’s greatest achievement. For example, humans have ...

How did humans become human? Understanding when, where and in what environmental conditions our early ancestors lived is central to solving the puzzle of human evolution. Unfortunately, pinning down a ...

Microbes supporting the production of more metabolic energy could be key to the evolution of large brains First study to show gut microbes from different animal species shape variations in their ...

The Zlatý kůň skull, found in a cave site in present-day Czechia. Its DNA showed similarities to bones found in a German cave, according to new research. Hidden in many people’s genetic codes is a ...

A study of artificial human and chimpanzee nerve cells revealed how faster-evolving DNA gives neurons the ability to build increasingly complex brain power How did humans evolve brains capable of ...

Lead poisoning isn't just a modern phenomenon: fossil teeth show signs that it affected ancient hominids, and Homo sapiens ...

We preselected all newsletters you had before unsubscribing.

The images above depict artificially-derived neurons grown in petri dishes, with a human neuron shown on the left. Artificially-derived chimpanzee neurons grow only one or two neurites (connecting ...

Brain tissue is among the most energetically costly in the body, and as a result, larger-brained mammals require more energy ...