Brian Handwerk

Brian Handwerk is a science correspondent based in Amherst, New Hampshire.

Friends or strangers? Listeners may be able to tell just from the sound of the pair’s laughter.

Who's Laughing Now? Listeners Can Tell if Laughers are Friends or Not

We laugh differently with friends, and the reasons may lie deep in our social evolution

In a reconstruction, by artist John Gurche, the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum displays what the Hobbit would have looked like in the Hall of Human Origins.

“Hobbits” Disappeared Much Earlier Than Previously Thought

If the tiny hominins ever coexisted with modern humans, the arrangement apparently didn't last long

The Right Body Language Can Boost Odds of Online Dating Success

Potential partners size you up in seconds, and the way you sit or stand matters

The fossil skull of the human ancestor Australopithecus africanus, which had more robust teeth and jaws than modern humans.

A Taste for Raw Meat May Have Helped Shape Human Evolution

Stone tools might have let our ancestors more easily chew and digest meat, which in turn may have changed our teeth and jaws

Say hello to your little friends.

Virus Genes in Human DNA May, Surprisingly, Help Us Fight Infections

Bits of ancient viral invaders woven into the human genome seem to boost our immune system

An artist's rendering of the galaxies hiding beyond the veil of the Milky Way.

Hundreds of Galaxies Were Found Hiding Behind Our Milky Way

The objects may help explain why our galaxy and its neighbors are hurtling towards a seemingly blank zone called the Great Attractor

Mom and baby share a lot, including their microbial ecosystems.

Does Having a C-Section Alter Baby's First Microbiome?

A study of cesarean babies swabbed with birth canal fluids suggests that some newborns may be missing out on helpful microbes

This ancient skull has a terrible tale to tell.

An Ancient, Brutal Massacre May Be the Earliest Evidence of War

Even nomadic hunter-gatherers engaged in deliberate mass killings 10,000 years ago

Chimpanzees engage in social grooming in Gombe National Park.

Social Contact Helps Beneficial Gut Bacteria Spread

A study of chimp poop suggests that social animals share a collective microbiome that might help regulate health

A researcher examines the mummified hand of Ötzi the Iceman.

The Iceman's Stomach Bugs Offer Clues to Ancient Human Migration

DNA analysis of the mummy's pathogens may reveal when and how Ötzi's people came to the Italian Alps

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Most Oil Needs to Pass Through at Least One of These Tiny Spots

Tankers carry millions of barrels a day through tiny chokepoints, which put the surrounding areas at risk of environmental problems

Say hello to your faithful friend Demodex folliculorum.

Your Hair Mites Are So Loyal Their DNA Reflects Your Ancestry

Mite DNA could hold clues to ancient human migrations and future skin health

Finger lickin' good, at least until your gut bacteria disagree.

Your Gut Bacteria May Be Controlling Your Appetite

The microbes in your stomach seem to hijack a hormone system that signals the brain to stop eating

A holiday postcard from 1908.

Your Thanksgiving Turkey Is a Quintessentially American Bird: An Immigrant

The turkeys common on U.S. tables descended from a Mexican species and were originally bred for Maya rituals

Seasonal affective disorder can cause people to feel isolated and hopeless.

Talking Is the Latest Tool for Battling Seasonal Depression

A large-scale study suggests that talk therapy may have longer-lasting benefits than light boxes for treating wintertime blues

Samples of cultured meat grown in a laboratory are seen at the University of Maastricht on November 9, 2011. Scientists are cooking up new ways of sustainably feeding the world's hunger for resource-intensive foods like meat products.

Strange Foods of the Future: The Planet Can Stomach Them, But Can You?

These unusual delicacies could become the staple foods of the future

When a walk in the park is your worst nightmare.

Why Do Humans Have Allergies? Parasite Infections May Be the Trigger

Protein analysis suggests that antibodies that evolved to fight parasites might be turning their focus to otherwise harmless agents

This Bronze Age skull is from the Yamnaya culture, which later developed into the Afanasievo culture of Central Asia, one of the peoples that carried early strains of plague.

Plague Was Infecting Humans 3,300 Years Earlier Than Thought

DNA from Bronze Age victims helped pinpoint mutations that allowed the disease to go from localized illness to deadly pandemic

A view from Mota Cave in Ethiopia, where archaeologists found the remains of a 4,500-year-old human.

Back to Africa: Ancient Human Genome Reveals Widespread Eurasian Mix

Genes from a 4,500-year-old skeleton from Ethiopia show how migrations shaped modern populations

Hot or not? Your answer may depend on your life experiences as much as your genes.

What's Beautiful? It Depends on What Your Eyes Have Already Beheld

Opinions about beauty may be shaped just as much by past social interactions as by our genes

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