Human Evolution

The Maropeng Visitor Center welcomes visitors to the Cradle of Humankind.

Discover South Africa's Cradle of Humankind

Located in the vicinity of Johannesburg and Pretoria, the Cradle of Humankind is a treasure trove of early hominin fossils

New research strengthens the theory that different climates influenced the shape of the human nose.

How Climate Helped Shape Your Nose

New research shows how the width of our nasal passages is literally shaped by the air we breathe

Paleo diet? Not so much. Thanks to Neanderthal dental plaque, researchers are getting a much better idea of what our ancestors actually dined on.

Scientists Delve Into Neanderthal Dental Plaque to Understand How They Lived and Ate

The plaque that coated Neanderthal teeth is shedding new light on how our ancestors ate, self-medicated and interacted with humans

While excavating at Bluefish Caves in northern Yukon during the 1970s and 1980s, Canadian archaeologist Cinq-Mars found cut-marked horse bones and other traces of human hunters that seemed to date to 24,000 years ago—thousands of years before the Clovis people.

What Happens When an Archaeologist Challenges Mainstream Scientific Thinking?

The story of Jacques Cinq-Mars and the Bluefish Caves shows how toxic atmosphere can poison scientific progress

These skull fragments have features that seem to combine human and Neanderthal traits.

Scientists Think These Skulls May Be New Human Ancestor

Two fossils combine early human, Neanderthal features

Neanderthals went extinct 30,000 years ago, taking their precious genetic material with them. But their DNA lives on in their hybrid ancestors: modern-day humans.

How Ancient Neanderthal DNA Still Influences Our Genes Today

Far from being silent remnants, Neanderthal genes play a profound role in how modern human genes are expressed

New Report Cautiously Supports Some Gene Editing of Embryos

A new report suggests that editing embryos to cure some genetic diseases may be permissable

An artist's recreation of what the ancient creature looked like.

Bag-Like, Big-Mouthed Sea Creature Could Be Earliest Human Ancestor

This minute wriggly sea blob could represent some of the earliest steps along the path of evolution

An illustration of Australia's past megafauna.

Changing Climate, Not Humans, Killed Australia’s Massive Mammals

But that mass extinction could help us predict what today’s human-wrought climate change may bring

The bigger the tomato, the blander the taste.

The Quest to Return Tomatoes to Their Full-Flavored Glory

We’ve bred the original tomato taste out of existence. Now geneticists are asking: Can we put it back?

Victorian mores influenced ideas not just about men and women but animals too.

How Victorian Gender Norms Shaped the Way We Think About Animal Sex

No, females aren't always choosy and males don't always get around

Synesthesia, or the entangling of the senses, may be much more common than once thought.

One in Five People May Be Able to "Hear" a Flash of Light

Once thought to be a rare condition, some forms of synesthesia may be fairly common

The doormouse hibernates to conserve resources in harsh conditions. Similarly, scientists envision humans hibernating to endure long-distance space travel.

Can Humans Ever Harness the Power of Hibernation?

Scientists want to know if astronauts can hibernate during long spaceflights. First, they need to understand what hibernation is

Macaques and humans seem to share the strength of knowing the limits of what they know.

A Wise Monkey Knows How Little He Knows

Japanese scientists find that macaque monkeys, like humans, know the limits of their own memory

The Part of Your Brain That Recognizes Faces Continues Growing Later in Life

That is, at least until you hit 30

Video: Why Should Humans Care About Preserving the Diversity of Life on Earth?

This animation explains that humans don't just impact the interconnected web of life—we depend on it

Caption: Six pairs of hand and footprints were discovered in 1998, including two that are small enough to have belonged to children.

Footprints Found at Ancient Hot Springs Could Represent Earliest Settlement of Tibetan Plateau

New age measurements of the footprints help pinpoint when humans first settled the highest region on Earth

J. Calvin Coffey holds up a model of the mesentery

Meet Your Newest Organ: The Mesentery

Scientists are calling for an upgrade in classification of this vital gut membrane

Caesarean Births Could Be Affecting Human Evolution

But it’s too soon to know for sure

Fossil Footprints Show Movements of Our Early Ancestors

The trace fossils found in Tanzania spurred a debate about how early hominids lived

Page 13 of 19