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An analysis published in JNeurosci of brain scans from more than 600 children and adolescents reveals genetically-mediated associations between the size of evolutionarily novel brain regions and intelligence test scores. Genetic influences on the brain follow the patterns of evolutionary expansion of the human brain relative to nonhuman primates. Continue reading “Genetic factors influence human brain expansion”
A new genetic study of ancient individuals in the Americas and their contemporary descendants finds that two populations that diverged from one another 18,000 to 15,000 years ago remained apart for millennia before mixing again. This historic “reconvergence” occurred before or during their expansion to the southern continent. Continue reading “Two ancient populations that diverged later ‘reconverged’ in the Americas”
A study by Simon Fraser University researchers suggests that the number of children born to a woman influences the rate at which her body ages. Continue reading “Having more children slows down aging process”
A University of Southampton archaeologist and Oxford Archaeology have found evidence that Neanderthals were living in Britain at the start of the last ice age, 40,000 years earlier than previously thought. Continue reading “Neanderthals walked into frozen Britain 40,000 years earlier than first thought, evidence shows”
Neanderthals are still among us, Janet Kelso realized 8 years ago. She had helped make the momentous discovery that Neanderthals repeatedly mated with the ancestors of modern humans—a finding that implies people outside of Africa still carry Neanderthal DNA today. Ever since then, Kelso has wondered exactly what modern humans got from those prehistoric liaisons—beyond babies. How do traces of the Neanderthal within shape the appearance, health, or personalities of living people? Continue reading “Genetic data on half a million Brits reveal ongoing evolution and Neanderthal legacy”
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have identified a specific mechanism that protects our cells from natural DNA errors — an ‘enemy within’ — which could permanently damage our genetic code and lead to diseases such as cancer. The study has just been published in Nature Cell Biology. Continue reading “Cell mechanism delays and repairs DNA damage that can lead to cancer”
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