Neanderthals died out 40,000 years ago, but there has never been more of their DNA on Earth

Here’s what we can learn from our closest extinct relatives.

Trine Kellberg Nielsen, Associate Professor, Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies, Aarhus University • conversation
Aug. 31, 2022 • ~8 min

Slime is all around and inside you – new research on its origins offers insight into genetic evolution

A vast array of species, including people, use slime for a variety of essential bodily functions. Studying the genetic ancestry of slime surprisingly showcases the role of repetitive DNA in evolution.

Omer Gokcumen, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo • conversation
Aug. 26, 2022 • ~9 min

A taste for sweet – an anthropologist explains the evolutionary origins of why you're programmed to love sugar

If you ever feel like you can’t stop eating sugar, you are responding precisely as programmed by natural selection. What was once an evolutionary advantage has a different effect today.

Stephen Wooding, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Heritage Studies, University of California, Merced • conversation
Jan. 5, 2022 • ~9 min

Genetic GPS system of animal development explains why limbs grow from torsos and not heads

Hox genes make sure all your body parts grow in the right place. Understanding how they work can reveal the process of evolution and lead to potential treatments for congenital birth defects.

Ethan Bier, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California San Diego • conversation
Nov. 10, 2021 • ~10 min

Dire wolves went extinct 13,000 years ago but thanks to new genetic analysis their true story can now be told

Our research shows dire wolves lived in the tropics not the Arctic, and were not especially close relatives of the grey wolf.

Laurent Frantz, Professor of Palaeogenomics, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich • conversation
Jan. 13, 2021 • ~6 min

/

1