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 ...

Scientists say some of the traits that define modern humans may have evolved only after long-standing biological and cultural ...

This has been quite the wild year in human evolution stories. Our relatives, living and extinct, got a lot of attention—from new developments in ape cognition to an expanded perspective of a ...

Only about 1 in 5 people have a chin dimple. An evolutionary biologist unpacks the genetics — and the deeper mystery of why ...

Two of the traits that set modern humans apart from non-human primates are taller stature and a higher basal metabolic rate. Researchers have identified a genetic variant that contributed to the ...

For thousands of years, humans have selectively bred dogs to fulfill specific roles, ranging from guarding and hunting to herding and companionship. This deliberate shaping of traits has resulted in ...

Researchers at the University of Tsukuba have demonstrated that intensified environmental variability (EV) can promote the evolution of cooperation through simulation based on evolutionary game theory ...

Researchers have put forth a theory that humans are no longer subject to natural selection for evolution, but instead that ...

Until Homo floresiensis was discovered, scientists assumed that the evolution of the human lineage was defined by bigger and bigger brains. Via a process called encephalization, human brains evolved ...

While humans and chimpanzees share a common evolutionary history, we will never hear how our ancient ancestors laughed.