Evolution & Behaviour
Wolves don’t go doggy in the Alps: two decades of genetic evidence
"Most wolves are hybrids with dogs". It's along with this speculative argument that anti-wolves movements are presently building a case against one of the most emblematic predators, the grey wolf (Canis lupus), as it comes back to Western European forests such as in the Alps.... click to read more
A timeline for the Denisovans, an enigmatic group of archaic humans
One of the most intriguing revelations in human evolution of the past decade was the announcement in 2010 of the genome of a completely unknown archaic human (hominin), obtained from a girl's fingerbone found buried in Denisova Cave - a three-chambered cavern nestled in the... click to read more
Overturning the hypothesis for how humans evolved language
Few traits are as uniquely human as complex spoken language. Language, therefore, has interested evolutionary biologists and neuroscientists seeking to understand what makes us, and in particular our brains, distinct from other animals. The first major genetic break in deciphering the underlying biological architecture of... click to read more
Women’s birth canals are extremely variable in shape
If you open a book on human anatomy or human evolution, you will read that women have a hard time giving birth. This happens because the pelvis, the basin-like bone structure that supports our internal organs and connects to the spine and the legs, has... click to read more
An ancient affair: a Neandertal woman and a Denisovan man had a daughter
In prehistoric times, at least two groups of hominins (that is, the entity which includes humans and their closest relatives) inhabited Eurasia: Neandertals, who lived throughout Europe and the Near East, and Denisovans, who likely lived in Asia. Genetically, Neandertals and Denisovans were more different... click to read more
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