The smallest mammoth ever known to have existed roamed the island of Crete millions of years ago, researchers say. Adults were roughly the size of a modern baby elephant, standing over a metre tall at the shoulders. Remains were discovered more than a century ago, but scientists had debated whether the animal was a mammoth…
Scientists have used DNA analysis to gain important new insights into how human beings repopulated Europe as the Ice Age relaxed its grip. Dr Maria Pala, who is based at the University of Huddersfield is the lead author of an article in the latest issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics which shows how…
Two groups of researchers, led by Evan Eichler and Franck Polleux, have found that humans, alone among all animals, have three extra copies of a gene called SRGAP2, which is involved in brain development. The second of these copies, SRGAP2C, is particularly interesting because it affects the development of neurons, and produces features that are…
The South Korean health ministry announced that research into stem cells and regenerative medicine will receive a funding boost of 33 billion won (U.S. $29 million) in 2012, four times that given in 2011. Overall, six different ministries will invest 100 billion won in stem-cell research this year. Until last year, public investment in stem…
Darwinian survival-of-the-fittest laws continue to shape human evolution in the modern age, research has shown.
From Barbara King at NPR’s 13:7, a blog set at the intersection of science and culture: There’s no language gene. There’s no innate language organ or module in the human brain dedicated to the production of grammatical language. There are no meaningful human universals when it comes to how people construct sentences to communicate with each other….
Alu elements infiltrated the ancestral primate genome about 65 million years ago. Once gained an Alu element is rarely lost so comparison of Alu between species can be used to map primate evolution and diversity. New research published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Mobile DNA has found a single Alu, which appears to be…
Thousands of years ago, farming spread across Europe and replaced the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of early inhabitants. Now a study of ancient DNA says that trend was driven by farmers moving from place to place. Scientists have long debated how farming expanded across Europe. Did farmers migrate? Did the idea of farming spread from culture to…
When we meet new people, we assess their character by watching their gestures and facial expressions. Now a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA suggests that those nonverbal cues are communicating the presence of a specific form of a gene that makes us more or less responsive to others’ needs….
Scientists have uncovered clues as to how our genomes became riddled with viruses, some dating back 100 million years. More than 90 per cent of every mammal’s genome has no known function, with much of this genetic ‘dark matter’ harboring pieces of DNA from ancient viruses that infected our ancestors. The new investigation, by researchers…