Necrophagy: A means of survival in the Dead Sea
Studying organic matter in sediments helps shed light on the distant past. What was the climate like? What organisms populated the Earth?
Tag : Biology
Biology news and discoveries
Baboons provide new insights into the evolution of the genome
Recent studies suggest that closely related species can develop significant genetic and phenotypic differences throughout their evolution despite ongoing gene flow.
Artificial intelligence applied to the genome identifies an unknown human ancestor
By combining deep learning algorithms and statistical methods, investigators have identified, in the genome of Asiatic individuals, the footprint of a new hominid who cross bred
New, large sequence panel enables population genetics research in Africa
Geneticists have assembled the largest sets of African genomic data available to date, creating a resource that will help researchers understand the genetic structure of
Modern humans inherited viral defenses from Neanderthals
Neanderthals mysteriously disappeared about 40,000 years ago, but before vanishing they interbred with another human species that was just beginning its global spread.
Researchers reveal hidden rules of genetics for how life on Earth began
All living things use the genetic code to “translate” DNA-based genetic information into proteins, which are the main working molecules in cells. Precisely how the
Eating bone marrow played a key role in the evolution of the human hand
The strength required to access the high calorie content of bone marrow may have played a key role in the evolution of the human hand
First ancient syphilis genomes decoded
An international research team, including scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, the University of Tübingen, the National School of
The genes from Icelanda’s first settlers reveal the origin of their population in detail
In just over 1,000 years, Icelanders have gone through numerous changes in their gene pool, to the extent that Iceland's first settlers, who came to
Stone Age hepatitis B virus decoded
An international team of scientists led by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the University of Kiel has
Ancient origins of viruses discovered
Research published today in Nature has found that many of the viruses infecting us today have ancient evolutionary histories that date back to the first vertebrates and
Study identifies traces of indigenous ‘TaÃno’ in present-day Caribbean populations
A thousand-year-old tooth has provided genetic evidence that the so-called "TaÃno", the first indigenous Americans to feel the full impact of European colonisation after Columbus
Interdisciplinary approach yields new insights into human evolution
The evolution of human biology should be considered part and parcel with the evolution of humanity itself, proposes Nicole Creanza, assistant professor of biological sciences.
Possible cause of early colonial-era Mexican epidemic identified
An international team, led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (MPI-SHH), Harvard University and the Mexican National Institute
Ancient feces reveal parasites described in earliest Greek medical texts
Feces from prehistoric burials provide evidence for parasitic worms, as described in the writings of Hippocrates from 2500 years ago.
Genetics of ancient resistance to Inca Rule
The fate of indigenous populations was only noted down from Spanish records based largely on Inca oral histories. Writings by the major chroniclers of the time,
Could Squirrel trade have contributed to England’s medieval leprosy outbreak?
Genetic analysis of a pre-Norman skull unearthed in a garden in Hoxne, Suffolk, has added to a growing body of evidence that East Anglia may
How Neanderthals influenced human genetics at the crossroads of Asia and Europe
When the ancestors of modern humans migrated out of Africa, they passed through the Middle East and Turkey before heading deeper into Asia and Europe.
First large-scale ancient DNA study helps reconstruct African population structure
Africa has long been known as the 'cradle of mankind', but up to now, the genetic information has been largely derived from modern population studies.
Complex life evolved out of the chance coupling of small molecules
Complex life, as we know it, started completely by chance, with small strands of molecules linking up, which eventually would have given them the ability
Huge genetic diversity among Papuan New Guinean peoples revealed
The first large-scale genetic study of people in Papua New Guinea has shown that different groups within the country are genetically highly different from each
Molecular archaeology
Evolutionary biologists from Konstanz help solve puzzle of evolutionary relationships among vertebrates