The famous insect biologist, Edward O. Wilson, who died this week once said, “There is a need for a discipline of anthropological genetics.” Indeed, in the past few decades, the growing efficiency and ...

In the last decade, archaeologists have learned to read the genetic traces that ancient humans and Neanderthals left not only ...

Zoologist Melissa Hawkins uses museum specimens and field expeditions to study rodents and primates Tess Joosse Every Groundhog Day, millions in North America wait for a small brown rodent to predict ...

The oldest sediment DNA discovered so far comes from Greenland and is 2 million years old.

A genetic analysis of dozens of ancient skeletons from East Africa helps pin down the origins of coastal Swahili society. By Elie Dolgin A long history of mercantile trade along the eastern shores of ...

Malaria is often considered a tropical disease, but data hidden in historical human remains has shed new light on the parasite's world travels. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn ...

What does it mean to be human? For a long time, the answer seemed clear. Our species, Homo sapiens — with our complex thoughts and deep emotions — were the only true humans to ever walk the Earth.

Two new articles are rewriting history with the first full-length genomes for homosporous ferns, a large group that contains 99% of all modern fern diversity. Ferns are notorious for containing ...

Ancient DNA provides an insight into Pompeii life and its residents, contradicting what we thought we knew about the small Roman town. Nearly 2000 years ago, Mount Vesuvius (Campania, Italy) erupted ...

Across three studies, Iosif Lazaridis, David Reich, and colleagues present a comprehensive genomic history of the so-called “Southern Arc,” a region spanning southeastern Europe and Western Asia and ...

Researchers have reconstructed ancient human genomes from southernmost Africa, shedding new light on early human history in a region known for its rich archaeological past. The DNA of 13 individuals ...