http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/human_evolution/ Findings in human evolution. Read science articles on early humans, human and primate genetics and more. Articles and photos. en-us Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:05:01 EST Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/human_evolution/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120207133602.htm Scientists have completed the genome sequence of a Denisovan, a representative of an Asian group of extinct humans related to Neanderthals. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:36:36 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120207133602.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120207100143.htm Although many anthropologists believe that modern humans ancestors "wiped out" Neanderthals, it's more likely that Neanderthals were integrated into the human gene pool thousands of years ago during the Upper Pleistocene era as cultural and climatic forces brought the two groups together. New research suggests that the Neanderthals demise was due to a combination of influences, including cultural changes. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:01:01 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120207100143.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130130841.htm Genetic mutations that boost an individual's adaptability have greater chances of getting through to X chromosomes -- at least in chimpanzees, according to new Danish research. An analysis of the genes of 12 chimpanzees has now demonstrated that the chimpanzee X chromosome plays a very special role in the animal's evolutionary development. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:08:08 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130130841.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126123705.htm A new study, using genetic analysis to look for clues about human migration over sixty thousand years ago, suggests that the first modern humans settled in Arabia on their way from the Horn of Africa to the rest of the world. Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:37:37 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126123705.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124092742.htm New published research from anthropologists in the UK supports the long-held theory that early human ancestors across Africa, Western Asia and Europe engineered their stone tools.  Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:27:27 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124092742.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120113210347.htm Based on a hominid molar, scientists from Germany, Bulgaria and France have documented that great apes survived in Europe in savannah-like landscapes until seven million years ago. Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:03:03 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120113210347.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120112134321.htm A team of geneticists and computational biologists have reveal how an ancient mechanism is involved in gene control and continues to drive genome evolution. Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:43:43 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120112134321.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111222161213.htm Changes in social structure and cultural practices can also contribute to human evolution, according to a new study. Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:12:12 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111222161213.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111219102230.htm Chinese scientists have announced the first complete sequencing of Mongolian genome. Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:22:22 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111219102230.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111214101818.htm High-tech medical imaging techniques were recently used to access internal structures of fossil human skulls. Researchers used sophisticated 3-D methods to quantify the shape of the basal brain as reflected in the morphology of the skeletal cranial base. Their findings reveal that the human temporal lobes, involved in language, memory and social functions as well as the olfactory bulbs are relatively larger in Homo sapiens than in Neanderthals. Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:18:18 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111214101818.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111212124606.htm Scientists have connected evidence about diet with other cultural and anatomical clues to conclude that the disappearance of the elephants led to the emergence of Homo sapiens in the Middle East much earlier than first suspected. The findings set the stage for a new, revolutionary understanding of human history. Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:46:46 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111212124606.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111109131304.htm The so-called expensive-tissue hypothesis, which suggests a trade-off between the size of the brain and the size of the digestive tract, has been challenged. Researchers have now shown that brains in mammals have grown over the course of evolution without the digestive organs having to become smaller. The researchers have further demonstrated that the potential to store fat often goes hand in hand with relatively small brains -- except in humans, who owe their increased energy intake and correspondingly large brain to communal child care, better diet and their ability to walk upright. Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:13:13 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111109131304.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111103143237.htm The first individuals settling on new land are more successful at passing on their genes than those who did not migrate, according to new research. Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:32:32 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111103143237.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111031154119.htm During human evolution our ancestors mated with Neanderthals, but also with other related hominids. Researchers have now shown that people in East Asia share genetic material with Denisovans, who got the name from the cave in Siberia where they were first found. Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:41:41 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111031154119.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111019185817.htm Osteoporosis is blamed for backbone fractures. The real culprit could well be our own vertebrae, which evolved to absorb the pounding of upright walking, researchers say. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:58:58 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111019185817.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111019182044.htm Young genes that appeared since the primate branch split from other mammal species are expressed in unique structures of the developing human brain, a new analysis finds. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:20:20 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111019182044.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111017111610.htm Archaeologists report that large numbers of long, slender cutting tools were discovered at the Qesem Cave outside Tel Aviv. They report that every element of the system points to a sophisticated tool "production line" to rival technologies used hundreds of thousands of years later. Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111017111610.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111010173015.htm Researchers say that losing the ability to make a particular kind of sugar molecule boosted disease protection in early hominids, and may have directed the evolutionary emergence of our ancestors, the genus Homo. Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:30:30 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111010173015.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111004180106.htm A study into the muscle development of several different fish has given insights into the genetic leap that set the scene for the evolution of hind legs in terrestrial animals. This innovation gave rise to the tetrapods -- four-legged creatures, and our distant ancestors -- that made the first small steps on land some 400 million years ago. Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:01:01 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111004180106.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110926102801.htm The discovery by Russian archaeologists of the remains of an extinct prehistoric human during the excavation of Denisova Cave in Southern Siberia in 2008 was nothing short of a scientific sensation. The sequencing of the nuclear genome taken from an over 30,000-year-old finger bone revealed that Denisova man was neither a Neanderthal nor modern human, but a new form of hominin. Minute traces of the Denisova genome are still found in some individuals living today. The comparisons of the DNA of modern humans and prehistoric human species provide new indications of how human populations settled in Asia over 44,000 years ago. Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:28:28 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110926102801.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110922141905.htm Researchers have for the first time sequenced the genome of a man who was an Aboriginal Australian. They have shown that modern day Aboriginal Australians are the direct descendents of the first people who arrived on the continent some 50,000 years ago and that those ancestors left Africa earlier than their European and Asian counterparts. Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:19:19 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110922141905.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110922141858.htm In an exciting development, researchers have, for the first time, pieced together the human genome from an Aboriginal Australian. The results re-interpret the prehistory of our species. Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:18:18 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110922141858.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110922121405.htm Researchers studying DNA patterns from modern and archaic humans has found that the Denisovans, a recently discovered hominin group, contributed genes to several populations in Asia and that modern humans settled Asia in more than one migration. Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:14:14 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110922121405.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110921120122.htm Researchers are utilizing the complete genome sequences of people alive today to shed light on events at the dawn of human history, such as the times of divergence of early human populations and of the "out of Africa" migration of the ancestors of modern Europeans, Asians and other non-African groups. Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:01:01 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110921120122.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110921115910.htm Researchers have found that periods of rapid fluctuation in temperature coincided with the emergence of the first distant relatives of human beings and the appearance and spread of stone tools. Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:59:59 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110921115910.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915131654.htm Scientists published the first quantitative evidence supporting the notion that genome-wide "bookmarking" of DNA with methyl molecules -- a process called methylation -- and underlying DNA sequences have co-evolved in a kind of molecular slow-dance over the 6 million years since humans and chimps diverged from a common ancestor. Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915131654.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908161446.htm The Australopithecus sediba discovered in 2008 could be the direct ancestor of the Homo genus. That is the conclusion of an international team of scientists. The researchers describe in five papers why their finding is more likely to come into consideration than earlier discoveries, like Homo habilis. Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:14:14 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908161446.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908124509.htm An analysis of a skull from the most complete early hominid fossils ever found suggests the large, complex human brain may have evolved more rapidly and at a later time than some other human characteristics. If Australopithecus sediba is a human ancestor, as some suggest, then its fossils could help resolve long-standing debates about human brain evolution, say researchers. Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:45:45 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908124509.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104238.htm Researchers have confirmed the age of possibly our oldest direct human ancestor at 1.98 million years old. Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:42:42 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104238.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104203.htm Skeletal remains found in a South African cave may yield new clues to human development and answer key questions of the evolution of the human lineage, according to a new series of papers. Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:42:42 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104203.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104201.htm Hand bones from a single individual with a clear taxonomic affiliation are scarce in the hominin fossil record, which has hampered understanding of the evolution of manipulative abilities in hominins. An international team of researchers has now published a study that describes the earliest, most complete fossil hominin hand post-dating the appearance of stone tools in the archaeological record, the hand of a 1.98-million-year-old Australopithecus sediba from Malapa, South Africa. Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:42:42 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104201.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104159.htm Researchers have revealed new details about the brain, pelvis, hands and feet of Australopithecus sediba, a primitive hominin that existed around the same time early Homo species first began to appear on Earth. Due to the "mosaic" nature of the hominin's features, researchers are now suggesting that Au. sediba is the best candidate for an ancestor to the Homo genus. Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:41:41 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104159.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104157.htm A new paper preveals an accurate, high-resolution X-ray scan of the brain case of Australopithecus sediba, an early human ancestor. The overall shape of the endocast resembles humans more than chimpanzees which, combined with the brain's small volume, is consistent with a model of gradual neural (brain) reorganization in the front part of the brain. Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:41:41 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104157.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104016.htm A series of papers based on new evidence pertaining to various aspects of the anatomy of the species Australopithecus sediba reveals new, important elements attributed to Au. Sediba, the two type skeletons -- an analysis of the most complete hand ever described in an early hominin, the most complete undistorted pelvis ever discovered, the most accurate scan of an early human ancestors brain, new pieces of the foot and ankle, and one of the most accurate dates ever achieved for an early hominin site in Africa. Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:40:40 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104016.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110907171533.htm That seems to be the takeaway from new research that concludes "archaic" humans, somewhere in Africa during the last 20-60 thousand years, interbred with anatomically modern humans and transferred small amounts of genetic material to their offspring who are alive today. University of Arizona geneticist Michael Hammer and a team of evolutionary biologists, geneticists and mathematicians report the finding in today's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:15:15 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110907171533.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110907163921.htm An endangered species, Przewalski's horse, is much more distantly related to the domestic horse and has a much more diverse gene pool than researchers previously had hypothesized, researchers report. The new study's findings could be used to inform conservation efforts to save the endangered species, of which only 2,000 individuals remain in parts of China and Mongolia, and in wildlife reserves in California and the Ukraine. Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:39:39 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110907163921.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110906161634.htm Our genetic blueprint contains numerous entities known as transposons, which have the ability to move from place to place on the chromosomes within a cell. An astounding 50 percent of human DNA comprises both active transposon elements and the decaying remains of former transposons. Every time a plant or animal cell prepares to divide, the chromosome regions richest in transposon-derived sequences are among the last to duplicate. New research provides potential insight into both these enigmas. Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110906161634.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110905160918.htm Anatomically modern humans interbred with more archaic hominin forms even before they migrated out of Africa, a team of researchers has found. The discovery suggests genetic exchange with their more morphologically diverged neighbors was more widespread than previously thought and all humans today may carry genes from now-extinct Homo species. Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:09:09 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110905160918.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110831205942.htm A new study suggests that Homo erectus, a precursor to modern humans, was using advanced toolmaking methods in East Africa 1.8 million years ago, at least 300,000 years earlier than previously thought. The study raises new questions about where these tall and slender early humans originated and how they developed sophisticated tool-making technology. Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:59:59 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110831205942.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110825141635.htm For a few years now, scientists have known that humans and their evolutionary cousins had some casual flings, but now it appears that these liaisons led to a more meaningful relationship. Interbreeding between modern humans and close relatives -- including Neanderthals and the recently discovered Denisovans -- has endowed some human gene pools with beneficial versions of immune system genes, researchers report in a new study. Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110825141635.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110809083240.htm Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell. They are thought to have evolved more than a billion years ago from primitive bacterium which was engulfed by an early eukaryotic cell resulting in endosymbiotic relationships between the host cell and the newly formed organelle. During evolution the vast majority of the mitochondrial genetic material left the organelle and got integrated into the nucleus of the host cell. Hence, most of the mitochondrial proteins are synthesized outside of the organelle and have to be imported into the various internal mitochondrial compartments. Tue, 09 Aug 2011 08:32:32 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110809083240.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110803133505.htm Scientists have used chemical isotopes in ancient soil to measure prehistoric tree cover -- in effect, shade -- and found that grassy, tree-dotted savannas prevailed at most East African sites where human ancestors and their ape relatives evolved during the past 6 million years. Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:35:35 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110803133505.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110728144928.htm New research sheds light on why, after 300,000 years of domination, European Neanderthals abruptly disappeared. Researchers have discovered that modern humans coming from Africa swarmed the region, arriving with over ten times the population as the Neanderthal inhabitants. Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:49:49 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110728144928.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110719194356.htm Scientists have found that ancient footprints in Laetoli, Tanzania, show that human-like features of the feet and gait existed almost two million years earlier than previously thought. Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:43:43 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110719194356.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110719171545.htm Since Charles Darwin's publication of "The Origin of Species," evolutionary theory has become the bedrock of modern biology, yet its application to the understanding of the human mind remains controversial. For the past 30 years, evolutionary interpretation of human cognition has been dominated by the field of evolutionary psychology -- a field based on a set of widely held assumptions, which are now being questioned by new findings and approaches from genetics, neuroscience and evolutionary biology. Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:15:15 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110719171545.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110718085329.htm Some of the human X chromosome originates from Neanderthals and is found exclusively in people outside Africa, new research shows. Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:53:53 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110718085329.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110713131419.htm Researchers have probed deeper into human evolution by developing an elegant new technique to analyze whole genomes from different populations. One key finding is that African and non-African populations continued to exchange genetic material well after migration out of Africa 60,000 years ago. This infers that interbreeding between these groups continued long after the original exodus. Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:14:14 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110713131419.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110629181853.htm Modern humans never co-existed with Homo erectus -- a finding counter to previous hypotheses of human evolution -- new excavations in Indonesia and dating analyses show. The research offers new insights into the nature of human evolution, suggesting a different role for Homo erectus than had been previously thought. Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:18:18 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110629181853.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110621093308.htm Advanced crafting of stone spearheads contributed to the development of new ways of human thinking and behaving. The technology took a long time to acquire, required step by step planning and increased social interaction across the generations. This led to the human brain developing new abilities, according to archeologists. Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:33:33 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110621093308.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110531085004.htm A DNA-based study sheds new light on the complex evolutionary history of the woolly mammoth, suggesting it mated with a completely different and much larger species. The research found the woolly mammoth, which lived in the cold climate of the Arctic tundra, interbred with the Columbian mammoth, which preferred the more temperate regions of North America and was some 25 percent larger. Tue, 31 May 2011 08:50:50 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110531085004.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110525214316.htm Fossils from so-called Peking man are extremely rare, as most of the finds disappeared during World War II. A unique discovery has been made at the Museum of Evolution at Uppsala University -- a canine tooth from Peking Man, untouched since it was dug up in the 1920s in China. Wed, 25 May 2011 21:43:43 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110525214316.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110513112527.htm Remains found near the Arctic Circle characteristic of Mousterian culture have recently been dated at over 28,500 years old, which is more than 8,000 years after Neanderthals are thought to have disappeared. This unexpected discovery challenges previous theories. Fri, 13 May 2011 11:25:25 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110513112527.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110502151343.htm For decades, a 2.3-million- to 1.2-million-year-old human relative named Paranthropus boisei has been nicknamed Nutcracker Man because of his big, flat molar teeth and thick, powerful jaw. But a definitive new study shows that Nutcracker Man didn't eat nuts, but instead chewed grasses and possibly sedges -- a discovery that upsets conventional wisdom about early humanity's diet. Mon, 02 May 2011 15:13:13 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110502151343.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110419131543.htm Markings on fossilized front teeth show that right-handedness goes back a half-million years in the human family. Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:15:15 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110419131543.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110317172047.htm A robust new phylogenetic tree resolves many long-standing issues in primate taxonomy. The genomes of living primates harbor remarkable differences in diversity and provide an intriguing context for interpreting human evolution. The phylogenetic analysis was conducted by international researchers to determine the origin, evolution, patterns of speciation, and unique features in genome divergence among primate lineages. Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:20:20 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110317172047.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110314152917.htm A new study shows clear evidence of the continuous control of fire by Neanderthals in Europe dating back roughly 400,000 years, yet another indication that they weren't dimwitted brutes as often portrayed. But Neanderthal predecessors pushed into cold regions of Europe at least 800,000 years ago without the use of fire. Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:29:29 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110314152917.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110307101504.htm Anthropologists have confirmed Charles Darwin's speculation that the evolution of unique features in the human hand was influenced by increased tool use in our ancestors. Mon, 07 Mar 2011 10:15:15 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110307101504.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110222192828.htm It has long been debated as to whether the transition from a largely hunter-gatherer to an agricultural subsistence strategy in Europe was the result of the migration of farmers from the Near East and Anatolia, or whether this transition was primarily cultural in nature. A new study suggests that the prehistoric adoption of farming practices in outlying regions of Europe, Scandinavia, the Baltic, European Russia and the Ukraine, was the result of cultural diffusion. The new study uses measurements of skulls of hunter-gathering (Mesolithic) and early farming (Neolithic) prehistoric populations from Europe, Near East and Anatolia to find answers. Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:28:28 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110222192828.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110217141307.htm The most popular model used by geneticists for the last 35 years to detect the footprints of human evolution may overlook more common subtle changes, a new study finds. A computational analysis reveals that selective sweeps may have been rare, with little influence on the history of our species. Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:13:13 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110217141307.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110214201850.htm New research suggests that "behavioral modernity" is a flawed concept. In truth, early humans were not much different from us, an archaeologist argues. Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:18:18 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110214201850.htm