The chin is one of our most familiar features, yet scientists still debate why we evolved it. Here’s a breakdown of what we ...

New research suggests fire was key to making our bodies successful in evolution – but not in the ways we previously thought.

At some point in the deep past, humans may have come frighteningly close to disappearing altogether. Here’s what we know, ...

How did humans become human? Understanding when, where and in what environmental conditions our early ancestors lived is central to solving the puzzle of human evolution. Unfortunately, pinning down a ...

Shortly after the first human genome sequence was finalized in 2003, a chimpanzee assembly was released 2. This was followed by assemblies for other great apes, such as the gorilla 3, Sumatran ...

Human evolution is a long and winding tale that goes back millions of years, but one aspect of our anatomy shaped up quickly compared to other mammals: our large brains and flat faces. As these ...

The human body is a machine whose many parts – from the microscopic details of our cells to our limbs, eyes, liver and brain ...

Camille Berthelot is in the Department of Genomes and Genetics, the Pasteur Institute, Paris Cité University, CNRS UMR 3525, INSERM UA12, F-75015 Paris, France. Using an exceptionally rare collection ...

Human evolution may no longer be driven solely by genetics. A new study from the University of Maine suggests that culture is now playing a leading role, pushing humanity towards becoming a collective ...

In 1758, Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus gave humans a scientific name: Homo sapiens, which means "wise human" in Latin. Although Linnaeus grouped humans with other apes, it was English biologist ...

A new paper in Molecular Biology and Evolution, published by Oxford University Press, finds that the relatively high rate of Autism-spectrum disorders in humans is likely due to how humans evolved in ...

For thousands of years, humans have selectively bred dogs to fulfill specific roles, ranging from guarding and hunting to herding and companionship. This deliberate shaping of traits has resulted in ...