Stanford scientists have found that viral infections shaped human genome evolution after interbreeding with Neanderthals 50,000 years ago.
In a new book, Paul Ehrlich lays out the claim that modern life has been harmful to smaller jaws, which he says leads to problems ranging from heart disease to sleep apnea.
Researchers have assumed that "synonymous" mutations don't matter. Now it looks like they're among the most important for creating species diversity.
Like many others, I've been rewatching the "Game of Thrones" television series in preparation for the start of the seventh season later this month. So I …
This Sunday is Darwin Day, the 208th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday. As the great biologist Ernst Mayr wrote, “…no biologist has been responsible for …
In research published in Science, a Stanford-led international team used a new analytic technique to map recent evolution. The technique relies exclusively on the DNA sequences of …
Yeah, DNA, you’re pretty great. You know it, I know it, everybody knows it. Who hasn’t heard that you hold the blueprint for life, the …
Mutations in bacterial genomes are thought to occur at a relatively fixed rate, with a random mix of helpful, harmful and neutral mutations. But a study …
Neanderthals are the real-life version of aliens from another planet, different but also fascinatingly intelligent and similar to us. Now it’s starting to look as …
Ironically, while driving to work this morning I was thinking about the first time I spotted my future husband. At the time, I would have …
Forty thousand years ago, the last Neanderthal men and women died out, leaving modern humans alone on a planet they inherited from an entire family …
A tiny armored fish may seem like an unlikely experimental animal to someone interested in understanding how humans may have evolved to walk on two legs. …
Our nearest primate relative, the chimpanzee, shares much of its genome with us. And yet, despite the astounding similarities in our DNA sequences, it's not …
Welcome to Biomed Bites, a weekly feature that introduces readers to some of Stanford’s most innovative researchers. Some of the world's best known viruses use …
Imagine a prehistoric human mother raising her baby outside of any community or family structure, with no help from others. It sure doesn't fit with …
When we think of what makes us human, it's common to think of something like language or tool-making. Something that likely doesn't pop into mind is the chin - …
