If you live long enough, you get cancer. But without our mutating, blundering cells, we’d never have made it out of the primordial soup. … More The Inevitability of Cancer and Why It Makes Us Great
Last weekend, the Wall Street Journal published a teaser of my new book Human Errors (available May 1st!), which you can read here. As soon as the article dropped, I began to receive emails about the article, mostly positive, but I also knew from years of blogging about human evolution that not everyone would be … More A Creationist Response to “Human Errors” (and my rebuttal)
Rhesus monkeys have an intricate social structure. There is a dominance hierarchy, meaning that not all individuals enjoy the same rank in the group. This also effects the value that individuals gain from each of their relationships. Obviously, having powerful allies is of great value. And to maintain a powerful position requires allies. These are all … More The Value of Social Relationships During Aging in Female Rhesus Macaques
When, how, and why do children lie and what can parents do to help them be truthful? … More Children and Lying
Evolutionary Psychology predicted it; Data now confirms it; Legalizing marijuana doesn’t increase teen drug use. … More Why Legalizing Marijuana Leads to a DROP in Teen Drug Use (hint: evolution)
Researchers have developed a new method to discover the precise genetic differences between humans and our ape relatives. … More A New Method to Detect Natural Selection in Genes
In a recent episode of This World of Humans, I interview Dr. Dan Graur of the University of Houston about his recent paper entitled, An Upper Limit on the Functional Fraction of the Human Genome. … More How much of our genome is junk?
A new study resolves an old dispute. Cat mothers DO recognize their own kittens by smell, even if they don’t favor them in retrieval tests. … More Cats Can Find Their Own Kittens by Smell; They Just Don’t Care
New research confirms that marmoset calls vary in different groups, showing that the calls are learned, not strictly biologically programmed. … More Even Marmosets Develop Regional Dialects
Hello subscribers of The Human Evolution Blog. I am happy to announce that I am now launching a new science podcast entitled, “This World of Humans.” TWOH will feature new discoveries in the areas of life and social science with an interview with the lead scientist and other guests. I will cover any new research … More Launch of My New Podcast: This World of Humans
