ATH 101 Intro to Biologic Anthropology: Get Started

Drastic declines in biodiversity due to human activities present risks to understanding animal behaviors such as tool use, according to new research. Shrinking animal populations make the study of these behaviors increasingly difficult, underscoring the urgency of targeted conservation efforts and inclusive conservation strategies. Action is needed not only for research, but also to respect our shared cultural heritage with animal species.

Scientists have helped to construct a detailed timeline for bacterial evolution, suggesting some bacteria used oxygen long before evolving the ability to produce it through photosynthesis.

Using a mathematical model, researchers have shed new light on the transition from hunter-gatherer to farming societies. Rather than focusing exclusively on external factors, they looked at internal demographics and the significant impact of human interactions. The model identified potential societal outcomes based on demographic changes, emphasizing aspects such as migration rates, cultural assimilation and the role of mortality in these transitions. The researchers aim to further develop their model with the aim of making it a standard tool for studying historical demographic interactions.

An international team has sequenced the first ancient genomes from the so-called Green Sahara, a period when the largest desert in the world temporarily turned into a humid savanna-like environment. By analyzing the DNA of two 7,000-year-old naturally mummified individuals excavated in the Takarkori rock shelter in southwestern Libya, the team showed that they belonged to a long-isolated and now extinct North African human lineage.

Researchers have uncovered a complete Quina technological system in the Longtan site in southwest China. The discovery challenges the widely held perception that the Middle Paleolithic period was mostly static in East Asia.

Two specific genes that evolve exclusively in humans jointly influence the development of the cerebrum. Researchers have provided evidence that these genes contribute together to the evolutionary enlargement of the brain.

Biologists have discovered that bombesin, a neurohormone controlling appetite in humans, also regulates feeding in starfish, revealing its ancient evolutionary origin dating back over 500 million years. The study not only sheds light on the deep evolutionary roots of appetite regulation but also suggests potential applications for managing starfish invasions in shellfish farms impacted by climate change. Alongside weight-loss inducing drugs, compounds that mimic the action of bombesin are in development for treatment of obesity.

Modern humans descended from not one, but at least two ancestral populations that drifted apart and later reconnected, long before modern humans spread across the globe.