Kissing, for all popularity, is a bit of a mystery. Scientists have long debated when humans’ ancestors first put their lips together, and whether the act is simply a cultural trait. A new study ...

If I asked you to imagine your dream snog, chances are it wouldn't be with a Neanderthal; burly and hirsute as they may be. However, my team's new research suggests that these squat beefcakes might ...

To Shakespeare’s Hamlet we humans are “the paragon of animals”. But recent advances in genetics are suggesting that humans are far from being evolution’s greatest achievement. For example, humans have ...

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 ...

The original evolution of hominins (modern humans and their evolutionary ancestors since the split with other great apes) took place in Africa about 7 million years ago, based on the fossil record.

Africa has long been known as the cradle of humanity. Fossils, tools and genetics all point there. Yet the deeper story of how the first modern humans lived, moved and mixed has stayed blurry. Too ...

Introduction. Rethinking the human revolution: Eurasian and African perspectives / Paul Mellars -- pt. 1. Biological and demographic perspectives on modern human origins. The origin and dispersal of ...

Today I return to the question I asked in my May post: what would neuroscientists say about the idea that dancing evolved as a practice for helping people exercise the very capacity that enabled them ...

Lead exposure has been thought to be a uniquely modern phenomenon. Exposure to lead by ancient humans could have given modern humans a survival advantage over other species – more specifically, their ...