The secret to human intelligence? It might be in our gut
A new study shows that changes in the gut microbiome can directly influence how the brain works, revealing a powerful connection between microbes and brain activity. Humans have the largest…
A legendary fossil is forcing scientists to rethink human origins
An international research team led by scientists from La Trobe University in Australia and the University of Cambridge is questioning how one of the most complete early human fossils has…
Type 2 diabetes physically changes the human heart, study finds
Researchers at the University of Sydney have uncovered new evidence showing that type 2 diabetes directly changes the heart’s structure and how it produces energy. These findings help explain why…
From poison to power: How lead exposure helped shape human intelligence
What made the modern human brain so different from that of our extinct relatives, such as Neanderthals? Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, along with…
Scientists build micromotors smaller than a human hair
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have made light-powered gears on a micrometer scale. This paves the way for the smallest on-chip motors in history, which can fit inside a…
Extinct human relatives left a genetic gift that helped people thrive in the Americas
A new study provides fresh evidence that ancient interbreeding with archaic human species may have provided modern humans with genetic variation that helped them adapt to new environments as they…
Strange ripples frozen in Mars’ sands could hold keys to human survival
On Mars, the past is written in stone — but the present is written in sand. Last week, Perseverance explored inactive megaripples to learn more about the wind-driven processes that…
Ancient fossil discovery in Ethiopia rewrites human origins
A team of international scientists has discovered new fossils at a field site in Africa that indicate Australopithecus, and the oldest specimens of Homo, coexisted at the same place in…
Lemurs age without inflammation—and it could change human health forever
What can lemurs tell us about inflammation and aging, aka “inflammaging” in humans? That’s the question Elaine Guevara, a biological anthropologist who studies the evolution of life history and aging…
Whispers in the womb: How cells “hear” to shape the human body
Like all complex organisms, every human originates from a single cell that multiplies through countless cell divisions. Thousands of cells coordinate, move and exert mechanical forces on each other as…