November 5, 2010 - Original Source: ScienceDaily Evolutionary divergence of humans and chimpanzees likely occurred some 8 million years ago rather than the 5 million year estimate widely accepted by scientists, a new statistical model suggests. The revised estimate of when the human species parted ways from its closest primate relatives should enable scientists to better [...]
September 22, 2010 – Original Source: ScienceDaily For decades scientists believed Neanderthals developed `modern’ tools and ornaments solely through contact with Homo sapiens, but new research from the University of Colorado Denver now shows these sturdy ancients could adapt, innovate and evolve technology on their own. The findings by anthropologist Julien Riel-Salvatore challenge a half-century [...]
August 17, 2010 – Original Source: ScienceDaily The most robust statistical examination to date of our species’ genetic links to “mitochondrial Eve” — the maternal ancestor of all living humans — confirms that she lived about 200,000 years ago. The Rice University study was based on a side-by-side comparison of 10 human genetic models that [...]
March 24, 2010 – Original Source: New Scientist The human family tree may be in for a dramatic rewrite. DNA collected from a fossilised finger bone from Siberia shows it belonged to a mysterious ancient hominid – perhaps a new species. “X-woman”, as the creature has been named, last shared an ancestor with humans and [...]
April 8, 2010 – Original Source: Cosmic Log, MSNBC Rock partially encases the cranium of a juvenile male representing the species designated Australopithecus sediba. The skull was found in a South African cave. Brett Eloff / Courtesy of Lee Berger, Univ. of the Witwatersrand Well-preserved fossils found in a South African cave pit mark an important [...]
March 24, 2010 – Original Source: ScienceNews A new member of the human evolutionary family has been proposed for the first time based on an ancient genetic sequence, not fossil bones. Even more surprising, this novel and still mysterious hominid, if confirmed, would have lived near Stone Age Neandertals and Homo sapiens. “It was a [...]
March 24, 2010 – Original Source: Cosmic Log, MSNBC Skulls of early Homo sapiens (right) and a Neanderthal (left, in background) sit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Scientists say a third hominin group may have co-existed with those two groups 40,000 years ago. Click on the image to learn more about human [...]
