Tag: humans

Our brains might have more in common with an octopus than we’d like to believe, suggesting that famed evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins’ new paradigm is correct

Christian Twiste1 Comment

Almost everyone knows that an octopus is much smarter than we would expect for a boneless creature that lives in the ocean, but next to no one expected they would achieve their intelligence using some of the same genes and chemical processes we do. Octopi and their cephalopod cousins have long been regarded as unusually… Continue reading Our brains might have more in common with an octopus than we’d like to believe, suggesting that famed evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins’ new paradigm is correct

How a dog sees and navigates the world

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In many ways a dog navigates the same world as we do with shared systems and processes across our senses, but in others their reality is dramatically different with a sense of smell so powerful they can count molecules in the air and see ghosts. I can’t be the only dog lover who frequently looks… Continue reading How a dog sees and navigates the world

Big breakthroughs in the evolution of the brain and its connection to the stomach

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The human brain is the most complex object in the known universe, but key parts of its evolutionary history, from the earliest brains and nervous systems on the planet to more recent changes in our lineage, remain shrouded in mystery.  New studies shed light on both ends of the spectrum, answering an over one hundred… Continue reading Big breakthroughs in the evolution of the brain and its connection to the stomach

The increasingly cold grip of fall and the horror of near endless winter

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There’s no doubt fall can be beautiful and the first arrival of cold weather invigorating, but trees don’t lose their leaves because they want to.  Energy is scarce in winter, and all living things have been shaped by the timeless evolutionary challenge of how to spend it wisely, even ourselves. Unlike many, I can’t bring… Continue reading The increasingly cold grip of fall and the horror of near endless winter

Key moments in humanity’s early and more recent history remain written in our DNA

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Two new studies illuminate long standing mysteries in our evolutionary and cultural history.  Why were early humans smarter and more adaptable than our Neanderthal cousins even though their brains were about the same size?  When and where did the earliest Indo-European languages emerge leading to what about half the world speaks today?  DNA is a… Continue reading Key moments in humanity’s early and more recent history remain written in our DNA

The Origin of Humanity: One Gene, Two Days, a Three Times Larger Brain Than Our Cousins

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A groundbreaking new study demonstrates that a change to a single gene results in humans having three times bigger brains than our closest cousins, the great apes.  How evolution preserves and repurposes information in limitless ways, creating the incredible variety of life from small, measurable changes. The human brain is the most complex object in… Continue reading The Origin of Humanity: One Gene, Two Days, a Three Times Larger Brain Than Our Cousins