The gene that causes lighter skin pigmentation, SLC24A5, was introduced from eastern African to southern African populations just 2,000 years ago. Strong positive selection caused this gene to rise in ...

Two separate studies - both benefiting from ancient DNA - paint detailed pictures of the founding, migration, and evolution of human populations in Iceland and the Americas, respectively. More broadly ...

Scientists have identified a gene that appears to have evolved rapidly in people and contributed to the emergence of the uniquely human brain. Rather than coding for a protein, as about half of known ...

The migration routes and genetic makeup of the first Scandinavians have, however, previously been elusive. By sequencing the genomes of 7 hunter-gatherers excavated across Scandinavia and dated to be ...

A new analysis of lice genetic diversity suggests that lice came to the Americas twice – once during the first wave of human migration across the Bering Strait, and again during European colonization.

The process of migration of people from Siberia to South America involved an history of large climate changes and likely many population bottlenecks. Those factors are more important than time in ...

In 1976, Richard Dawkins published a book titled after an idea he’d come up with while teaching a lecture on animal behaviour for his PhD supervisor. It just so happened that the idea of The Selfish ...