#humanevolution

devevo@diasp.org

#biology #HumanEvolution #HumanBrains #ChimpanzeeBrains
Our Bigger Brains Came With a Downside: Faster Aging
The darker green regions of the brain show the parts that have expanded the most during human evolution. A new study shows that they are the same sections that shrink the most during aging.Credit...Vickery et al., Science Advances, 2024
By Carl Zimmer
Aug. 28, 2024
A study comparing chimpanzee and human brains suggests that the regions that grew the most during human evolution are the most susceptible to aging.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/28/science/chimpanzee-brain-aging.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GU4.2NER.XsxfYAunBY8d

devevo@diasp.org

#biology #evolution #humanEvolution #Denisovan #papuan
Denisovan DNA Shaped Papuans’ Immune System, New Study Shows
Modern humans have admixed with multiple species of archaic hominins. Papuans, in particular, owe up to 5% of their genome to Denisovans, a sister group to Neanderthals whose remains have only been identified in Siberia and Tibet. In Papuans, Denisovan DNA strongly and consistently affects immune cells and immune-related processes of potential evolutionary relevance, according to new research.https://www.sci.news/genetics/denisovan-dna-papuans-immune-system-11464.html

devevo@diasp.org

#biology #evolution #humanevolution #neanderthals #Sibiria
Ancient Genomes Provide Insights into Social Organization of Neanderthals
Paleoanthropologists have explored the social organization of Neanderthals using ancient nuclear, Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA data from the remains of 13 individuals recovered from two sites — Chagyrskaya and Okladnikov caves — in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia.
https://www.sci.news/othersciences/anthropology/neanderthal-social-organization-11311.html

devevo@diasp.org

#biology #evolution #humanevolution #homobodoensis #homosapiens #anthropology
Meet Homo bodoensis, New Species of Human Ancestor
Homo bodoensis lived in Africa during the early Middle Pleistocene, around 500,000 years ago, and was the direct ancestor of the Homo sapiens lineage; however, this species was not the most recent common ancestor of Eurasian (Neanderthals and Denisovans) and African (Homo sapiens) hominins.
http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/anthropology/homo-bodoensis-10217.html

devevo@diasp.org

#biology #evolution #brains #ants #humanevolution
Ants Could Help Explain Why Our Brains Mysteriously Shrank Thousands of Years Ago
In the 6 million years since our ancestors first branched off from our ancient primate relatives, the volume of the human brain has nearly quadrupled.
What many people don't realize, however, is that sometime after the last ice age, that very brain actually began to shrink.
https://www.sciencealert.com/ants-could-help-explain-why-our-brains-mysteriously-shrank-thousands-of-years-ago

devevo@diasp.org

#evolution #humanevolution #denisovan

Philippine Ayta Magbukon People Have Highest Amount of Denisovan DNA in the World

New research led by Uppsala University scientists suggests that there were multiple archaic human species that inhabited the Philippines prior to the arrival of anatomically modern Homo sapiens and that these archaic groups may have been genetically related.

http://www.sci-news.com/genetics/ayta-magbukon-denisovan-dna-09957.html

devevo@diasp.org

#evolution #humanevolution #Homolongi

Homo longi is phylogenetically closer to Homo sapiens than to Neanderthals or other archaic humans, according to new research described in The Innovation.

A well-preserved ancient human fossil known as the Harbin cranium was reportedly discovered when a bridge was built over the Songhua River in Harbin City, the Heilongjiang province, China.
Because of its unsystematic recovery and the long time interval, information about the exact site and fossil layer was lost.
“The Harbin fossil is one of the most complete human cranial fossils in the world,” said Professor Qiang Ji, a paleontologist at Hebei GEO University.
“It preserved many morphological details that are critical for understanding the evolution of the Homo genus and the origin of Homo sapiens"...

http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/homo-longi-09804.html