A 2022 attempt at creating a sweeping family tree for the human race, and at least three others, reached back 2 million years, long before Homo sapiens are believed to have originated in Africa 200,000 years ago.The study from Oxford’s Big Data Institute drew on 3,601 human genomes taken from several modern databases, eight ancient individuals and 3,589 more ancient samples derived from 100 other studies. Using specialized algorithms, the researchers fleshed out the tree further, adding limbs ...read more

This article was originally published on November 3, 2022. Ada Byron was on her best behavior when first presented to the British Royal Court — though she found the event and its attendees to be underwhelming. A few weeks later, however, the 17-year-old accompanied her mother to a mathematics lecture. That event captured her imagination and changed her life.Within the next decade, she married and became Ada King, Countess of Lovelace. But historians remember her as Ada Lovelace, a computer sci ...read more

​​Forensic science is supposed to be a scientific process. But for decades, critics have complained evidence isn’t always evaluated in a laboratory setting, and empirical studies don’t back the methods of analysis.The consequences for faulty forensic evidence have been severe. Forty-five percent of wrongful convictions that were later overturned due to DNA evidence were found to be the result of inaccurate evidence. Advocacy groups such as the Innocence Project argue that many forensic t ...read more

Maybe you became a brussels sprouts convert in your late teens. Or perhaps you were addicted to the sweet stuff — specifically, candy — as a kid, only to grow out of it later. It might have taken until adulthood for you to start craving bitter foods and drinks like sautéed kale or a martini with olives.It’s a familiar story, right? Although we all have our own unique preferences, most of us gravitate towards sweeter things and avoid bitter-tasting foods when we’re children, then develop ...read more

The class of psychotropic drugs is a big one, and you may be surprised by some of the substances included in this group. Psychotropic drugs affect your mental state, including your thoughts, perceptions, mood and behavior.When you hear the words ‘psychotropic drugs,’ what comes to mind might be something like LSD or mescaline. Those drugs fall broadly into that category. But so does caffeine. What Are Psychotropic Drugs?For the most part, when we talk about psychotropic drugs, we talk abou ...read more

One of the scariest things about an earthquake is not how much damage it creates but when and where it will strike next. The start of 2023 has already brought significant tremor activity, with February quakes in Turkey and Syria killing tens of thousands of people.Many experts predict this type of destructive earthquake activity will only continue, threatening other at-risk areas around the globe.Although scientists cannot predict when an earthquake may strike, many are developing sensitive devi ...read more

Women make up a significant majority of those living with dementia today. In the U.S., for example, roughly two-thirds of the 6 million-plus people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s dementia are women.While the whys behind this sex-based trend remain uncertain, research is underway to test many potential factors and contributors.Until we know more, the signs and symptoms of dementia in women remain the same as those exhibited in anyone else, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.Greater Burden o ...read more

When the first fossilized fragments of dinosaur eggshells were discovered and described around 1860, most individuals — including most scientists — were wholly unaware of what the dinosaurs were, not to mention the ways that the dinosaurs were born. It wasn’t until 1920 or so that scientists described dinosaur eggshells as dinosaur eggshells for the first time.In the years since then, the occasional discoveries of eggs and eggshells have become one of the best windows into the way that bab ...read more

Following a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, just over a month ago, authorities carried out a controlled release of the toxic vinyl chloride gas into the atmosphere to prevent a massive explosion. There are now concerns about air, soil and water pollution because of the derailment.The Environmental Protection Agency said that about 20 rail cars carried hazardous materials when the train came off its tracks. While many officials have said the area is safe, residents remain wary of possib ...read more

Whether it’s a whimper when they need to pee or those classic puppy eyes when they want food, dogs have many tactics for communicating with their owners.What we may not realize, however, is the intentionality behind some of these actions.Researchers have probed this world of dog communication — which has evolved over thousands of years in domestication with humans — and are beginning to interpret their barks and ploys for attention.The Basis of a Dog BarkingWhile dog barks may seem simple ...read more