How AI Could Shape Human Evolution in Subtle Yet Profound Ways

Summary: Artificial intelligence is becoming a pivotal force in human lives, prompting questions about its evolutionary effects. A new study explores how AI may influence human evolution through everyday interactions,…

How Hunter-Gatherer Kids Learn Lifelong Skills by Age Six

Summary: Hunter-gatherer children in the Congo Basin learn critical skills like hunting, gathering, and childcare by age six or seven, thanks to a unique social learning environment. Unlike Western societies,…

Why Human Culture Never Stops Evolving

Summary: A new study proposes that human culture’s unique power lies not in its ability to accumulate knowledge, as once thought, but in its “open-endedness.” Unlike animal cultures that reach…

Cooperative Care Influences Brain Development in Humans and Marmosets

Summary: Cooperative breeding influences brain development in common marmosets and humans, allowing longer periods for social learning. Marmoset brains, like human brains, develop socio-cognitive regions slowly, maturing in early adulthood.…

AI Unveils Evolutionary Patterns Predicted by Darwin and Wallace

Summary: A novel AI-powered study explores evolutionary differences between male and female birdwing butterflies, shedding new light on a historical debate between Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Using machine…

First Neandertal with Down Syndrome: Evidence of Altruistic Care in Prehistory

Summary: A new study documents the first case of Down syndrome in a Neandertal child named “Tina,” found in Spain. Despite severe hearing loss and vertigo, Tina survived to at…

Why does temperature determine sex in long-lived reptiles? – Functional Ecologists

In this blog post, Samantha Bock, a post-doctoral researcher, discusses her study “Differential early-life survival underlies the adaptive significance of temperature-dependent sex determination in a long-lived reptile“, which has been…

Apes’ Long-Term Social Memory Mirrors Human Ability

Summary: A new study reveals that apes possess a remarkably long-lasting social memory, comparable to humans. Researchers found that chimpanzees and bonobos can recognize former groupmates they haven’t seen for…

Adversity, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Evolution: The Reproductive Trade-off Theory

Summary: A new study examines the association of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) with early life adversity and its potential influence on immediate reproductive strategies over somatic health. Using a sample…

Inside the feeding behavior of a pollinivore – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, Laura Bellec—a new ecological researcher working at the Univ Rennes 1, Rennes, France—discusses her paper: Factors driving the within-plant patterns of resource exploitation in a herbivore—recently…