Matter Years of Education Influenced by Genetic Makeup, Enormous Study Finds More than a thousand variations in DNA were involved in how long people stayed in school, but the effect of each gene was weak, and the data did not predict educational attainment for individuals. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter Archaeologists in China Discover the Oldest Stone Tools Outside Africa Chipped rocks found in western China indicate that human ancestors ventured from Africa earlier than previously believed. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter How Long Can We Live? The Limit Hasn’t Been Reached, Study Finds The mortality rate flattens among the oldest of the old, a study of elderly Italians concludes, suggesting that the oldest humans have not yet reached the limits of life span. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter A Crispr Conundrum: How Cells Fend Off Gene Editing Scientists may need to bypass a cell’s cancer defenses in order to successfully edit its DNA. The finding raises questions about gene-editing advances. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter Hot Heads: Why Mammals Need R.E.M. Sleep Sleeping fur seals toggle between two brain patterns: one while at sea, the other on land. Researchers suggest that R.E.M. sleep serves to warm the brain. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter The Great Breakup: The First Arrivals to the Americas Split Into Two Groups The earliest populations in the Americas would not mingle again for thousands of years. Why they separated is still a mystery. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter Every Cell in Your Body Has the Same DNA. Except It Doesn’t. The genome obviously varies from person to person. But it can also vary from cell to cell, even within the same individual. The implications of “mosaicism” are enormous. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter In Ancient Skeletons, Scientists Discover a Modern Foe: Hepatitis B From 15 sets of skeletal remains, researchers have recovered DNA from the oldest viruses known to have infected humans — and have resurrected some strains in the laboratory. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter The Very First Animal Appeared Amid an Explosion of DNA Nobody knows what the first animal looked like. But many of its genes are still present in humans today. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter Hints of Human Evolution in Chimpanzees That Endure a Savanna’s Heat The apes of Senegal’s Fongoli savanna may offer hints to how our own ancestors moved out of the woodlands, shed their fur and started walking upright. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter Bodies Remodeled for a Life at Sea The Bajau, who spend most of their time on the ocean, are among the best divers in the world. Evolution is remaking them, a new study finds. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter All by Itself, the Humble Sweet Potato Colonized the World Many botanists argued that humans must have carried the valuable staple to the Pacific from South America. Not so, according to a new study. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter A Few Species of Frogs That Vanished May Be on the Rebound A new study in Panama finds some types of frogs are returning, after being decimated by a deadly fungus that has vanquished amphibians around the world. By CARL ZIMMER
Chile and Its Scientists Protest Research on Tiny Mummy The Chilean government said it would start an inquiry into whether the remains of a tiny baby girl were illegally exhumed and smuggled out of the country. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter Was a Tiny Mummy in the Atacama an Alien? No, but the Real Story Is Almost as Strange Known as “Ata,” the six-inch-long skeleton was discovered in Chile and may have had genetic mutations causing a bone disorder never before documented. By CARL ZIMMER
Profiles in Science David Reich Unearths Human History Etched in Bone The geneticist at Harvard Medical School has retrieved DNA from more than 900 ancient people. His findings trace the prehistoric migrations of our species. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter What’s Behind Many Mystery Ailments? Genetic Mutations, Study Finds An examination of 20,000 patients finds that more than 800 may have genetic conditions. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter How One Child’s Sickle Cell Mutation Helped Protect the World From Malaria The genetic mutation arose 7,300 years ago in just one person in West Africa, scientists reported on Thursday. Its advantage: a shield against rampant malaria. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter Neanderthals, the World’s First Misunderstood Artists Cave paintings in Spain were made by Neanderthals, not modern humans, archaeologists reported. The finding adds to evidence that Neanderthals were capable of symbolic thought and perhaps language. By CARL ZIMMER
‘Cheddar Man,’ Britain’s Oldest Skeleton, Had Dark Skin, DNA Shows New research adds to a growing body of evidence showing how the British Isles received waves of immigrants over tens of thousands of years. By CEYLAN YEGINSU and CARL ZIMMER
Matter Years of Education Influenced by Genetic Makeup, Enormous Study Finds More than a thousand variations in DNA were involved in how long people stayed in school, but the effect of each gene was weak, and the data did not predict educational attainment for individuals. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter Archaeologists in China Discover the Oldest Stone Tools Outside Africa Chipped rocks found in western China indicate that human ancestors ventured from Africa earlier than previously believed. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter How Long Can We Live? The Limit Hasn’t Been Reached, Study Finds The mortality rate flattens among the oldest of the old, a study of elderly Italians concludes, suggesting that the oldest humans have not yet reached the limits of life span. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter A Crispr Conundrum: How Cells Fend Off Gene Editing Scientists may need to bypass a cell’s cancer defenses in order to successfully edit its DNA. The finding raises questions about gene-editing advances. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter Hot Heads: Why Mammals Need R.E.M. Sleep Sleeping fur seals toggle between two brain patterns: one while at sea, the other on land. Researchers suggest that R.E.M. sleep serves to warm the brain. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter The Great Breakup: The First Arrivals to the Americas Split Into Two Groups The earliest populations in the Americas would not mingle again for thousands of years. Why they separated is still a mystery. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter Every Cell in Your Body Has the Same DNA. Except It Doesn’t. The genome obviously varies from person to person. But it can also vary from cell to cell, even within the same individual. The implications of “mosaicism” are enormous. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter In Ancient Skeletons, Scientists Discover a Modern Foe: Hepatitis B From 15 sets of skeletal remains, researchers have recovered DNA from the oldest viruses known to have infected humans — and have resurrected some strains in the laboratory. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter The Very First Animal Appeared Amid an Explosion of DNA Nobody knows what the first animal looked like. But many of its genes are still present in humans today. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter Hints of Human Evolution in Chimpanzees That Endure a Savanna’s Heat The apes of Senegal’s Fongoli savanna may offer hints to how our own ancestors moved out of the woodlands, shed their fur and started walking upright. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter Bodies Remodeled for a Life at Sea The Bajau, who spend most of their time on the ocean, are among the best divers in the world. Evolution is remaking them, a new study finds. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter All by Itself, the Humble Sweet Potato Colonized the World Many botanists argued that humans must have carried the valuable staple to the Pacific from South America. Not so, according to a new study. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter A Few Species of Frogs That Vanished May Be on the Rebound A new study in Panama finds some types of frogs are returning, after being decimated by a deadly fungus that has vanquished amphibians around the world. By CARL ZIMMER
Chile and Its Scientists Protest Research on Tiny Mummy The Chilean government said it would start an inquiry into whether the remains of a tiny baby girl were illegally exhumed and smuggled out of the country. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter Was a Tiny Mummy in the Atacama an Alien? No, but the Real Story Is Almost as Strange Known as “Ata,” the six-inch-long skeleton was discovered in Chile and may have had genetic mutations causing a bone disorder never before documented. By CARL ZIMMER
Profiles in Science David Reich Unearths Human History Etched in Bone The geneticist at Harvard Medical School has retrieved DNA from more than 900 ancient people. His findings trace the prehistoric migrations of our species. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter What’s Behind Many Mystery Ailments? Genetic Mutations, Study Finds An examination of 20,000 patients finds that more than 800 may have genetic conditions. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter How One Child’s Sickle Cell Mutation Helped Protect the World From Malaria The genetic mutation arose 7,300 years ago in just one person in West Africa, scientists reported on Thursday. Its advantage: a shield against rampant malaria. By CARL ZIMMER
Matter Neanderthals, the World’s First Misunderstood Artists Cave paintings in Spain were made by Neanderthals, not modern humans, archaeologists reported. The finding adds to evidence that Neanderthals were capable of symbolic thought and perhaps language. By CARL ZIMMER
‘Cheddar Man,’ Britain’s Oldest Skeleton, Had Dark Skin, DNA Shows New research adds to a growing body of evidence showing how the British Isles received waves of immigrants over tens of thousands of years. By CEYLAN YEGINSU and CARL ZIMMER