Earth is a pretty big place, but it has a finite amount of resources. Mining companies that seek to exploit untouched parts of our planet are quickly running out of places to dig, and scientists belive it won’t be long before both private corporations and world governments begin setting their sights on extraterrestrial mining opportunities. …
If you find yourself constantly tweaking your home’s thermostat in search of the perfect temperature, you might save some time by just moving to eastern Africa. That might sound drastic, but a new study reveals that you’d probably be a whole lot more comfortable than you are right now. The research, which was published in …
Everyone knows that obesity is a major health crisis in the United States and many other countries, but humans aren’t just getting fatter, we’re also getting bigger overall. Humans are getting larger and larger, and the average person is now significantly taller than the averages of decades past. On top of that, we eat more, …
It might be tempting to imagine our ancient ancestors as simply less sophisticated versions of ourselves, but scientists know that there are some very big differences between modern humans and the bipeds that roamed Earth tens of thousands of years ago. A new study published in Nature Communications makes this point abundantly clear. In creating …
For many years the consensus among archaeologists was that humans began settling in North America around 13,000 years ago. This timeline was based on artifacts found that dated back between 12,700 and 13,000 years, including weapons. Now, a new discovery in Texas could throw that theory right out the door. Researchers from Texas A&M, Baylor …
Humans aren’t the fastest animals on the planet, so you might not think the fact that we can run is anything special. There are, after all, plenty of four-legged creatures that would put us to shame, but humans have a different running specialty that does make us pretty unique: endurance. Humans are actually fantastic long-distant …
The amount of information we have about the human family tree is steadily growing, but there are still plenty of unanswered questions. One of the biggest mysteries is why our particular branch of human history was able to endure, while others like the Neanderthals were snuffed out. A new study by a group of researchers …
In news that should surprise absolutely no one, scientists now believe an ancient ancestor of modern humans died off because they were too lazy for their own good. In a new study published in PLOS One, archaeologists present some incredibly interesting findings, including the fact that Homo erectus was a big ‘ol slacker. According to …
We take bread for granted these days but exactly when it popped up in the timeline of human advancement is still a bit of a mystery. It’s long been thought that the humans didn’t start making breads until after the emergence of agriculture, around 10,000 years ago, but a new discovery in the Middle East …
It’s a well-known quirk of human nature that adults tend to talk to babies in an over-the-top, cartoony tone of voice. Science calls it “infant-directed speech,” and it’s thought to actually aid infants in picking up on language cues. You might also have noticed that people tend to talk to their pets in a similar …
