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evolution

·December 16, 2025·9 min read

Why Consciousness Evolved

New work explores why consciousness evolved and what observing birds can teach us about its biological purpose. The findings outline three distinct forms of consciousness—basic arousal, general alertness, and reflexive self-awareness—each providing unique adaptive advantages.

This shows two heads and speech bubbles.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 20, 2025·8 min read

Language Emerged From Many Roots, Not Just One

A new framework argues that human language did not arise from a single evolutionary leap but from the convergence of many biological abilities and cultural processes. The authors highlight how speech learning, grammar formation, and social cooperation evolved along different paths before merging into the complex communication we use today.

This shows the outline of a person and vertebrates.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 3, 2025·6 min read

Why Warm-Blooded Animals Evolved the Biggest Brains

A global study of vertebrates reveals that body temperature is the key driver behind brain size evolution. Warm-blooded species like mammals and birds can maintain the energy demands of larger brains, while cold-blooded species are limited by fluctuating external temperatures.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·October 8, 2025·8 min read

Why Older Fathers Pass on More Harmful Mutations to Their Kids

Groundbreaking research has revealed that as men age, harmful genetic mutations in sperm not only accumulate but are also favored during sperm production, giving them a reproductive advantage. Using ultra-accurate DNA sequencing, scientists found that sperm from older men were significantly more likely to carry disease-causing mutations, including those linked to neurodevelopmental disorders and cancer.

This shows the outline of heads and DNA.

Autism Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·September 9, 2025·4 min read

Evolution of Human Brain May Explain High Autism Rates

A new study suggests that autism may be linked to the rapid evolution of brain cell types unique to humans. Researchers found that outer-layer neurons in the human brain evolved far more quickly than in other apes, with significant changes in autism-associated genes.

This shows people of different ages and speech bubbles.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 8, 2025·3 min read

How Teens and Adults Really Change Language

For decades, scholars believed children’s speech errors were the seeds of language change, but new research challenges that view. The study argues that everyday language use among adolescents and adults, not children, is the real driver of linguistic evolution.

This shows a mom and baby surrounded by speech bubbles.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 4, 2025·5 min read

Why Babies Babble: New Clues Reveal Language Origins

Human babies’ babbling is more than cute noise—it’s a feedback-driven learning strategy that sets the foundation for language. A new study shows that marmoset monkeys, despite being distant relatives, also babble and learn faster when adults respond, suggesting a shared mechanism.

This shows a map of the world with DNA and speech bubbles overlayed.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·August 30, 2025·5 min read

Genetics Reveal How Human Contact Shapes Language Evolution

A new study shows that genetic evidence of historical contact between populations reveals consistent patterns of language change. By combining genetic data with linguistic databases, researchers found that unrelated languages became 4–9% more similar after human contact.

This shows a hand reaching to grab a brain. Under the brain are primates, referencing the evolutionary benefit of longer thumbs.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 26, 2025·3 min read

Study Links Thumb Length to Brain Size and Cognition

New research reveals that primates with longer thumbs tend to have larger brains, suggesting that manual dexterity and brain evolution developed together. The study analyzed 94 living and extinct primate species and found a consistent link between thumb length and brain size.

This shows an early human walking besides Australopithecus next to a lake.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 13, 2025·7 min read

Fossils Show Early Humans and New Australopithecus Lived Together

An international team of researchers working at Ledi-Geraru in Ethiopia has uncovered fossils indicating that early Homo and a newly identified Australopithecus species coexisted between 2.6 and 2.8 million years ago. The discovery includes 13 Australopithecus teeth, distinct from the famous Australopithecus afarensis (“Lucy”), and confirms there is no evidence of Lucy’s kind after 2.95 million years ago.

This shows two people, a dog, and a question mark.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 17, 2025·4 min read

Can Dogs Really Judge Character?

Many dog lovers believe dogs can sense who to trust, but research suggests the reality may be more complex. A study of 40 pet dogs tested whether they form reputations of humans by observing how those humans treated another dog.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 26, 2025·4 min read

Why Baby Talk May Be Uniquely Human

Child-directed speech, or “baby talk,” plays a crucial role in language development and is a near-universal human behavior. Researchers investigated whether this vocal strategy is shared with our closest relatives—great apes—and found that humans use infant-directed speech far more frequently.