The fossil of a 525-million-year-old tiny sea creature with a preserved nervous system may solve a century-long debate about how the brains of arthropods evolved.
Octopuses have a massively expanded repertoire of miRNA in their neural tissue, reflecting a similar development to that which occurred in vertebrates. Findings suggest miRNA plays a significant role in the development of complex brains.
Coupling two approaches of game theory sheds light on how moral norms and selfless behaviors evolved.
Neural stem cells of cephalopods act in a similar way to those of vertebrates during nervous system development.
A new map of the octopus visual system classifies different types of neurons in a part of the brain dedicated to vision, shedding new light on the evolution of the brain and visual systems in a more broad sense.
In a highly competitive environment, Trinidadian killifish grow larger brains. This neuro-evolution allows for greater fitness and survival rates.
A new modeling study reports modern humans may have co-existed with Neanderthals in France and Northern Spain between 1,400 and 2,900 years before the Neanderthals became extinct.
Traits with the strongest Neanderthal DNA contribution were sleep patterns, smoking habits, and alcohol consumption.
Two mouse genes that were left behind by viral infections millions of years ago have evolved to help defend the brain against new infections.
Researchers say laughter may have been preserved by natural selection to assist with human survival.
Not only did microbes diversify within early modern human hosts as they traveled and settled in different geographical locations, they also followed human evolution by limiting themselves to the gut.
Study reveals greater neuron production in the modern human frontal lobe during development compared to the Neanderthal brain. Researchers say this is due to a change in a single amino acid in the TKTL1 protein.
