Anthropology

The Migration Pattern Of HIV: Africa, Haiti, Then The World

New research is the first to definitively pinpoint when and from where HIV-1 entered the United States and shows that most HIV/AIDS viruses in the U.S. descended from a single common ancestor. The actual ancestral HIV entered the U.S. long before the stori ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 30 2007 - 12:54am

Was Early Man More Gatherer Than Hunter?

Chimpanzees crave roots and tubers even when food is plentiful above ground, according to a new study that raises questions about the relative importance of meat for brain evolution. The study documents a novel use of tools by chimps to dig for tubers and ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 12 2007 - 7:59pm

Who’s Smarter: Chimps, Baboons Or Bacteria? The Power Of Group IQ (Part III)

In our first exciting episode of Who’s Smarter: Chimps, Baboons or Bacteria? The Power of Group IQ (Part I) we showed how small-brained baboons can outsmart big-brained chimpanzees and how bacteria can out-innovate chimps, baboons, and you and me. We also ...

Article - Howard Bloom - Dec 30 2007 - 12:04pm

Controversial Ecogeographical Theory Gets A Modern Update

Bergmann`s rule is one of the most studied and controversial “ecogeographical” patterns, and refers to the increasing body size of organisms towards higher latitudes. Although it has been studied since the mid 19th Century, it is not until now that new sta ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 22 2007 - 12:30am

Southwestern Indians May Have Made Beer... From Corn

The belief among some archaeologists that Europeans introduced alcohol to the Indians of the American Southwest may be faulty. Ancient and modern pot sherds collected by New Mexico state archeologist Glenna Dean, in conjunction with analyses by Sandia Nati ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 3 2015 - 5:50pm

Did Humans Evolve Upright Walking To Carry Heavier Babies?

The transition from apes to humans may have been partially triggered by the need to stand on two legs, in order to safely carry heavier babies. This theory of species evolution presented by Lia Amaral from the University of São Paulo in Brazil has just bee ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 12 2007 - 11:43am

Waterboarding, Self-Experimentation, And Human Evolution

Someone named Scylla waterboarded himself and provided a detailed account of what happened. “Old” self-experimentation, you could say, was doctors doing dangerous things to themselves for a short time to prove some idea that they already believed (e.g., a ...

Article - Seth Roberts - Jul 29 2011 - 10:03am

How To Artificially Manufacture Deep Cultural Symbolism

Many people pay silly amounts of money to wear a particular logo or a designer brand. A designer outfit doesn't keep you any warmer or dryer than an unbranded one, but functionality is only part of the story. Designer products say something about you ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 4 2008 - 12:25pm

Anthropomorphism: People Can Cure Loneliness By Turning Things Into People

You don't need other people to feel less lonely. You just need things you think are people. Social scientists call this tendency “anthropomorphism.” As a research topic, the phenomenon carries important therapeutic and societal implications, says Nich ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 18 2008 - 12:43pm

The Big Bang And The Birth Of Culture

Evolution is shouting a message at us. Yes, evolution herself. That imperative? Get your ass and the asses, burros, donkeys and cells of your fellow species—from bacteria and plants to fish, reptiles, and mammals—off this dangerous scrap of a planet and fi ...

Article - Howard Bloom - Jan 29 2008 - 10:28am