Haast’s Eagle Was Big & Strong Enough to Prey on Humans

The strongest and biggest bird of prey that ever existed was the Haast’s Eagle (Harpagornis moorei) of New Zealand, and it became extinct around the 1400s soon after the Maori settled the South Island of New Zealand.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

Origin of Ion-Pumping Proteins Could Explain How Life Began

A new study indicates how the first cells might have evolved from rocks, water and hot alkaline fluid rich in hydrogen gas spewing out of deep-sea vents, and how they might have escaped their deep sea lairs.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

Prolific Changes in the Human Genome in the Past 5,000 Years

Human populations have grown exponentially in the past 5,000 years, and new genetic mutations arise in each new generation. Humans have a vast abundance of rare genetic variants in the protein-encoding sections of the genome. A new study tries to clarify when many of these rare variants arose.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

Scientists Agree that Classifying Humans as Monogamous or Polygamous is Difficult

Photo by Georges Gobet/AFP/Getty Images.

Computer simulations have been used to examine the sex lives of ancient hominids for many years, by measuring the circumferences of ancient bones, and by applying the rules of evolution and economics.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

Females Distinguish Colors Better While Men Excel At Tracking Fast Moving Objects

After having put young adults with normal vision through a battery of tests, scientists were able to conclude that females are better at discriminating among colors, while males excel at tracking fast-moving objects and discerning detail from a distance. These evolutionary adaptations might be linked to the hunter-gatherer past of humans.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

DNA Could Predate Existence of Life As We Know It

Chemists are close to showing that DNA could form spontaneously from chemicals which were present during primordial Earth. If they succeed, the work could imply that DNA could predate the birth of life as we know it.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

Improved Estimates of DNA’s Mutation Rate Paint Clearer Picture of Human Prehistory

Reconstruction of Homo heidelbergensis

Since the 1960s, DNA has changed the story of human ancestry. Some studies have shown that all modern humans are descended from ancestors who lived in Africa 100,000 years ago. Some new findings suggest that key events in human evolution contradict archeology.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

Genome Study Links Paternal Age to Conditions Such As Autism

J.B.S. Haldane proposed in the 1930s that children might inherit more mutations from their fathers than their mothers. This year, thanks to whole-genome sequencing of dozens of Icelandic families, it has been proven that the age at which a father sires children determines how many mutations those offspring actually inherit.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

Disease Mapping Methods Indicate That Indo-European Languages Originated From Anatolia

Diverse languages, from English to Hindi, can trace their roots back 8,000 years to Anatolia (Asia Minor), a region that’s centered around modern-day Turkey. The study assessed 103 ancient and contemporary languages using a technique that’s normally used to study the spread and evolution of diseases.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

Felix Pharand-Deschenes Maps Human Influence On Earth

Canadian scientists Felix Pharand-Deschenes used satellite images to map the human influence on Earth, depicting how much it has changed, as seen from space. Pharand-Deschenes used data collected by various government agencies to create these striking images.

Read more @ SciTechDaily