Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be the result of millions of years of evolution. Rapid neuronal evolution in humans is likely ASD’s genetic cause, new research suggests. Though autism can cause ...

When we think of lead poisoning, most of us imagine modern human-made pollution, paint, old pipes, or exhaust fumes.

Lead exposure may have spelled evolutionary success for humans—and extinction for our ancient cousins—but other scientists ...

If you have spent time with an infant, you might recognize the scene: A child is wailing, inconsolable, and you, the parent, have to go to the bathroom. Or eat. Or attend to a pot that’s boiling over.

An international study changes the view that exposure to the toxic metal lead is largely a post-industrial phenomenon. The ...

For decades, the dominant theory in human evolution suggested that modern humans descended from a single ancestral lineage in Africa. However, groundbreaking new research from the University of ...

The human genome is made up of 23 pairs of chromosomes, the biological blueprints that make humans … well, human. But it turns out that some of our DNA — about 8% — are the remnants of ancient viruses ...

“Human evolution is a tree,” said Prof. Xijun Ni of Fudan University, who led the research along with Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London. “This tree had many branches, and there ...

Micronutrients, minerals that are part of the human diet in small amounts, may have influenced human evolution more than previously recognized. In a new study published Sept. 10 in the journal The ...

Fossils unearthed in Ethiopia are reshaping our view of human evolution. Instead of a straight march from ape-like ancestors to modern humans, researchers now see a tangled, branching tree with ...