(AP) -- Human beings may have had a brush with extinction 70,000 years ago, an extensive genetic study suggests. The human population at that time was reduced to small isolated groups in Africa, apparently because of drought, according to an analysis released Thursday.
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Professor studies what cars can learn from drivers' words
Years ago, Stanford communication and sociology researcher Clifford Nass wondered why some people treated their computers as humans, instead of machines, a question that led him down a path of interesting research. Now he wonders about drivers willing to have personal conversations with the artificial voice in their cars—and what will become of the secrets the humans share with their four-wheeled friends.
A Super Solar Flare
At 11:18 AM on the cloudless morning of Thursday, September 1, 1859, 33-year-old Richard Carrington—widely acknowledged to be one of England's foremost solar astronomers—was in his well-appointed private observatory. Just as usual on every sunny day, his telescope was projecting an 11-inch-wide image of the sun on a screen, and Carrington skillfully drew the sunspots he saw.
Platypus genome explains animal's peculiar features; holds clues to evolution of mammals
The duck-billed platypus: part bird, part reptile, part mammal -- and the genome to prove it. An international consortium of scientists, led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has decoded the genome of the platypus, showing that the animal's peculiar mix of features is reflected in its DNA. An analysis of the genome, published today in the journal
Nature, can help scientists piece together a more complete picture of the evolution of all mammals, including humans.
MicroRNAs appear essential for retinal health
Retinas in newborn mice appear perfectly fine without any help from tiny bits of genetic material called microRNAs except for one thing — the retinas do not work.
Neanderthals were separate species, says new human family tree
A new, simplified family tree of humanity, published on Sunday, has dealt a blow to those who contend that the enigmatic hominids known as Neanderthals intermingled with our forebears.
Mechanical squirrels, robot lizards jump into research
(AP) -- One gray squirrel, its bushy tail twitching, barked a warning as another scrounged for food nearby. It was an ordinary spring day at Hampshire College, except that the rodent issuing the warning was powered by amps, not acorns.
Historic Italian cave may collapse
Archaeologists are warning a signature Stone Age cavern in southern Italy, called the Paglicci Cave, is in imminent danger of collapse.
Early human populations evolved separately for 100,000 years
A team of Genographic researchers and their collaborators have published the most extensive survey to date of African mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Over 600 complete mtDNA genomes from indigenous populations across the continent were analyzed by the scientists, led by Doron Behar, Genographic Associate Researcher, based at Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, and Saharon Rosset of IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, NY and Tel Aviv University.