In the last decade, archaeologists have learned to read the genetic traces that ancient humans and Neanderthals left not only ...

The oldest sediment DNA discovered so far comes from Greenland and is 2 million years old.

Scientists used mtDNA to confirm what many researchers had long suspected: the Chinese “dragon man” Harbin skull belonged to ...

Here are 10 major findings about human ancestors and our close ancient relatives that scientists announced in 2025. A handful ...

Early human ancestors called the LRJ Group lived in Europe for 80 generations, intermingling with Neanderthals, before ...

Two small changes in human DNA may have played a big role in helping our ancestors walk upright, researchers say. The study, recently published in the journal Nature, found that these tweaks changed ...

Learn more about how researchers can take evidence from the past to better shape our idea of what Neanderthals looked like.

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 ...

In the earliest hours after fertilization, an embryo takes its first steps toward becoming a living organism by shedding maternal control and activating its own genetic program. This critical process, ...