Scientists believe that the appearance of a partial, duplicate copy of a gene, occurring around the time that the Australopithecus and the Homo lineages separated, was responsible for the sudden increase in brain complexity that led to language and modern humankind. Writing about their findings in Cell, the researchers say the momentous gene duplication event […]
Tag Archives | homo sapien
Modern man emerged from Middle East, suggests elephantine evidence
The elephant – a huge package of protein that is easy to hunt – disappeared from the Middle East around 400,000 years ago. This would have imposed considerable nutritional stress on Homo erectus, say Tel Aviv University researchers, who suggest that the loss of easy food favored hominids who were more knowledgeable and better at […]