Anthropologist News and Research

RSS

Modern humans did not experience an evolutionary decrease in brain size, UNLV research says

Did the 12th century B.C.E. -; a time when humans were forging great empires and developing new forms of written text -; coincide with an evolutionary reduction in brain size? Think again, says a UNLV-led team of researchers who refute a hypothesis that's growing increasingly popular among the science community.

8 Aug 2022

Whole genome sequencing of 1,700-year-old individuals shows genetic heterogeneity in ancient Koreans from Gaya

An international team led by The University of Vienna and the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in collaboration with the National Museum of Korea has successfully sequenced and studied the whole genome of eight 1,700-year-old individuals dated to the Three Kingdoms period of Korea (approx. 57 BC-668 AD).

21 Jun 2022

People lifting weights for aesthetic reasons run the risk of bigorexia

New research from The University of Queensland has found people lifting weights for aesthetic reasons run the risk of developing muscle dysmorphia.

31 May 2022

UC San Diego receives $38 million USAID grant to address gender equity and health issues

The U.S. Agency for International Development has funded a $38 million, five-year project led by the Center on Gender Equity and Health at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science.

14 Mar 2022

Food pantry clients experienced economic hardship and psychological distress during COVID-19

A novel study by UT Southwestern researchers who conducted interviews as the nation shut down due to COVID-19 tells the stories of those who routinely faced hunger before the pandemic upended their lives. The research, which could be used to improve the response in future emergencies, finds food pantry clients experienced increased economic hardship, food insecurity, and psychological distress.

6 Jan 2022

Ants could offer new clues to human brain evolution

The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. Now, a new study has brought us closer to understanding some of its evolution. It shows that human brains decreased in size approximately 3,000 years ago.

25 Oct 2021

Jail decarceration leads to community-wide public health benefits, study shows

How can government slow the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S.? Look to America's unique epidemic engines: jails and prisons in America.

2 Sep 2021

Study calls for a new approach to replace 'ancestry' in forensics

A new study finds forensics researchers use terms related to ancestry and race in inconsistent ways, and calls for the discipline to adopt a new approach to better account for both the fluidity of populations and how historical events have shaped our skeletal characteristics.

14 Jul 2021

Homicides surge in California amid Covid of schools shutdowns, youth programs

Amid a pandemic that left law enforcement agencies stretched thin and forced shutdowns that left young men with little to do, California registered a devastating surge in homicides in 2020 that hit especially hard in Black and Latino communities.

17 May 2021

Ancient people had far different microorganisms in their guts than modern humans

Only an anthropologist would treasure millennia-old human feces found in dry caves. Just ask Dr. Meradeth Snow, a University of Montana researcher and co-chair of UM's Department of Anthropology.

13 May 2021

Scientists find dramatic differences between ancient gut microbiomes and modern microbes

Scientists are rapidly gathering evidence that variants of gut microbiomes, the collections of bacteria and other microbes in our digestive systems, may play harmful roles in diabetes and other diseases.

12 May 2021

To help farmworkers get Covid tests and vaccine, build trust and a safety net

With more than 20 million acres of corn and soybeans, Illinois is among the top U.S. producers of those crops. To make it all happen, the state relies on thousands of farmworkers — some of whom travel to the state for seasonal work and others, like 35-year-old Saraí, who call Illinois home.

4 Mar 2021

Researchers investigate microbiome-mediated therapies for aging and health span

Texas Biomedical Research Institute Associate Professor Corinna Ross, PhD, is a principal investigator on a $3.38 million National Institutes of Health multi-investigator grant to study "microbiome-mediated therapies for aging and healthspan" in marmosets, which are small monkeys native to South America and are becoming increasingly more important in aging and infectious disease research.

18 Dec 2020

COVID-19 pandemic has escalated into a ‘syndemic’ for chronic disease patients

The COVID-19 pandemic has escalated into a ‘syndemic’ for people with chronic illnesses, a new UNSW study analysing data from low and middle-income countries shows.

23 Oct 2020

Study shows concerning levels of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy

More than a third of people (34%) in Turkey and one sixth of people (17%) in the UK are 'hesitant' about a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a study by UCL and Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey.

20 Oct 2020

Perspective: COVID-19 human milk research should be conducted without disrupting lactation

Scientists have launched a number of human milk and lactation studies to determine if SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted to infants through human milk.

25 Aug 2020

With COVID vaccine trial, rural Oregon clinic steps onto world stage

From the outside, it appears to be just another suburban allergy clinic, a tidy, tan brick-and-cinder-block building set back from a busy highway and across the road from an auto parts store.

17 Aug 2020

Remains of 17th century Bishop provide insights into the origins of tuberculosis

Bishop Peder Winstrup of Lund, Sweden passed away in the winter of 1679 at the age of 74 and was interred in a crypt at Lund Cathedral.

15 Aug 2020

Study suggests mutations have helped Brown Howlers to deal with yellow fever virus

At the start of her 2008 field season at El Parque El Piñalito in the Misiones province in northeastern Argentina, Ilaria Agostini knew something was terribly wrong. Agostini has studied Misiones' two howler monkey species since 2005--brown (Alouatta guariba clamitans) and black and gold (A. caraya) howlers.

13 Aug 2020

New technology can sense the presence of toxic metals in the water supply

The new platform uses cell-free synthetic biology to test for 17 contaminants, including lead, copper, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

7 Jul 2020