Anthropologist News and Research

RSS

Research into 2-million-year-old human fossils reveals how hearing pattern resembles chimpanzees

Research into human fossils dating back to approximately two million years ago reveals that the hearing pattern resembles chimpanzees, but with some slight differences in the direction of humans.

26 Sep 2015

Discovery opens door to new way of thinking about ancient ancestors

An international team of scientists, including one from the University of Colorado Denver and another from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, announced the discovery Thursday of a new species of hominin, a small creature with a tiny brain that opens the door to a new way of thinking about our ancient ancestors.

10 Sep 2015

Passionate kissing not the norm in most cultures, research finds

For generations, passionate kisses immortalized in movies, songs and the arts have served as a thermometer of romantic affection.

7 Aug 2015

Leicester researchers introduce alternative method to diagnose cause of death

Researchers from the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust have introduced an alternative method to diagnose the cause of death, which in many cases can replace the need for the traditional invasive autopsy. This can be purchased by the family and will be performed within the NHS hospitals.

1 Jul 2015

ESCMID introduces two new study groups to create networks for forensic and veterinary microbiology

The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases launched two new study groups; the Forensic and Postmortem Microbiology Study Group and the Veterinary Microbiology Study Group.

11 Jun 2015

Smoking cannabis may reduce chances of infection by intestinal worms

Washington State University researchers have found that the more hunter-gatherers smoke cannabis, the less they are infected by intestinal worms. The link suggests that they may unconsciously be, in effect, smoking medical marijuana.

1 Jun 2015

Investigating epigenetic marks in ancient DNA could help understand health of ancient populations

A new study by anthropologists from The University of Texas at Austin shows for the first time that epigenetic marks on DNA can be detected in a large number of ancient human remains, which may lead to further understanding about the effects of famine and disease in the ancient world.

29 May 2015

Innovative human hunting weapons not behind the demise of Neanderthals, study finds

The demise of Neanderthals may have nothing to do with innovative hunting weapons carried by humans from west Asia, according to a new study published in the Journal of Human Evolution. The researchers, from Nagoya University and The University of Tokyo, Japan, say their findings mean that we may need to rethink the reasons humans survived Neanderthals - and that we may not have behaved as differently as we thought.

29 Apr 2015

Study shows link between upright locomotion and spinal health

A Simon Fraser University researcher has uncovered what may be the first quantified evidence demonstrating a relationship between upright locomotion and spinal health.

28 Apr 2015

Male genetic diversity declined due to wealth, power rather than `survival of fittest`

The DNA you inherit from your parents contributes to the physical make-up of your body -- whether you have blue eyes or brown, black hair or red, or are male or female.

23 Mar 2015

DePaul University experts available to discuss different health care topics

With the fifth anniversary of the presidential signing of the U.S. Affordable Care Act March 23, faculty experts from DePaul University are available to discuss a range of health care topics including the analysis of health care data, community health, patient experience, communication among health care professionals, interprofessional health care education and the role of nurses and physician assistants.

6 Mar 2015

Anthropology researchers find skeletal variation in pre-Columbian South America

A team of anthropology researchers has found significant differences in facial features between all seven pre-Columbian peoples they evaluated from what is now Peru - disproving a longstanding perception that these groups were physically homogenous. The finding may lead scholars to revisit any hypotheses about human migration patterns that rested on the idea that there was little skeletal variation in pre-Columbian South America.

6 Mar 2015

Smoking during pregnancy increases ovarian and breast cancer risks for daughters

A new study has found women who smoke when pregnant are putting their daughters at a greater risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer later in life.

5 Mar 2015

Geneticists discover that present-day human life colonized Eurasia 70,000 years ago

While it is widely accepted that the origins of modern humans date back some 200,000 years to Africa, there has been furious debate as to which model of early Homo sapiens migration most plausibly led to the population of the planet -- and the eventual extinction of Neanderthals.

2 Feb 2015

Elsevier announces recipients for Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries and New Scholars Programs

The Elsevier Foundation today announced its 2015 grant recipients for the Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries and New Scholars Programs. In total $600.000 has been committed for 2015 that will support various multiyear projects in over 20 countries in the developing world.

4 Dec 2014

Utah study shows men have better spatial and navigation skills than women

A University of Utah study of two African tribes found evidence that men evolved better navigation ability than women because men with better spatial skills - the ability to mentally manipulate objects - can roam farther and have children with more mates.

14 Nov 2014

Study details crucial role of culture in achieving better health

The systematic neglect of culture is the single biggest barrier to advancing the highest attainable standard of health worldwide, say the authors of a major new report on culture and health, led by Professor David Napier, a leading medical anthropologist from University College London (UCL), UK, and published in The Lancet.

30 Oct 2014

Researchers explore risks associated with consumption of bat bushmeat

Ebola, as with many emerging infections, is likely to have arisen due to man's interaction with wild animals – most likely the practice of hunting and eating wild meat known as 'bushmeat'. A team of researchers led by the University of Cambridge and the Zoological Society of London has surveyed almost six hundred people across southern Ghana to find out what drives consumption of bat bushmeat – and how people perceive the risks associated with the practice.

10 Oct 2014

Social status can impact health, happiness even among egalitarian forager-farmers

In western society, where keeping up with the Joneses — or, better yet, surpassing them — is expected and even encouraged, status matters. So important is it that for many people, physical and emotional wellbeing are directly connected to their place in the social hierarchy.

9 Oct 2014

Study examines use of electronic patient portals by patients with cancer

There has been a sharp increase in the number of cancer patients at UT Southwestern Medical Center using MyChart, the online, interactive service that allows patients to view laboratory and radiology results, communicate with their healthcare providers, schedule appointments, and renew prescriptions.

10 Jul 2014