john hawks weblog

paleoanthropology, genetics and evolution

Mailbag: Jonathan Swift on Norman Borlaug

Sun, 2009-09-13 23:22 -- John Hawks

Re: Norman Borlaug, a reader sends this quote from Jonathan Swift:

" that whoever could make two Ears of Corn, or two blades of Grass, to grow on a Spot of Ground where one grew before, would deserve better of Mankind and do more essential Service to his Country than a whole Race of Politicians put together, "

Tags: 
history of science

Neandertals

For years, I've worked on their bones. Now I'm working on their genes. Read more about the science studying these ancient people.

Denisova

From a finger bone of an ancient human came the record of a completely unexpected population. My lab is working on the science of the Denisova genome.

Acceleration

The advent of agriculture caused natural selection to speed up greatly in humans. We're uncovering some of the ways that populations have rapidly changed during the last 10,000 years.

Malapa

Just outside Johannesburg, the Malapa site is producing some of the most exciting finds in human evolution. This site is the headquarters of the Malapa Soft Tissue Project.