adaptation

Lactase and the Neandertals

New research shows that a common gene variant that may explain some lactase persistence in East Asia is introgressed from Neandertals.

Mar 18 •

Did two pulses of evolution supercharge human cognition?

An intriguing new study tries to tabulate the ages of genetic variants associated with human phenotypes, but its claims about recent brain evolution may…

May 15, 2023 •

What color were Neandertals?

Even with whole genomes, scientists can't say very precisely what pattern of skin, hair, and eye pigmentation was in ancient populations like the…

Apr 2, 2023 •

Should we be surprised if Neandertals, Denisovans, and modern humans didn’t form stable hybrid zones?

A geneticist asks why we don't see more persisting hybrid populations, and I find an answer in the theory of population source-sink dynamics.

Aug 2, 2016 •

New findings from the Denisova 3 genome at high coverage

Sequencing work by Matthias Meyer and coworkers highlights the demography of ancient Denisovans and genes that may make today's people different from…

Aug 30, 2012 •

Did human language evolve as a spandrel?

A critical look at the point of view that human language did not originate from its adaptive role in communication, but from other cognitive functions.

Mar 11, 2011 •

How much of human evolution was due to polygenic adaptation?

Selection on most human traits is likely to result in small shifts in frequency on many different genetic loci.

Sep 18, 2010 •

Did Neandertals evolve in a population sink?

The dynamics of adaptation in shrinking populations may help understand how many ancient populations evolved.

Mar 21, 2009 •

Notes on Ashley Montagu, recent human evolution, and human equality

The anthropologist argued that humans have stopped evolving, but that isn't the way we understand human evolution today.

Jan 22, 2009 •

How much was migration a creative force for culture change?

An essay by Peter Richerson and Robert Boyd explores the way that cultures evolved by contact.

Jan 7, 2009 •

Our new paper on why human evolution accelerated

I run through our 2007 work on evidence for recent natural selection across the human genome.

Dec 12, 2007 •

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