human evolution

Macaques use stones as hammers to smash open food items like shellfish and nuts.

Stone flakes made by modern monkeys trigger big questions about early humans

4:40pm March 10, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Monkeys using stones to crack open nuts generate many stone flakes accidentally that look exactly like the ones archaeologists have long thought early humans made intentionally as tools. Oops.

Richard Leakey, Kenyan wildlife conservationist, places a rhino horn to be burned at the zoo in Dvur Kralove, Czech Republic, in 2017. Leakey, known for his fossil-finding and conservation work in his native Kenya, has died at 77.

Famed fossil hunter and conservationist Richard Leakey dies at 77

1:37pm January 03, 2022

by Scott Neuman

Leakey made important contributions to our understanding of human origins through his fossil finds. He later gained fame for taking on poachers who threatened to wipe out Kenya's elephants and rhinos.

Reconstructions from the Daynès Studio in Paris depict a male Neanderthal (right) face to face with a human, Homo sapiens.

To Keep Your Brain Young, Take Some Tips From Our Earliest Ancestors

5:00am June 18, 2021

by Bret Stetka

Without a cure for Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, prevention is paramount. Habits that helped early humans thrive still make sense: a varied diet, exercise and an engaging social life.

Yvonne Vela Tona, one of the "mamas" at the sanctuary, looks after the young bonobo Esake.

Science

Some Generous Apes May Help Explain The Evolution Of Human Kindness

7:15am March 20, 2021

by Jon Hamilton

Research on bonobos, one of our closest and gentlest relatives, may show how humans evolved to share and cooperate on a massive scale.

University of California, San Diego scientist Alysson Muotri's lab grew brain organoids from human stem cells that swapped a developmental gene from Neanderthals for the human version.

'Minibrains' With A Neanderthal Gene Offer Hints About Human Evolution

11:32am February 12, 2021

by Jon Hamilton

Lab-grown brainlike organoids altered with an ancient gene began to look and behave differently. The experiments help show how the human brain has evolved.

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Researchers have observed that the friendliest male bonobos, like this male resident of Lola Ya Bonobo sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, tend to be the most successful. Early humans may have had the same experience with their peers.

How Humans Domesticated Themselves

4:14pm October 31, 2020

by Bret Stetka

Duke anthropologist Brian Hare argues that humans evolved in a way that left us more cooperative and friendlier than our now extinct human cousins, like Neanderthals and Denisovans.

Science

How Computer-Assisted Telepathy Helps Humans Communicate

4:45pm May 07, 2019

by Elise Hu

The next phase of human evolution seems headed toward merging biological bodies with machines, and in the first video of Future You, Elise Hu gets connected to a network and plays a game her thoughts.

A biomechanical model of producing an "f" sound with an overbite (left) compared with an edge-to-edge bite (right). Some linguists are arguing that the advent of softer food thousands of years ago led to changes in biting patterns and, eventually, to more

Science

Did Cooking Really Give Us The F-Word?

8:22pm March 14, 2019

by Dan Charles

Some linguists are arguing that the advent of softer food thousands of years ago led to changes in biting patterns and, eventually, to more frequent use of sounds like "f" and "v" in human languages.

"We put on perfumes, we cover up our holes with anything that excretes or is moist we don't want anything to do with."

'Gross Anatomy' Turns Humor On Taboos About The Female Body

5:46pm August 30, 2018

Author Mara Altman got tired of hiding her hairy, sweaty self from the world, and set out to reframe the shame in her latest book of essays — part memoir, part scientific exploration, part manifesto.

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Barbara J. King points to some of her favorite science commentaries she has written for NPR.

A Thank You To NPR's Science Commentary Readers

1:29pm April 12, 2018

by Barbara J. King

For 6 1/2 years, Barbara J. King has written commentaries for NPR on everything from animals and anthropology to gender and higher education. Here, she offers up some of her favorite pieces.