The use of computational modeling is providing new opportunities to the field of archaeology and can possibly enhance previous findings of how humans and the environment interact.

More than 150 years ago, Darwin proposed the theory of universal common ancestry, linking all forms of life by a shared genetic heritage from single-celled microorganisms to humans. Until now, the theory that makes ladybugs, oak trees, champagne yeast and humans distant relatives has remained beyond the scope of a formal test. This week, a biochemist reports the results of the first large scale, quantitative test of the famous theory that underpins modern evolutionary biology.

Optogenetic method validates assumption underlying brain imaging technique

Researchers have long wondered why the people of the Tibetan Highlands can live at elevations that cause some humans to become life-threateningly ill -- and a new study answers that mystery, in part, by showing that through thousands of years of natural selection, those hardy inhabitants of south-central Asia evolved 10 unique oxygen-processing genes that help them live in higher climes.

Physicists entangle five particles that exist in two states

Quantum dots, quantum computing and computing algorithm take top prizes at global high school science competition

Phobos may be a mass of rocky rubble, not a captured asteroid

Discovery of mismatched orbits hints at a violent past

The Ugandan Humanist Effort to Save Women (UHESWO) has produced its first video as part of a programme to create documentaries that raise awareness of Humanist projects. The 13 minute documentary shows the work of UHESWO in helping child prostitutes build a better life.

read more

Researchers get a better understanding of how mice smell a rat, or a cat

Paleontologists have discovered a rich array of exceptionally preserved fossils of marine animals that lived between 480 million and 472 million years ago, during the early part of a period known as the Ordovician. The specimens are the oldest yet discovered soft-bodied fossils from the Ordovician, a period marked by intense biodiversification, and greatly expand our understanding of the animal life that existed at a crucial point in evolutionary history.

The Mediterranean is the birthplace of ancient peoples and cultures, but has it acted as a bridge or a barrier in the genetic history of northern and southern populations? Gene flow and population structure on the north and south shores of the Mediterranean form the basis of new research.

Male physical competition, not attraction, was central in winning mates among human ancestors, according to an anthropologist in a new study.

Knoxville News Sentinel blog report: Bureau chief Tom Humphrey writes about flap at Tennessee House.

By David L. Hudson Jr. Court rejects First Amendment claim, saying Jimmy Sain's political beliefs weren't at issue.

Attorney tells three-judge panel that state has provided no evidence that mixing distilled spirits with erotic performances leads to 'adverse secondary effects.'

Authorities execute search warrant day after KUAM reports that police officer allegedly failed polygraph test required for trainees. 

Highlights from the weeklong high school science competition

Climate change could wipe out one species in five, researchers say

Archaeopteryx, Confuciusornis plumage probably not strong enough to support sustained flight