The first complete genetic portrait of a so‑called “last Neanderthal” is forcing scientists to redraw the map of our origins, from who we met to how we survived. Instead of a simple story of ...

When scientists sequenced the first Neanderthal genomes, they did not just resurrect a lost branch of the human family tree, ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images Scientists have long agreed that early ...

New research reveals ancient humans in southern Africa lived in isolation for nearly 100,000 years. This led to unique ...

Scientists read ancient DNA from South African hunter gatherers and found a very early human branch that shaped survival ...

Scientists have decoded the world’s oldest human DNA sequence, beating the previous record by almost 300,000 years, and at the same time confusing what we know of our early relatives. Published in ...

Sediment DNA also traces life outside the cave. Predators dragged prey into sheltered chambers, humans left waste behind. By ...

The study of ancient DNA has revolutionised our understanding of human history, enabling scientists to decipher complex population dynamics over tens of thousands of years. By analysing genetic ...

Two 7,000-year-old mummies found in Libya reveal an isolated North African lineage and rewrite the genetic history of the ...

The moment a creature dies, its DNA begins to break down. Half of it degrades every 521 years on average. By about 6.8 million years, even under ideal preservation conditions in cold, stable ...

A team of genetics researchers has sequenced the genomes of Greenland sled dogs, or qimmeq (plural qimmit), both living and dead. Their results shed light on both the development of this breed and ...