To understand the emergence of human higher cognition, we must understand its biological
substrate—the cerebral cortex, which considers itself the crowning achievement of evolution …

Fossils and molecular data are two independent sources of information that should in
principle provide consistent inferences of when evolutionary lineages diverged. Here we …

Nerve myelination facilitates saltatory action potential conduction and exhibits
spatiotemporal variation during development associated with the acquisition of behavioral …

There exists an undeniable chasm between the capacities of humans and those of animals.
Our minds have spawned civilizations and technologies that have changed the face of the …

Natural killer (NK) cells have roles in immunity and reproduction that are controlled by
variable receptors that recognize MHC class I molecules. The variable NK cell receptors …

Recent studies of animal personality have focused on its proximate causation and its
ecological and evolutionary significance, but have mostly ignored questions about its …

Control of fire is one of the most important technological innovations within the evolution of
humankind. The archaeological signal of fire use becomes very visible from around 400,000 …

Comparative studies of the brain in mammals suggest that there are general architectural
principles governing its growth and evolutionary development. We are beginning to …

The human trophic level (HTL) during the Pleistocene and its degree of variability serve,
explicitly or tacitly, as the basis of many explanations for human evolution, behavior, and …

Astronomically forced insolation changes have driven monsoon dynamics and recurrent
humid episodes in North Africa, resulting in green Sahara Periods (GSPs) with savannah …