Scent of a friend: Similarities in body odor may contribute to social bonding
Science researchers have found that people may have a tendency to form friendships with individuals who have a similar body odor.
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Joseph Shavit
- Jun 12
Prehistoric “Swiss Army knife” shows how early humans communicated
In a world first, researchers have revealed that early humans across southern Africa made a particular type of stone tool in the same shape.
Joseph Shavit
- May 24
How we speak to animals matters, new research finds
Horses, pigs and wild horses can distinguish between negative and positive sounds from their fellow species and near relatives and humans.
Joseph Shavit
- May 19
A new era of genome editing has begun
Researchers developed a new gene-editing platform called transcription activator-like effector-linked deaminases, or TALED for short.
Joseph Shavit
- May 13
We now know how and why humans evolved into farmers
The genetic origins of the first agriculturalists in the Neolithic period long seemed to lie in the Near East a new study finds.
Joseph Shavit
- Apr 27
Study challenges theories of earlier human arrival in Americas
The paper challenges new theories that the earliest human inhabitants of North America arrived before the migration of people from Asia.
Joseph Shavit
- Apr 26
What will the Earth be like in 500 years?
Scientists can make some pretty accurate forecasts about the future, but predicting what the Earth will be like in 500 years is difficult.
Joshua Shavit
- Apr 19
Are people more willing to empathize with animals or with other humans?
Are people more likely to feel empathy for animals than humans? A new Penn State study suggests the answer may be complicated.
Joseph Shavit
- Apr 5
People around the world like the same kinds of smells
What smells we like or dislike is primarily shared by people regardless of cultural background, according to researchers in Sweden and UK.
Joseph Shavit
- Apr 1
Now fully complete, human genome reveals new secrets
A three-year-old consortium has finally filled in that remaining DNA, providing the first complete, gapless genome sequence.
Joseph Shavit
- Mar 22
Early man's food choices discovered through prehistoric pot residue
To reconstruct the cookery of people who lived thousands of years ago, bones and plant remains can tell us which ingredients were available
Joseph Shavit
- Feb 16
Dogs can recognize their owner by voice alone
Dogs can recognize their owner by voice alone, and they make use of some of the same voice properties as humans do.
Joseph Shavit
- Feb 7
Ever tried to say one word but said another by mistake? New study shows why
The precise role of each subregion in the brain in real-time speech feedback has until now remained unclear.
Joseph Shavit
- Feb 7
Humans and other primates have evolved less sensitive noses
Everyone experiences smells in their own unique way – the same scent can be pleasant, too intense or even undetectable to different noses.
Joseph Shavit
- Jan 31
Science finds that acts of kindness are not random. We are hard-wired to be kind!
Kindness is key to how we evolved and survived as a species, scientists say. We are hard-wired to be kind.
Joseph Shavit
- Jan 27
Scientists regrow frog’s lost leg. Could human limbs be next?
For millions of patients who have lost limbs the possibility of regaining function through natural regeneration remains out of reach.
Joseph Shavit
- Jan 8
Dogs can distinguish between languages
Dog brains can detect speech, and show different activity patterns to a familiar and an unfamiliar language, a new brain imaging study finds
Joseph Shavit
- Dec 29, 2021
Human activity shown to literally move mountains
The Matterhorn appears as an immovable, massive mountain that has towered over the landscape near Zermatt for thousands of years.
Joshua Shavit
- Dec 22, 2021
What if we have to talk without moving our hands?
Researchers at UPF and the University of Padua discover what happens when we do not use our hands to explain something.
Joseph Shavit
- Nov 20, 2021
White people trained in mindfulness were three times more likely to help Black people
White people who received training in mindfulness meditation were three times more likely to help a Black person in staged scenarios.