Science

Scientists have long known that humans outside of Africa owe 2 to 3 percent of their genome to Neandertal ancestors. But now, using the oldest modern human DNA ever analyzed, two separate studies have traced this ancestry to a single surge of interbreeding that occurred between 45,000 and 49,000 years ago. Neandertals (Homo neanderthalensis) and […]

December 11, 2024 5 min read A Quiet Bias Is Keeping Black Scientists from Winning Nobel Prizes The way scientists recognize one another’s work overlooks the seminal contributions of Black scientists. The Nobel Committees need to recognize how this excludes Black scientists from awards By Jared Boyce, Faith Crittenden & AZA Allsop The Nobel Prize

All day, every day, you make choices. Philosophers have long argued that this ability to act intentionally, or with agency, distinguishes human beings from simpler life-forms and machines. But artificial intelligence may soon transcend that divide now that technology companies are building AI “agents”—systems able to make decisions and achieve goals with minimal human oversight.

December 12, 2024 3 min read The 7 Coolest Mathematical Discoveries of 2024 Unsolvable problems, many-dimensional wheels and new prime numbers are among new mathematical discoveries this year By Clara Moskowitz The quest for an einstein tile—a shape never seen before in mathematics. Mathematicians have been extremely busy this year: they’ve discovered the biggest prime

December 12, 2024 3 min read Animals Evolved Color Vision before Bright Colors Emerged Animals were able to see colors long before species developed the riot of colors that enlivens our world today By Sara Novak The nonvenomous Arizona mountain kingsnake, which resembles a venomous coral snake, has a survival advantage by warning off would-be