http://cache.io9.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/io9.com.png http://io9.com/tag/human http://io9.com/tag/human

The human genome carries an average of 1% to 4% Neanderthal DNA, which means our ancient human ancestors must have interbred with our extinct evolutionary cousins. That raises an obvious next question: why did humans have sex with Neanderthals? More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5883187&view=rss&microfeed=true

There's a popular claim that the seven billion people alive today outnumber all other humans who have ever lived. It's meant as a stark reminder of humanity's population explosion over the last 200 years...but is it true, or total crap? More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5882375&view=rss&microfeed=true

The rise of agriculture allowed for the development of complex societies and technologies that likely wouldn't have been possible otherwise. It also wreaked havoc on human health. And we can add a new downside to the list: our misshapen mouths. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5861651&view=rss&microfeed=true

Humans and chimpanzees share up to 99% of the same DNA, which is particularly remarkable considering we don't look anything like each other. The reason behind our vast difference in appearance is all thanks to our seemingly useless so-called "junk" DNA. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5853228&view=rss&microfeed=true

Letting your mind wander allows you to be introspective, and to think in abstract ways most other animals cannot. And yet rats possess the same brain structures we use for introspection — which suggests deeper evolutionary roots for introspection and, by extension, consciousness itself. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5849630&view=rss&microfeed=true

Biologically speaking, humans are pretty much just another animal, and it's actually hard to come up with any clear explanation for what sets us apart. But we have a hard time accepting this ... and the reason we're in denial about our animal status may be hardwired into our brains. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5835391&view=rss&microfeed=true

Humans, along with our closest relatives chimps and gorillas, are pretty much the only animals that have fingerprints. The only other is the koala, an adorable marsupial that is separated from us by 70 million years worth of evolution. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5798400&view=rss&microfeed=true

Weird Halloween costumes show a better look at Captain America's Red Skull. Justin Timberlake's Now has last-minute reshoots. Moon director Duncan Jones explains what's next after Source Code. A classic Doctor Who monster is photographed on set. Spoilers for everyone! More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5736245&view=rss&microfeed=true

Soylent Green may be made of people, but it’s also delicious. Human meat finds its way onto many a future dinner table and in a vast array of culinary delights. Whether you’re snacking on other folks to survive or just because you like the taste, we've found plenty of cannibalistic dishes to appease your appetite for human flesh. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5069641&view=rss&microfeed=true

Technology and design don’t always mesh well with the human body. You get earbuds that fall out of your ears, glasses that slip down the bridge of your nose, and keypads that leave our thumbs worn ragged. While designers try to create designs that better fit our bodies, photographer Marcia Nolte imagines a world where we instead alter our bodies to accommodate fashion and technology. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5069009&view=rss&microfeed=true

If you've ever thought that selling your kidney, ova, or sperm sounded like a handy way to make some cash, it's time to consider body farming. Michael Burton's photographs show how advances in biotech will change the way humans treat and relate to their bodies. After all, if we can sell our organs, gametes, and hair, what's to stop us from growing extra ones all over our bodies? More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5067052&view=rss&microfeed=true

Anti-cloning advocates may want to keep their pitchforks at the ready. A United Nations bioethics committee is taking a second look at the UN’s current cloning policy, which condemns all possible forms of human cloning. Could the UN be on track to relax its views on cloning, or is it looking to ban the practice for good? More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5063510&view=rss&microfeed=true

What will the future of humanity look like? We know it probably won’t turn us into a being of pure energy, and it won’t necessarily find us more intelligent or prescient. In fact, according to a leading genetics researcher, humans of the future won’t look much different from the humans of today, as modern life has brought our evolution to a standstill. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5061124&view=rss&microfeed=true

Human-alien hybrids are everywhere in scifi. Whether they come from interplanetary love or mutant genes quietly sneaking into our DNA, we're all about hooking up the Human factor with anything else out there. Just ask Captain Kirk, who tried to dock with every alien woman he encountered. Check out our list below of some of the best science fiction halfsies. Hybrid vigor! More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=382152&view=rss&microfeed=true

In a war-torn, forgotten remnant of the Soviet Union a battered laboratory stands, housing the remnants of twisted experiments. Some of the surviving tenants — part of an attempt by the insane veterinary doctor Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov to breed a slave race of ape/human hybrids — have escaped into the surrounding forest, their whereabouts unknown. We're not making this up; this is happening right now at the crumbling Research Institute of Experimental Pathology and Therapy in Sukhumi, Abkhazia, a small nation-state on the Black Sea. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=379276&view=rss&microfeed=true