A unique confluence of archeology, molecular genetics and serendipity guided a collaboration of Mexican and Penn State researchers to a deeper understanding of how modern corn was domesticated from ...

Nearly 40,000 years ago, humanity had its best idea to date: transform the age's apex predator into a sociable and loyal ally. Though early humans largely muddled through the first few thousand years ...

Human civilisation has been shaped by the emergence of domesticated crop plants and livestock from their wild relatives. This long-term process involved ...

Whether it’s your grandpa’s nose, your mother’s eyes, or the chin the entire family share, humans depend on facial features to tell one another apart, to read emotions and intent, and to communicate ...

In Tom Edison’s Shaggy Dog, a short story by Kurt Vonnegut, Thomas Edison discovers that dogs are intellectually superior beings. They’re so smart, in fact, that the canines found the easiest possible ...

The earliest archaeological evidence for viticulture and wine drinking was unearthed around 8,000 years ago in the Caucasus, but the origin of grapevine domestication has remained mysterious, until ...

Domesticated animals, compared to their wild counterparts, have undergone numerous changes in physiology, behavior and morphology. These changes are commonly referred to as the domestication syndrome ...

Though dogs are so close genetically to wolves that many taxonomists consider them to be a subspecies, most people wouldn’t let a wolf lick their hand as readily as a Shih Tzu. When animals are ...

A surprising discovery has rewritten how cats become house pets, while unexpected and rapid evolution is making red foxes more like dogs. In short: an animal’s path to domestication is very ...

Throughout history, felines have had a rather wild and intriguing journey. While one cat species has become domesticated, many others remain wild. Some have become extinct over time, while some ...