A newly described African species in the magic mushroom family confirms its evolutionary origin. Psilocybe ochraceocentrata is found growing on cattle dung in the grasslands of southern Africa and ...

An ancient skull has finally shown us what the Denisovans looked like redrawing our family tree and transforming the hunt for Ancestor X ...

Scientists have uncovered the oldest known genome of the bacterium responsible for syphilis, revealing a previously unknown lineage that existed thousands of years ago in the Americas.

New research that decoded the evolution of mosquitoes’ feeding habits from DNA could shed light on the murky timeline of prehistoric human ancestors.

Mosquitoes haven’t always had a taste for human blood — partly because the tiny yet dangerous insects have been around a lot longer than humans.

Mosquitoes haven’t always had a taste for human blood — partly because the tiny yet dangerous insects have been around a lot longer than humans.

Mushrooms have been used by ancient humans for millennia, but archaeologists have only just uncovered their pivotal role in ...

• The KV55 Controversy: DNA analysis from 2010 identified the desecrated mummy in Tomb KV55 as the likely father of Tutankhamun and the heretic king Akhenaten himself, but the lack of severe physical ...

Has the Atlantis mystery finally been solved? A new book reveals that Plato based his story on a real setting, now beneath 400 feet of water.

Mosquitoes may have started targeting humans millions of years ago, possibly during the spread of Homo erectus in Southeast Asia.

Smithsonian researcher Sarah Johnson studies bison specimens to understand how the species’s genetic diversity changed after its decline ...

A 2,800-year-old mass grave in Serbia reveals a chilling pattern: women and children deliberately targeted, most unrelated to one another, and buried in a ritualized ceremony.