Palaeontologists and comparative neurobiologists share a common interest in the evolution of the mammalian brain, but often fail to realize the benefits of this shared interest. This Review draws thes...

Summary: The biology of widely shared and unusual features of human pain is informed by functional and mechanistic comparisons of nociception and pain-like aversive states across vertebrate and invert...

Lead exposure, as influenced by NOVA1 expression, affected brain function in multiple hominid species.

Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Published online: 15 October 2025; doi:10.1038/s44358-025-00095-0Palaeontologists and comparative neurobiologists share a common interest in the evolution of the mammalian brain, but often fail to realize the benefits of this shared interest. This Review draws these fields together, demonstrating the utility of a cross-disciplinary, synergistic approach.

By tracing when variations in the human genome first appeared, researchers have found that advances in cognitive abilities may have led to our vulnerability to mental illness

A groundbreaking new study has profoundly reshaped our understanding of lead exposure and its impact on human evolution, revealing that the toxic metal’s influence extends back nearly two million y

Human brain growth slowed about 300,000 years ago, research in Brain & Cognition suggests. Energy demands and shifting climates may have capped brain size, pushing survival toward cultural innovations...

ALT: a man in a suit and tie is giving a thank you sign .

ALT: a stuffed shark is standing in front of a fire