Evolution: What makes a modern human

@article{Stringer2012EvolutionWM,
  title={Evolution: What makes a modern human},
  author={Christopher B. Stringer},
  journal={Nature},
  year={2012},
  volume={485},
  pages={33-35}
}
We probably all carry genes from archaic species such as Neanderthals. Chris Stringer explains why the DNA we have in common is more important than any differences. 
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57 Citations
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57 Citations

Revising the human mutation rate: implications for understanding human evolution

TLDR
The implications of a lower-than-expected mutation rate in relation to the timescale of human evolution are discussed.

Human evolution: a tale from ancient genomes

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Among the emerging areas of aDNA research, the analysis of past epigenomes is set to provide more new insights into human adaptation and disease susceptibility through time.

Merging morphological and genetic evidence to assess hybridization in Western Eurasian late Pleistocene hominins

TLDR
The degree to which cranial variation seen in the fossil record of late Pleistocene hominins from Western Eurasia corresponds with current genetic and comparative data is explored, and the findings indicate some correspondence between these different lines of evidence.

Hybridization in human evolution: Insights from other organisms

TLDR
A range of examples relevant to questions about the evolution of hominins are presented, highlighting potential drivers of human evolution in the context of hybridization including: influences on adaptive evolution, climate change, developmental systems, sex‐differences in behavior, Haldane's rule and the large X‐effect, and transgressive phenotypic variation.

The Origin of Modern East Asians

TLDR
The evidence for anatomical, behavioral and genetic modernity in East Asia is examined to show that these three aspects of modernity are linked through demographic changes that began in the late Pleistocene - increased survivorship and population expansions that changed the course of human evolution.

Survival of Homo Sapiens– A Retrospect Analysis

Our understanding of human evolution is in the form of evidence of available fossil remains based on discoveries made in the last two hundred years. Most of these discoveries are incidental in nature…

The origin and evolution of Homo sapiens

  • C. Stringer
  • Geography, Environmental Science
    Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
  • 2016
TLDR
It is argued that human fossils such as those from Jebel Irhoud, Florisbad, Eliye Springs and Omo Kibish 2 do represent early members of the species, but variation across the African later middle Pleistocene/early Middle Stone Age fossils shows that there was not a simple linear progression towards later sapiens morphology, and there was chronological overlap between different ‘archaic’ and ‘modern’ morphs.

Complete genomes of Hairstreak butterflies, their speciation, and nucleo-mitochondrial incongruence

TLDR
A 729 Mbp genome assembly of the Calycopis cecrops is reported, the first genome from the family Lycaenidae and the largest available Lepidoptera genome, suggesting common speciation mechanisms in these butterflies.

Biology and Philosophy. III. About Mongrels and How to Shoot down a Crab from a Tree

TLDR
The history of mating between Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, Denisovans and one or more unknown hominids is presented and it is suggested that this mixture produced individuals able to build great civilizations.

Diagnosing Homo sapiens in the fossil record

TLDR
It is concluded that, although it may not be possible or even desirable to cleanly partition out a homogenous morphological description of recent H. sapiens in the fossil record, there are key, distinguishing morphological traits in the cranium, dentition and pelvis that can be usefully employed to diagnose the H. Sapiens lineage.
...

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