When the Public Is Fed the Wrong Information About Primates A recent article about Japanese macaque monkeys went viral, even getting exposure on Stephen Colbert, because of its provocative headline: “Love Triangle Challenges Reign of Japan’s Monkey Queen.” But that idiotic headline, based on inaccurate reporting, was simply fake news…

Our Species Has Spent Its History Mating with Anyone Close By In graduate school for anthropology many decades ago, I learned that the phylogenic tree of human evolution was best represented by a sturdy central trunk. That trunk embodied the singular path of our species but there were also several…

It might seem odd to compare these two shows, one a kind of comedy and the other a kind of drama, but they have so very much in common. For example, both feature drug use and addiction and use that negative hook to keep us entertained, they both focus on…

The Enduring Story of Human Wanderlust A recently calculated time frame for a series of ancient human footprints at White Sands National Park, New Mexico, is bringing people, especially anthropologists and archeologists, to their feet. These footprints were discovered in 2009 by park staff; turns out there are thousands of…

Anti-Vaxxers Exist in a Brain Fog That is Killing Them By Meredith F. Small There are myriad reasons why some people in the United States have not received the Covid-19 vaccine — issues with access, time off work, no childcare, unfounded fear that authorities might deport illegal immigrants, or a…

Why Having Patience Is an Adaptive Trait I know how to wait. Or I should say I once learned how to wait and now I’m grateful the ability stuck because it turned out to be an asset, especially these days. Decades ago, I was a primatologist, that is, a person…

Newly Discovered Roman Road Found on the Floor of the Venetian Lagoon Last week, archaeologists announced the discovery of an old Roman road, remnants of docks, and indications of large buildings, sitting on the bottom of the Venetian lagoon. Romans left the Veneto, the Province which includes the lagoon and…

Why Do Anti-Vaxxers Stick with Their Refusal to Save Themselves and the Lives of Others? A lot has been written about the various reasons people are refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Unaware of the twenty years that mRNA techniques have been in the works, some feel the vaccines have…

History, and Data, Show That It Is Not. On November 21, 2019, I walked over a temporary bridge set across the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, and bought some long white candles with pictures of the Blessed Virgin imprinted on the wax. I then joined the long line of believers…