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Jen Viegas

Latest Posts From Jen

Disgust Helps Humans Avoid Infectious Diseases, But the Emotion Isn’t Perfect
Earth & Conservation
By Jen Viegas

Disgust Helps Humans Avoid Infectious Diseases, But the Emotion Isn’t Perfect

Feelings of disgust serve an evolutionary purpose, protecting us from potential health threats.

Butchered Rhino Suggests Humans Lived in the Philippines 700,000 Years Ago
Earth & Conservation
By Jen Viegas

Butchered Rhino Suggests Humans Lived in the Philippines 700,000 Years Ago

Multiple, stone tools and a butchered rhino push back the date of early human presence in the Philippines by 642,000 years.

New Track and Field Regs. Limiting Women's Hormone Levels Spark Intense Debate
Earth & Conservation
By Jen Viegas

New Track and Field Regs. Limiting Women's Hormone Levels Spark Intense Debate

The International Association of Athletics Federations has capped testosterone levels in women athletes, which could impact stars like South Africa’s Caster Semeya.

Brain Reconstructions Suggest Reasons for the Decline of Neanderthals
Earth & Conservation
By Jen Viegas

Brain Reconstructions Suggest Reasons for the Decline of Neanderthals

Computer models show that Neanderthals appear to have had a smaller cerebellum than early Homo sapiens.

First Footprint Evidence of Human Hunting Discovered
Earth & Conservation
By Jen Viegas

First Footprint Evidence of Human Hunting Discovered

The 11,000-year-old fossil prints found in New Mexico's White Sands National Monument show prehistoric humans stalking a giant ground sloth.

Animal Advocates and Academics Seek Personhood Rights for Chimpanzees
Earth & Conservation
By Jen Viegas

Animal Advocates and Academics Seek Personhood Rights for Chimpanzees

The New York State Court of Appeals is grappling with a case in which petitioners take a bold position: Chimpanzees are persons, not things.

Stone Age Cow Underwent Cranial Surgery 5,000 Years Ago
Earth & Conservation
By Jen Viegas

Stone Age Cow Underwent Cranial Surgery 5,000 Years Ago

A cow cranium from the Neolithic Era appears to be the first evidence of either a veterinary procedure or a person practicing their human surgical skills on an animal.

Media Representations of Animals Are Distorting Our Perception of Their Extinction Risk
Earth & Conservation
By Jen Viegas

Media Representations of Animals Are Distorting Our Perception of Their Extinction Risk

Ubiquitous images of many animals are leading us to believe that some of the world's most endangered species are thriving in the wild.

Discovery of Finger Fossil in Saudi Arabia Revises Story of Early Human Migrations
Archaeology
By Jen Viegas

Discovery of Finger Fossil in Saudi Arabia Revises Story of Early Human Migrations

The oldest Homo sapiens fossil found outside of Africa or the Levant suggests that early human migrations were far more frequent and geographically widespread than previously thought.

This Extinct Monitor Lizard Had Four Eyes
Animals
By Jen Viegas

This Extinct Monitor Lizard Had Four Eyes

Four eyes are better than two, or at least that was the case for a monitor lizard that lived close to 50 million years ago.

Chimp Civil War Observed by Jane Goodall Began With Tensions Between Three Males
Animals
By Jen Viegas

Chimp Civil War Observed by Jane Goodall Began With Tensions Between Three Males

The only civil war ever observed in wild chimpanzees was fueled by power, ambition, and jealousy, new research finds.

Here’s Why Marine Mammals Are Big — But Not Too Big
Animals
By Jen Viegas

Here’s Why Marine Mammals Are Big — But Not Too Big

New research overturns the theory that the ability to float led to large and hefty marine mammals.