human evolution

On the SETI Live podcast, SETI Institute executive Bill Diamond speaks with Dr. Lori Marino, recipient of the 2026 Drake Award, about animal intelligence and brain evolution. Marino, a specialist in whale and dolphin cognition, argues that studying non-human minds on Earth can shape how scientists think about intelligence elsewhere in the universe. The conversation covers dolphin and whale brains, what intelligence means beyond humans, and the search for extraterrestrial minds.

A critic of the Book of Genesis argues that the fossil and archaeological record of how humans lost their body fur and developed clothing contradicts the biblical story that nakedness brought shame. Instead, the loss of fur is attributed to gradual migration between hot and cold environments over hundreds of thousands of years, with clothing emerging as a practical response to climate rather than a moral one.

New research suggests primate communication may follow grammar-like patterns once considered unique to humans. The findings challenge long-held assumptions about the exclusivity of structured language, implying that some building blocks of grammar may predate human evolution. The report is being shared widely among science and wildlife enthusiasts, with many noting it reshapes debates over the evolutionary origins of language.