A new study led by a Duke University scientist overturns a long-held idea about how primates, including humans, came to have such large and sophisticated brains. The research finds that the dramatic expansion of the primate neocortex was driven largely by vision, not by the disproportionate growth of the frontal lobe often associated with higher reasoning. The research, published this week in the journal Science, was led by Richard F. Kay, a professor emeritus of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University… read more about Reliance on Vision Drove Varied Brain Development in Primates »
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences is increasing its support for early-stage interdisciplinary research efforts with new funding for four faculty-led research initiatives designed to foster collaboration across the social sciences, natural sciences and arts & humanities. The projects — spanning biodiversity, statistics, mental health, philosophy, cultural heritage and data science — came out of a competitive call for proposals launched last year. Two initiatives, Causality at Duke and BioTA: Biodiversity… read more about Trinity Funds Four New Faculty-Led Research Initiatives »
According to a major study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science, drinking eight cups of water a day is unnecessary for most healthy adults.The advice is misinformed primarily because of what it omits; it does not take into account the water received from other sources, like tea or cucumbers.The findings suggest that an individual’s water needs vary and depend on factors such as their age, size, physical activity levels, and climate.//Herman Pontzer, PhD, is a professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke… read more about Do You Need 8 Glasses of Water a Day? Duke's Herman Pontzer Says the Real Answer Is Much Simpler »
Dear reader, Friday is National Mutt Day and for dog owners it is a day to celebrate everything your BFF is. Unless you have a purebred dog, your pup is a mutt, or mixed-breed dog. Mixed breed dogs, have at least two breeds in their genetic make-up.Because of gene diversity, mutts have some major health benefits and are less likely to develop hereditary diseases and disorders. In fact, they are generally healthier than purebred dogs.Nearly half of all domesticated dogs are mutts. According to the America Society for… read more about Duke's Brian Hare Shares About Mixed-Breed Dogs on National Mutt Day »
For decades, pain research has relied heavily on rodent models. But an initiative by the National Institutes of Health to reduce reliance on opioids by humans is pushing scientists toward non-rodent models that better reflect human chronic pain.It’s called the Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative (HEAL), and Duke University’s Canine Cognition Center and NC State are collaborating. NC State conducts medical workups and assessments of emotional state, while the Cognition Center focuses on testing memory, problem-… read more about Researchers at Duke and NC State Collaborate to End Chronic Pain in Humans and Dogs »
Hosts from NPR's science podcast Short Wave talk about an exoplanet with pink, salty clouds, the surprising social structure of ancient human relatives and the origins of laughter. ... CHARLES MUSIBA: Could this be an intentional sort of disposal of the bodies? The answer, probably, is yes. I'd like to see a little bit more evidence, but it sort of strongly suggests that way. And the biggest question is, where are the males? read more about Duke evolutionary anthropology professor discusses exoplanetary salt clouds, ancient families and laughter's origin »
Peter Klopfer, professor emeritus of Biology, civil rights activist and co-founder of the Duke Lemur Center, died on June 5 at the age of 95. He is survived by his wife, Martha, and their three daughters.Klopfer helped develop the field of behavioral ecology — the study of animal behavior and its evolution — and made seminal contributions to our understanding of mother-offspring bonding. His research helped elucidate the now well-known role played by the hormone oxytocin in mediating affective bonds.He later… read more about Peter Klopfer, Civil Rights Activist and Co-Founder of the Duke Lemur Center, Died »
Dogs constantly amaze us with their extraordinary abilities. There’s no doubt our four-legged family members are intelligent, but just how smart are dogs?Researchers are racing to learn as much as they can, as canines are caught in a cultural shift: They’re being asked to do more than they ever have, from saving soldiers on the frontlines to detecting when a child is going to have a seizure to being expected to sit calmly in a cafe. read more about Vanessa Woods: How Smart Are Dogs? »
Metabolism is the body’s ability to take in fuel and process it to support life.“It consists of all the complex biochemical reactions that go on in the body to create energy in order to survive,” says fitness and nutrition educator and researcher Mike T. Nelson, PhD....“It’s important to understand that your metabolic rate is a measure of how busy your cells are,” adds Herman Pontzer, PhD, a metabolism researcher and professor at Duke University. “We’re really aware of the calories that our muscle cells use during exercise… read more about Herman Pontzer: What Exactly Is Metabolism? »
Duke University has been awarded $4.4 million from The Duke Endowment for the Duke Lemur Center (DLC), including support for a newly created academic director position. Primatologist and Duke alumna Elizabeth Lonsdorf (T '96) will join the DLC and the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology in this new role on Aug. 1.The new position fills a need identified by an interdisciplinary faculty review committee last year. Working with Executive Director Greg Dye, Lonsdorf will be responsible for… read more about Trinity Alumna Elizabeth Lonsdorf Joins Duke Lemur Center as New Academic Director »
Duke's commencement ceremony was held on Sunday, May 10, welcoming the Class of 2026 into the Duke alumni family. With more than 6,900 graduates, including 1,785 undergraduates, it was a weekend worth celebrating. Over three days, Trinity marked the occasion with ceremonies spanning the arts, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.From large, formal ceremonies to intimate departmental gatherings, Trinity graduates had a full weekend of celebrating their accomplishments alongside the faculty, staff, family and… read more about Scenes from Commencement 2026 | A Look Back at the Trinity Commencement Ceremonies »
A recent essay by award-winning science writer Emily Anthes titled "In Defense of Dumb Dogs: Your pet is (probably) not a genius, and that’s OK" has generated countless emails, texts, and in-person comments.In a 2013 interview in Scientific American, dog expert Dr. Brian Hare, co-author of The Genius of Dogs with Vanessa Wood and founder of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, was asked, “What is the biggest misconception people have about the dog mind?” His answer: “That there are ‘smart’ dogs and ‘dumb’ dogs.... There’s… read more about Duke Canine Researchers Stress the Importance of Being Dog Literate and Dog Smart »
The world’s largest-known group of chimpanzees recently burst into a lethal conflict. Much like in a civil war, the group fractured into two. Then one faction began killing their former group mates on the other side, researchers write today in the journal Science. It’s an exceedingly rare event: scientists estimate that chimpanzee communities split, on average, every 500 years.The paper is “a tour de force,” said Joseph Feldblum, an evolutionary anthropologist affiliated with Duke University, who was not involved… read more about Joseph Feldblum Discusses the Two Hundred Chimpanzee War »
On the last full day of his life, Basie, a large gregarious male chimpanzee, woke up at dawn in a tree nest he’d fashioned from branches and leaves, surrounded by other chimps also dozing in nests, as he’d done nearly every day for 36 years in the forest. After an ordinary day of swinging between trees and snacking on ripe figs, danger appeared. A patrol group of about 13 adult chimps from the opposing faction arrived as daylight began to fade. Three adults surrounded Basie, who jumped from a tree. Then 10 chimps… read more about Duke Primatologist Anne Pusey Emphasizes How Chimpanzee Societies Crumble »
For years, two sets of chimpanzees lived as one in Uganda’s Kibale National Park — grooming, interacting and patrolling their territory in a cohesive community.Then suddenly, one set charged the other, touching off yearslong bloodshed that researchers are comparing to a human civil war.“It was just chaos,” said John Mitani, a professor emeritus in anthropology at the University of Michigan who had been following the chimpanzees for two decades when the violence began in 2015. “They started to scream, shout, chase each other… read more about Duke Professor Emerita Observed Violent Split Among Ngogo Chimpanzees »
Duke University is known for its top-tier academics, cutting-edge research, and legendary basketball team, but if you ask students their favorite thing about Duke, a number of them will answer, “The puppies.” A group of Duke students have stepped up to keep the Duke Puppy Kindergarten open. Vanessa Woods, with the Duke Puppy Kindergarten, joined Jeff Hamlin to discuss how the students helped. read more about Duke Professor Shares How Students Stepped In to Save Puppy Kindergarten »
DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — Duke University is known for its top-tier academics, cutting-edge research, and legendary basketball team, but if you ask students their favorite thing about Duke, a number of them will answer, “The puppies.” “I honestly think it’s the best part of my Duke experience,” said Clara Cornick, who volunteers with Duke Puppy Kindergarten. At Puppy Kindergarten, future service dogs play, learn, and socialize, gaining skills that will help them in their work. “They are much more confident than dogs… read more about Duke University Professor Highlights Student Effort to Help Puppy Kindergarten »
Herman Pontzer, professor of Evolutionary Anthropology, has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), one of the most distinguished honors in the scientific community. Pontzer’s research explores the physiology of humans and apes to better understand how ecology, lifestyle, diet and evolutionary history shape metabolism and health. His work also examines how ecological and evolutionary forces influence musculoskeletal design and patterns of physical activity.… read more about Duke Professor Herman Pontzer Elected AAAS Fellow »
A new analysis has revealed that aerobic exercise raises total daily calorie burn far less than expected, especially when people diet at the same time.The finding recasts a basic assumption of weight loss: calories spent in a workout do not simply stack onto the body’s daily total. Across 14 trials, the missing calories surfaced in the gap between what workouts should have added and what the body actually spent.Working through those records at Duke University, Herman Pontzer found that aerobic exercise usually increased… read more about Duke Professor Herman Pontzer Emphasizes That “Your Workout Isn’t Burning as Many Calories as You Think” »
It’s common to hear athletes describe themselves and their teammates as “dawgs,” but Duke’s locker room, quite literally, featured a canine companion.Rina is the team puppy. She wore a “service dog” vest and purple bedazzled collar. It coordinated well with Coach Kara Lawson’s jacket. About 10 minutes later, Rina sat peacefully on the podium — she was a very good girl — during Lawson’s pregame March Madness news conference. Lawson said it was Rina’s last day with the program before attending graduation outside the campus… read more about Duke Women’s Basketball's Team Dog is a Canine Cognition Center Puppy »
It's a recurring question that confronts weight-watchers whoseenormous appetite for exercises does not quite translate into weightloss: why don't I lose nearly as much weight as I burn calories?An analysis of 14 trials spanning 450 people has, by some distance,provided answers. In what they described as a 28 percent rule,researchers at Duke University in the US observed that the human bodymakes up for an exercise in increased activity by reducing energyexpenditure on other biological functions by 28 percent. This… read more about Herman Pontzer On What Happens When Exercises Don’t Trigger Weight Loss »
Online tools have long promised to demystify and streamline calorie tracking. Because if you can track your calories, you can create a calorie “deficit.” And taking in fewer calories than you expend ("calories in, calories out"—or CICO, as it’s known) has long seemed like the most airtight theory in health.And so many calorie-tracking apps depend on CICO for users. MyFitnessPal, the genre’s OG, launched way back in 2005. More than 20 years later, the service now holds a database of nutritional information for more than 11… read more about Herman Pontzer Breaks Down Why Calorie Tracking Doesn’t Always Lead to Weight Loss »
Doug Boyer, associate professor of Evolutionary Anthropology, received the American Association of Biological Anthropologists (AABA) Mid-Career Research Award, which honors mid-career scholars whose work has significantly advanced biological anthropology. Boyer’s research focuses on primate evolution and its environmental context, combining fossil discovery, analytical methods and a commitment to open and inclusive data sharing that has reshaped how comparative biological data are used worldwide. Boyer has been… read more about Doug Boyer Wins American Association of Biological Anthropologists Mid-Career Research Award »
No, chimpanzees and other great apes cannot breed with monkeys. Even though we often think of primates – the order of mammals that includes great apes such as chimps and ourselves, gibbons, monkeys and much smaller mainly arboreal creatures such as bushbabies, galagos and lemurs – as being closely related, the common ancestor for this group goes back tens of millions of years.How long ago?The animals that became great apes split from those that became monkeys an estimated 25-30 million years ago. That’s a lot of time for… read more about Jenny Tung Discusses How "20-30 Percent of all Primate Species Interbreed With One Another" »
For years, weight loss advice has sounded simple enough: move more, burn more calories, lose weight. Go for a run, hit the gym, sweat it out. But over the past decade, a growing body of research has started to question how effective exercise really is when it comes to shedding kilos. Several large studies now suggest that exercise alone may not lead to the kind of weight loss most people expect. That does not mean exercise is pointless. It just means the story is more complicated.One of the strongest explanations comes from… read more about Duke Professor Talks About The Science Behind Exercise and Body Weight »
Most dog owners think their dog is the best, smartest dog to ever walk the planet. Of course, they're all correct because it's obviously a tie between every dog that has ever existed. But a new study from Duke's Canine Cognition Lab confirms that dogs are actually a lot smarter than humans initially gave them credit for.The study spanned five years as PhD student, Hannah Salomons and the rest of the Duke team partnered with a national service dog organization, Canine Companions. They were joined by other organizations to… read more about Hannah Salomons Explains How New Duke Study Reveals Dogs Are Smarter Than Originally Thought, Anticipating Unsaid Commands »
From primate biology to modern weight loss debates, Herman Pontzer, PhD, traces how evolution shaped a metabolism built for movement, adaptation, and survival. Evolutionary anthropologist Herman Pontzer, PhD, thought he knew what he’d find when he traveled to Tanzania to live among the Hadza, one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer communities on Earth. The Hadza walk miles each day across the dry savannah, hunting game and gathering roots, berries, and honey. Surely, Pontzer figured, they must burn more… read more about Why Exercise Doesn’t Burn More Calories — And Why That’s Not the Point »
As a corner of Africa heats up, new research by Chris Drea shows how the future of the species rests with powerful matriarchs making tough choices for survival. read more about Why Alpha Females Reign Supreme in Meerkat World »
Duke’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences has invited its faculty to submit proposals for the creation of new research initiatives on campus.Following the successful launches of the SPACE Initiative and the Society-Centered AI Initiative, the Trinity Research Initiative will support new directions for interdisciplinary research through seed funding for nascent research collaborations, community-building, and complementary educational and outreach activities.Open to all areas of research and… read more about Trinity College of Arts & Sciences Invites Proposals for New Research Initiatives »
In 2018, Hannah Salomons began a research journey that would span five years, several cities and more than 100 puppies training to be service animals.A project that began in her first year as a Ph.D. student evolved into one of the most detailed longitudinal studies ever conducted on puppy cognition.The goal? To understand how puppies develop thinking skills such as memory, impulse control, and the ability to interpret human gestures. She also is looking to uncover clues about how these skills evolved, and whether early… read more about Inside the Minds of Puppies: How Do They Develop Their Thinking Skills? »