Blog
Introducing the Spring 2015 Baldwin Fellows
Grants, The Leakey Foundation, Baldwin Fellows Franklin Mosher Baldwin Memorial Fellowships are awarded to graduate students who are from developing countries and would like to pursue training and/or education abroad. In providing this opportunity The Leakey Foundation hopes to equip these scholars with the knowledge and experience necessary to assume leadership positions in their home countries where there often exist extraordinary resources… more »
Baboons prefer to spend time with others of the same age, status, and personality
In the News New research funded in part by The Leakey Foundation shows that chacma baboons within a troop spend more of their time with baboons that have similar characteristics to themselves: associating with those of a similar age, dominance rank and even personality type such as boldness. This is known as homophily, or ‘love of the same’.… more »
Apes under pressure show their ingenuity – and hint at our own evolutionary past
Guest Post By Susana Carvalho, George Washington University Chimpanzees are wily enough to adapt in some ways when people encroach on their turf. Kimberley Hockings, CC BY-NC-ND
In the mid 20th century, when paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey sent three pioneering women to study great apes in their natural habitats, the Earth’s wilderness was still untouched in many places. Jane Goodall went to Gombe in Tanzania… more »
Origin Stories Episode 01: On Two Feet with Carol Ward
Origin Stories Every good story starts at the beginning. In the first episode of Origin Stories we talk with Carol Ward about one of the first things that distinguished our ancestors from the other primates, the weird way we walk around. Carol Ward is Curator’s Professor and Director of Anatomical Sciences in the integrative anatomy program at the University of Missouri, where she directs the Ward Laboratory. Her… more »
Grantee Spotlight: Sarie Van Belle
Grantee Spotlight Sarie Van Belle and howler monkeys In December 2014, three time Leakey Foundation grantee Dr. Sarie Van Belle, of the University of Texas at Austin, was awarded a research grant for her project entitled “Paternity and kinship in socially monogamous saki and titi monkeys.” This study will examine paternity and kinship patterns in two closely related primate species (the red titi monkey, Callicebus… more »
Video: Laurie Santos – The Evolution of Irrationality
Speaker Series If you missed Laurie Santos’ SciCafe presentation at the American Museum of Natural History, we have a video of her presentation. [youtube id=”v_3fkePAg6U”] The ancestral history of humans and primates is extensive, but can it explain even our financial choices? New experiments in “monkeynomics” demonstrate that monkeys make some of the same silly financial choices… more »
Behind the Science: C3 or C4, Which One Are You?
Behind the Science, Tutorial by H. Gregory This is the first in a series of articles written for those of you who might appreciate a little extra background information on the science behind some of the projects we share with you. Enjoy! In this year’s Spring/Summer AnthroQuest we describe how Getty Grant recipient Thure Cerling is using stable isotope analysis of tooth enamel from fossil primates in order to determine the percentages… more »
Human Ecological Dominance
Speaker Series Rob Blumenschine’s Leakey Speaker Series talk, “Olduvai Gorge and the Origin of Human Ecological Dominance,” is coming up on April 22, 2015 at the California Academy of Sciences. Rob will discuss how humans have become one of the most adaptable and ecologically dominant species through intelligence and technology. What makes Rob so qualified to discuss this topic?
Rob has worked… more »
Introducing Origin Stories: The Leakey Foundation Podcast
The Leakey Foundation, Origin Stories Origin Stories is our new podcast about what it means to be human and the science behind what we know about ourselves. We'll have interviews and stories from scientists about their research on a vast and fascinating range of topics. We'll learn about the biology and the millions of years of evolution that shape the way we look and act today.
Grantee Spotlight: Lauren Gonzales
Grantee Spotlight Lauren Gonzales is a PhD candidate from Duke University. She was awarded a Leakey Foundation research grant in the fall of 2013 for her project entitled “Intraspecific variation in semicircular canal morphology in platyrrhine monkeys.” Lauren Gonzales
Understanding the functional relationship between locomotion and the morphology of the semicircular canals is an important adjunct… more »
Found 609 Results