HBES Members, I am thrilled to announce that our Laith Al-Shawaf has just been awarded the Evolution in the Public Eye Award. The EPE Award honors outstanding contributions to the public understanding of evolutionary perspectives on behavior. These contributions positively impact our perception and understanding of evolutionary science by communicating accurate, evidence-based information and/or exposing […]
– by Tobias L. Kordsmeyer When we form impressions of others, we rarely rely on just one cue. Faces provide one stream of information, bodies provide another, and voices add yet another layer. In everyday life, these cues are usually perceived together – so it is tempting to assume they are redundant. If someone has […]
– by Bonnie Hewlett, Harshita Agrawal, and Barry Hewlett In the high-pathogen rain forests of central Africa, adolescents begin evaluating who looks healthy, attractive, and potentially marriageable in environments that differ markedly from those studied in urban industrial settings. What cues signal health, and which of those cues actually matter? Evolutionary researchers have long argued […]
– by Irene Delval and Solimary García Hernández Traditionally, scientific and popular assumptions about sexual behavior have struggled to decouple it from its reproductive purpose. From primates to nematodes, sexual behaviors that didn’t lead to conception were often dismissed as errors, curiosities, byproducts, or evolutionary leftovers. Recently, however, this perspective has shifted. In Western societies, […]
– by Hossein Samani & Ashley J. Thomas It may be easy for many readers to assume that romantic kissing (lip-to-lip contact between romantic partners) is universal. While romantic kissing is common around the world, it is far from universal. On the other hand, rather than spreading from a single point of origin, ethnographic and […]
– by Paul Ewald In modern societies kissing is a widespread and important aspect of social interactions. It appears to be a sexually selected adaptation that facilitates mate evaluation, pair bonding, and/or sexual activity. This evolutionary explanation is paradoxical because kissing seems unnecessary for mate selection and is associated with transmission of diseases, which might […]
– by Sophie Lund Rasmussen Kissing is often considered one of the most human of behaviours. It feels intimate. Emotional. Social. And perhaps even a little mysterious. Why do we do it? Interestingly, lip-to-lip kissing is actually very rare in the animal kingdom—only documented in humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos. But if we take a step […]
– by Stuart West & Max Burton-Chellew Replication or repeating of experiments is a key part of the scientific methodology. It increases your trust in that result. It shows that the result was not just due to some unnoticed bias or a particular setup. This helps to filter out false positives and expose questionable research […]
HBES Members, Help recognize people who have gone above and beyond in communicating and countering misinformation about human evolutionary science by nominating them for the 2026 Evolution in the Public Eye award! Self-nominations allowed too. Submission deadline extended until February 7th at: https://forms.gle/VXJgczHA1irDDNB19 Last year’s winner was our president, Ed Hagen.
Dear HBES colleagues, Below find important information for the HBES conference: Registration: The registration for the 2026 meeting in Rabat, Morocco, is now open! Please visit the website for information regarding registration, or directly access the registration form. The early bird period will conclude on the 29th of March 2026. Online attendance is possible. If […]