In the last few years, two paradigms underlying human evolution have crumbled. Modern humans have not totally replaced previous hominins without any admixture, and the expected signatures of adaptations to new environments are surprisingly lacking at the genomic level. Here we review current evidence about archaic admixture and lack of strong selective sweeps in humans. We underline the need to...

The article is devoted to the works of Ivan Tankov (Tonkov), whose oeuvre remains a mystery in history Russian painting last third 18th century. content artist’s creations, called “rural festivitiesˮ, has not yet been deciphered, as their stylistic features go beyond mainstream development landscape genre. connection Tankov’s paintings with manor culture and everyday life country estate suggest...

All animals have an effect on the environment, but some key species – called ecosystem engineers – can have a particularly large influence. Their impact can be positive, by creating and maintaining habitats and increasing biodiversity, but they can also be negative, by destroying habitats and reducing biodiversity. Interestingly, the magnitude of the effect that an ecosystem engineer has on the...