Scientists have shed fresh light on how human hands and minds evolved together, finding that longer thumbs in primates means bigger brains.

Political Anthropologist Professor Nayanika Mookherjee has been honoured with the 2025 Rivers Memorial Medal, one of the highest accolades in Anthropology. 

Thousands of new electricity pylons are to be built across parts of England under the government’s plans to decarbonise the electricity. And some people aren’t happy. Professor Simone Abram from our Department of Anthropology and Director of Durham Energy Institute, explores why electricity pylons can evoke such powerful feelings.

Human persecution leads to anxiety and physiological stress amongst baboons. That’s according to the findings of new research by our Department of Anthropology.

Dr Sian Waters of our Department of Anthropology and Tracie McKinney of the University of South Wales explore the damaging impact of humans feeding monkeys in tourist hot spots.

We will host the European Research Council's (ERC) Scientific Council Meeting this June. Leading up to the visit, we are highlighting some of the projects at Durham that are happening thanks to support from the ERC.

Are you a new parent worrying about whether your baby is sleeping enough or how long they should nap for? A new book by our world-leading baby sleep expert, Professor Helen Ball, could be just what you need.

How can we use people’s lived experience of health and illness to improve clinical practice? This has been the focus for Professor Jane Macnaughton as the founder of our Institute for Medical Humanities. For the last 25 years, Jane has been at the forefront of this area of research, striving to humanise medical education.

Anthropology student Amy Douglas tells us why she decided to study Durham's MSc in Medical Anthropology! She also tells us why the program is especially valuable to medical students interested in studying an intercalated degree.

The Durham Infancy and Sleep Centre (DISC) are currently undertaking research to understand how and why parents/carers use adult-worn baby slings or carriers, and how they find information. The project is funded by a research grant from The Lullaby Trust.

For athletes hoping to gain an advantage, new research suggests wearing red may not be the boost it once was. In 2005, research led by Professors Russell Hill and Robert Barton in our Department of Anthropology found that wearing red boosted the chances of success in some sports. However, two decades later, a new study involving the same researchers finds that wearing red may no longer provide the sporting advantage it once did.

A new report from our top-rated Anthropology department has revealed the shocking conditions endured by mothers and babies in dispersal asylum accommodation across the UK.