In The News: Department of Anthropology

News Medical

Hey new moms, don't put down that can of spinach just yet. A research team led by UNLV medical anthropologists found that eating encapsulated human placenta, a practice known as placentophagy, may not be as good a source of dietary iron for postpartum mothers as proponents suggest.

Romper

I know what you're thinking; if it's good enough for Kim Kardashian-West it's good enough for me, right? After Kardashian-West gave birth to son Saint in 2015, she reportedly had her placenta freeze-dried into pill form to combat possible iron deficiency. Well, a new study has found that eating placenta has no iron benefit.

Scary Mommy

For years now, there has been a trend of women eating their placentas after giving birth. Fans of the practice (known as placentophagia because “phagia” is the sound you make when you vomit) claim that it can prevent post-partum depression, increase milk production, and provide a source of nutrition for new mothers. A new study from UNLV, however, claims that when it comes to iron, women receive no benefit from eating their placentas.

KNPR News

Eating placenta isn’t common among women who have just given birth, but the practice is growing. Advocates say it reduces pain, increases energy levels and milk production, and generally eases recovery.

Earth Magazine

As the sole surviving species of the genus Homo, we Homo sapiens are one of the most taxonomically lonely species living on Earth today. But dig back a few thousand years or more and we find ourselves with plenty of company: Many now-extinct species shared the genus Homo, ranging from the robust Homo neanderthalensis, to the hobbit-like Homo floresiensis to the more primitive Homo habilis and Homoerectus. But do all these species, with their wide diversity of physical and cultural traits, actually belong in the same genus?

Geo News

A 2.8-million-year-old jawbone fossil with five intact teeth unearthed in an Ethiopian desert is pushing back the dawn of humankind by about half a million years.