Neuroscience

Study unveils new clonal relations in the mouse brain

The human brain and the brain of other mammals contain numerous populations of specialized cells with unique functions, molecular structures and characteristics. These cells originate from a thin layer of neuroepithelial ...

Neuroscience

Scientists pinpoint brain's area for numeral recognition

Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have determined the precise anatomical coordinates of a brain "hot spot," measuring only about one-fifth of an inch across, that is preferentially activated when people ...

Genetics

As population exploded, more rare genes entered human genome

(Medical Xpress) -- As the Earth's human population has skyrocketed since the rise of agriculture some 10,000 years ago -- to 7 billion people from a few million -- so, too, has the number of rare genetic variants.

Genetics

World's most advanced genetic map created

A consortium led by scientists at the University of Oxford and Harvard Medical School has constructed the world's most detailed genetic map.

Genetics

Population genetics reveals shared ancestries

More than just a tool for predicting health, modern genetics is upending long-held assumptions about who we are. A new study by Harvard researchers casts new light on the intermingling and migration of European, Middle Eastern ...

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World population

The term world population commonly refers to the total number of living humans on Earth at a given time. As of 29 July 2009, the Earth's population is estimated by the United States Census Bureau to be 6.774 billion. The world population has been growing continuously since the end of the Black Death around 1400. There were also short term falls at other times due to plague, for example in the mid 17th century (see graph). The fastest rates of world population growth (above 1.8%) were seen briefly during the 1950s then for a longer period during the 1960s and 1970s (see graph). According to population projections, world population will continue to grow until around 2050. The 2008 rate of growth has almost halved since its peak of 2.2% per year, which was reached in 1963. World births have levelled off at about 134-million-per-year, since their peak at 163-million in the late 1990s, and are expected to remain constant. However, deaths are only around 57 million per year, and are expected to increase to 90 million by the year 2050. Since births outnumber deaths, the world's population is expected to reach about 9 billion by the year 2040.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA