Humans have been breeding animals for millenia to bring out desirable characteristics. With the thoroughbred race horse there's lots of money at stake but with research mice it's the possibility of life-saving new treatments.

The human brain, in all its staggering complexity, is the product of millions of years of evolution. 

For much of nature, natural selection and ‘survival of the fittest’ still play a dominant role; only the strongest can survive in the wild. As little as a few hundred years ago, the same was true for humans, but what about now? 

The origin of modern humans has probably been the most debated issue in evolutionary biology over the last few decades.