First, some 15,000 to 35,000 years ago, when humans crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Asia into North America, there were likely lice gripping their hair, along for the ride. So it confirms what ...

Head lice have been constant, if unwanted, human companions. The blood-sucking parasites are rich sources of genetic information illuminating some of the biggest questions in the human story.

Head lice have been constant, if unwanted, human companions for as long as our species has been around. Evidence of this ancient connection includes a 10,000-year-old louse found on human remains ...

Head lice have plagued communities for centuries across the world. They have evolved — and traveled — with humans to continually survive and find new hosts. Now, a new study suggests lice DNA ...

The jumpy parasites have followed our ancestors around for at least 25 million years, adapting along with us through major upheavals. By Carl Zimmer Along our evolutionary journey from monkey-like ...

Humans and lice have coevolved for thousands of years. The oldest human louse known to scientists is a 10,000 year-old specimen from Brazil. Getty Images.

In another, lice were fed infected blood, then isolated for 18 hours before being allowed to feed again, similar to a scenario in which infected lice might jump from clothing or bedding onto a human.