Evolution just got turned upside down. Sorry sponges.

Stems cells have always been pretty amazing.

Image source: Piotr Kuczek/Lotus_studio/Shutterstock/Big Think
  • New research indicates animals' oldest ancestor was not sponges' single-celled choanocyte bacteria as previously thought.
  • It appears our earliest predecessors were something like modern stem cells.
  • Our lineage just lost its founding member. The search for our true first predecessor is on!
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Surprising Science

The dancing species: How moving together in time helps make us human

"In so far as bodily movements build the brain, every movement a human makes matters."

Ian Gavan/Getty Images

Dancing is a human universal, but why?

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music world cultures psychology history evolution dance
Culture & Religion

After Hurricane Maria, these lizards got a serious grip

In response to devastating hurricanes, Dominican anoles have developed a grip that's 10 times stronger. Are we witnessing evolution in real time?

Photo: Brandy Manor/Wikimedia Commons
  • After Hurricane Maria, anole species on the island of Dominica developed super strong grips.
  • This development may be one of the fasted rates of evolutionary change ever recorded.
  • Climate change will likely to result in more intense hurricanes, but not all species will adapt so quickly.
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animals biology climate change ecology environment evolution genetics natural disaster physiology
Surprising Science

New study reveals that reincarnation is real — kind of

Photo by Jeremy Horner/LightRocket via Getty Images
  • Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes can transmit information about the environment through neurons to future generations.
  • Research from Tel Aviv University pushes back against the "second law of biology," which states that heritable information is segregated from somatic influences.
  • If applicable to humans this research could have important uses in medicine.
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epidemiology evolution biology cognitive science health genetics
popular

Gene-edited babies may live shorter lives, analysis finds

Chinese scientist He Jiankui edited the genes of two babies to be resistant to HIV, provoking outrage. Now, a new genetic analysis shows why this was reckless.

Flickr user NIAID
  • The gene-editing technique CRISPR offers major benefits to humanity, but scientists don't believe the field is mature enough for widespread editing.
  • For this reason, when Chinese scientist He Jiankui edited the genes of two babies to be resistant to HIV, his work provoked outrage.
  • A new study of 400,000 genetic profiles reveals that He's genetic editing did indeed have an unintended consequence.
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dna disease bioethics evolution genetics hiv crispr
Surprising Science