evolution
Terrifying proto-whale hunted on land and in the sea
Yet another ocean monster has been discovered.
Rhino mystery going back to Darwin solved
A recent study sheds light on the evolutionary history of rhinoceroses and their remarkably low levels of genetic diversity.
Endosymbiotic theory: evolution is powered by innovation and thievery
Sometimes, new combinations of preexisting things revolutionize life.
Why did birds survive extinction while dinosaurs died out?
The brain of an ancient bird offers clues to the survival of its modern-day relatives.
How jumping spiders can distinguish the living from the non-living
Eight-eyed arachnids can tell when an object's movement is not quite right.
How evolution shifts from unicellular to multicellular life
When facing a predator, single cells sometimes unite to defend themselves, paving the way for more complex multicellular life forms to evolve.
Baby beasts: Love and evolution in the animal kingdom
Evolutionary success is not about the number of one's children, but one's grandchildren: the children need to survive and pass on their genes.
Homo longi, the dragon man: Researchers identify our closest relative
In 1933, the skull of a 50-year-old male of the Homo longi species was found in China, puzzling researchers.
A comet impact may have paved the way for human civilization
The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis argues that a comet strike caused major changes to climate and human cultures on Earth about 13,000 years ago.
Discovered: 78,000 years ago, the oldest known burial ritual in Africa
How do archaeologists know if someone was buried intentionally tens of thousands of years ago?
From 1.8 million years ago, earliest evidence of human activity found
Scientists discover what our human ancestors were making inside the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa 1.8 million years ago.
Blame evolution for human disease
For every good idea in evolution, there is an unintended consequence. Disease is often one of them.
Why hasn’t evolution made human childbirth easier?
The answer seems to be a series of evolutionary trade-offs that help protect organs in women, according to a recent study.
Evolution has robbed us of horse-sized bunnies
The size of rabbits and hares has long been evolutionarily constrained by competitors roughly their size.
160-million-year-old ‘Monkeydactyl’ was the first animal to develop opposable thumbs
The 'Monkeydactyl' was a flying reptile that evolved highly specialized adaptations in the Mesozoic Era.
Our ancestors first developed humanlike brains 1.7 million years ago
A recent study analyzed the skulls of early Homo species to learn more about the evolution of primate brains.
The evolution of modern rainforests began with the dinosaur-killing asteroid
The lush biodiversity of South America's rainforests is rooted in one of the most cataclysmic events that ever struck Earth.
Mice could someday become venomous, suggests study on the evolution of oral venom systems
Snakes and mammals share common genetic building blocks necessary for producing venom.
Cannibalistic pantry moths prove a key principle of evolution
Biologists use commonly-found insects that engage in cannibalism to prove a key evolutionary concept.
New research reveals why some octopuses punch fish
"Don't tread on me" is a slogan of the deep sea, too.
Humans still similar to first animals without heads, arms, or skeletons
555-million-year-old oceanic creatures share genes with today's humans, finds a new study.
Surprising new feature of human evolution discovered
Research reveals a new evolutionary feature that separates humans from other primates.
Record for oldest DNA ever sequenced broken by mammoth remains
One million year old mammoth DNA more than doubles the previous record and suggests that even older genomes could be found.
Study reveals a “boring” era when Earth was flat, with no mountains
A study of europium crystals shows the planet was mostly flat during its middle ages.
Why do some species evolve to miniaturize?
The island rule hypothesizes that species shrink or supersize to fill insular niches not available to them on the mainland.
The bacteria in our guts can tell time
For the first time, it was discovered that nonphotosynthetic bacteria have a circadian clock.
Catnip is for both pleasure and protection, according to a new study
The main bioactive compound in catnip seems to protect cats from mosquitoes. It might protect humans, too.
Charles Darwin’s 165-year-old “wind hypothesis” finally proven true
Darwin was right again—sort of.
Lair of giant predator worms from 20 million years ago found
Scientists discover burrows of giant predator worms that lived on the seafloor 20 million years ago.
Chemists discover the mix that likely originated life on Earth
Scientists find that an RNA-DNA mix may have created the first life on our planet.