Trap-Jaw Mechanism Tells an Ant Story of Natural Selection
The speedy mandibles of Strumigenys ants developed repeatedly throughout the world, explaining how evolution creates new abilities to help a species survive.
Read more
evolution
People With Muscle Protein Gene Variant Found to Tolerate Cold Better
A new study suggests that a gene variant affecting skeletal muscle function may have protected humans against lower temperatures as they migrated from Africa to Europe more than 50,000 years ago.
Read more
Scientists Replicate Potential Step in Fin-to-Limb Transition in Zebrafish
A new study reports that by changing just a single gene in the zebrafish genetic code, researchers showed they could begin the creation of an entirely new set of bones and joints.
Read more
New Clues Emerge in How Early Tetrapods Learned to Live — and Eat — on Land
New evidence from scientists at the University of Chicago shows exactly how the tiktaalik roseae, one of the first semi-aquatic organisms, fed itself using a similar feeding mechanism to modern predatory fish, filling in another blank about early water-to-land evolution.
Read more
Skull of Tube-Crested Dinosaur Reveals Evolution of Bizarre Crest
A newly discovered dinosaur skull helped scientists understand the differences between species of Parasaurolophus — and may have finally revealed the purpose of the creature’s unique facial crest.
Read more
Butterfly Species Sprays Mate With Anti-Aphrodisiac to Ward Off Competition
The anti-aphrodisiac the male Heliconius melponene sprays the female butterfly with after mating smells like flowers.
Read more
Research Reveals Why Crocodiles Have Changed Little Since Age of Dinosaurs
A giant meteor wiped out dinosaurs — and a good portion of life on Earth at the time. Yet crocodiles survived and continue to survive, relatively unchanged. Scientists think they know why.
Read more
Pterosaur Precursors Found to Fill Gap in Early Evolutionary History
For 150 million years, pterosaurs reigned as the only creatures in the skies, their broad wings and elongated skulls creating a unique silhouette that has captured human imagination since their discovery in the 19th century.
Read more
Darwin Was Right: Wind Causes Insects to Lose the Ability to Fly
The evolutionary debate has been raging for 160 years.
Read more
Scientists Now Know How Insects Got Their Wings
Turns out the truth is a combination of two theories with a bit of evolutionary help from early crustaceans.
Read more
Evolutionary Explosion of Wood Warblers Took Distinct Paths
Scientists have unlocked the evolutionary secrets behind the wood warbler in an effort to understand why there are so many different species of the songbird, according to new research revealed Monday.
Read more
Fossil Reveals ‘Buck-Toothed Toucan’ That Lived With Dinosaurs
The avian fossil, found in what is now Madagascar, offers insight into the evolution of the faces of modern birds.
Read more
Charles Darwin Notebooks ‘Stolen’ From Cambridge University
Two of Charles Darwin’s notebooks containing his pioneering ideas on evolution and his famous “Tree of Life” sketch are missing, believed stolen, the Cambridge University Library said on Tuesday.
Read more
Genome Comparison Tool Offers Insight on Evolution of Birds and Mammals
In a trio of studies released Wednesday, scientists revealed major breakthroughs in the research of animal genomes — their most detailed look at vertebrate evolution yet.
Read more
Indian Fossils Support New Hypothesis for Origin of Hoofed Animals
After over a decade of research and hundreds of new fossils recovered from the hot mines of India, researchers say they have uncovered new details regarding the evolutionary history of Earth’s most famous hoofed animals.
Read more
Toothless Dinosaur’s Lost Finger Points to Spread of Parrot-Like Species
Birds are thought to be the modern-day remnants of dinosaurs, and a recently discovered toothless, two-fingered specimen is illuminating how a group of animals resembling parrots evolved during the late Cretaceous epoch.
Read more
Andean ‘Sky Islands’ and Alpine Sunflowers at Risk of Disappearing Forever
Scientists in Colombia are using Charles Darwin’s work on evolution to understand an isolated ecosystem threatened by climate change: the Andes.
Read more
Viral Infection Played Key Role in Evolution of Mammals
No one ever wants to come down with a virus. But in the long haul, new research suggests, viruses play a major role in differentiating and fine-tuning mammals’ genomes — even to the benefit of species’ reproductive capacities.
Read more
Origin of Human Teeth Traced to Primitive Prehistoric Fish
The origin of our teeth has been traced back to over 400 million years ago when a mysterious species of fish first developed their prey-catching jaws, and in a study released Thursday, scientists report they have located and studied this creature in never-before-seen detail.
Read moreHunting on Land May Have Helped Spur Brain Evolution
New evidence in evolutionary science revealed Tuesday shows that land animals became smarter than their aquatic ancestors thanks to the complex landscapes they inhabited, allowing them to develop planning abilities that increased their survival rate.
Read more