Life’s Frankenstein Beginnings: Surprising Discoveries About First Building Blocks of Life on Earth
New evidence shows the first building blocks of life on Earth may have been messier than previously thought. When the Earth was born, it was…
Evolution
Remarkable New Species of Meat-Eating Jurassic Dinosaur Discovered in Utah
A remarkable new species of meat-eating dinosaur has been unveiled at the Natural History Museum of Utah. Paleontologists unearthed the first specimen in early 1990s…
Mosquitoes Are Drawn to Flowers As Much as People — Now Scientists Finally Know Why
Without their keen sense of smell, mosquitoes wouldn’t get very far. They rely on this sense to find a host to bite and spots to…
One-of-a-Kind Dinosaur Specimen Discovered in China Offers View Into Dinosaur-Bird Evolution
San Diego Natural History Museum paleontologist describes a dinosaur that is new to science, shows dinosaurs grew up differently from birds. A new species of…
Pancake-Shaped Structures in Hummingbird Feathers Produce Their Iridescent Rainbow Colors
Hummingbirds are some of the most brightly-colored things in the entire world. Their feathers are iridescent—light bounces off them like a soap bubble, resulting in…
Study Traces Evolution of Acoustic Communication Back to 350 Million Years Ago
A study tracing acoustic communication across the tree of life of land-living vertebrates reveals that the ability to vocalize goes back hundreds of millions of…
First Evidence That Social Interactions of Ants Affect Pathogen Competition
Sanitary care by social ants shapes disease outcome — study published in Ecology Letters. Who wins in a competition is largely dependent on the opponent…
Meerkat Mobs Do Frightening ‘War Dance’ to Protect Territory [Video]
Meerkat clans perform a ‘war dance’ to frighten opponents and protect their territory, according to a new UCL and University of Cambridge study. Published in…
Fascinating Shark and Ray Vision Evolution Research Reveals Sharks Can’t See Colors
Vision is a crucial sense for most animals, and vertebrates have evolved a highly adaptable set of opsin genes that generate light-sensitive pigments to decode…
Researchers Discover “Ghost Worms” Mostly Unchanged Since the Age of Dinosaurs, Despite 140 Million Years of Evolution
That size, shape and structure of organisms can evolve at different speeds is well known, ranging from fast-evolving adaptive radiations to living fossils such as…
Study Shows Dogs and Wolves Are Both Good at Cooperating [Video]
Basic cooperation skills appear to be shared by dogs and wolves, suggesting that this ability was present in a common ancestor and was not lost…
Scientists Just Showed That Color-Changing Brittle Stars Can See, Even Though They Don’t Have Eyes
Scientists have shown for the first time that brittle stars use vision to guide them through vibrant coral reefs, thanks to a neat color-changing trick….
Distinctive Primal Acoustics of the Human Scream
Researchers Hone In on What Makes Screams Distinctive Screams are prompted by a variety of emotions — from joyful surprise to abject terror. No matter…
Surprising Explanation to the Mysterious Case of the Ornamented Coot Chicks
The bright colors of the chicks of American coots help their parents choose favorites, according to a new study. The American coot is a somewhat…
Breakthrough in Understanding Evolution – Mitochondrial Division Conserved Across Species
New study shows exactly how the manner in which mitochondria divide has remained the same since evolution began. Cellular origin is well explained by the…
New Discovery of 96-Million-Year Old Turtle Species and Hints at Intercontinental Migrations
New 96-million-year old turtles from Texas connect North America with Asia and the Southern Hemisphere, suggesting vast intercontinental migrations during this time. The Arlington Archosaur…
Ancient Wasp-Mimicking Fly Discovered – Named After PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’
A newly discovered species of ancient wasp-mimicking flies was named Buccinatormyia gangnami, after a famous hit by a South Korean singer PSY. It was described…
Rare Species of Animals and Plants Organize in Ghettos to Survive
An international research team in which Spanish experts participate has shown that sparse species are associated spatially in 90% of the animal and plant communities…