New research by scientists at the University of Bristol explains how a “stop-start” pattern of evolution, governed by environmental change, could explain why crocodiles have…
University of Copenhagen researchers have discovered how mosses became one of our planet’s most widely distributed plants — global wind systems transport them along Earth’s…
The banyan fig tree Ficus microcarpa is famous for its aerial roots, which sprout from branches and eventually reach the soil. The tree also has…
Big bumblebees take time to learn the locations of the best flowers, new research shows. Meanwhile smaller bumblebees — which have a shorter flight range…
A study of more than 1,400 protein-coding genes of fleas has resolved one of the longest standing mysteries in the evolution of insects, reordering their…
New study shows that proteins become biochemically addicted to complex interactions without adaptation. A new study at the University of Chicago has shown that elaborate…
Waray Dwarf Burrowing Snake occupies its own branch on snake tree of life. To be fair, the newly described Waray Dwarf Burrowing Snake (Levitonius mirus)…
Oregon State University researchers have identified a spectacular new genus and species of flower from the mid-Cretaceous period, a male specimen whose sunburst-like reach for…
Researchers take a closer look at the genomes of microbial communities in the human mouth. Bacteria often show very strong biogeography — some bacteria are…
While water blasting at a wall of frozen mud in Yukon, Canada, a gold miner made an extraordinary discovery: a perfectly preserved wolf pup that…
Most insects can fly. Yet scores of species have lost that extraordinary ability, particularly on islands. On the small islands that lie halfway between Antarctica and…
The bizarre features of this mammal have scientists perplexed as to how it could have evolved; “it bends and even breaks a lot of rules.”…
An amateur fossil hunter has unearthed a new type of prehistoric ‘sea dragon’ on the beach of the UK’s Dorset coast. The new 2m-long ichthyosaurus…
Deemed to never see the light of the day, a new species of endemic, troglobiont centipede was discovered by an international team of scientists in…
By four months of age the cognitive performance of ravens in experimental tasks testing their understanding of the physical world and how they interact with…
Animals can fall into an “ecological trap” by altering their behavior in the “wrong direction” in response to climate change, researchers say. The so-called “rescue…
When most people think of ferocious, blade-like teeth on prehistoric creatures they picture Smilodon, better known as the saber-toothed tiger. But in the world of dinosaurs,…
Three 2,000-year-old cobs in Honduras show that people brought corn varieties back to Mesoamerica, possibly sparking productivity and shaping civilization. Some 9,000 years ago, corn…