Sixth Mass Extinction of Global Biodiversity Is Already in Progress
The history of life on Earth has been marked five times by events of mass biodiversity extinction caused by extreme natural phenomena. Today, many experts…
Evolutionary Biology
Bacterial Superbug MRSA Arose in Hedgehogs Long Before the Use of Antibiotics Began
Scientists have found evidence that a type of the antibiotic resistant superbug MRSA arose in nature long before the use of antibiotics in humans and…
How Hydra – A Group of Small Aquatic Animals – Regenerate Their Own Heads
A new paper in Genome Biology and Evolution, published by Oxford University Press, maps out for the first time how Hydra, which are a group of small…
Meat-Eating “Vulture Bees” Sport Acidic Guts and an Extra Tooth for Biting Flesh
A little-known species of tropical bee has evolved an extra tooth for biting flesh and a gut that more closely resembles that of vultures rather…
Using Evolutionary Principles To Prevent Antibiotic Resistance
Understanding resistance rates and cross-resistance can improve the potency of sequential antibiotic treatment protocols. Sequential treatment using antibiotics that are similar but swapped around frequently…
Fascinating Study of Carnivorous Plants Captures Universal Rules of Leaf Making [Video]
Leaves display a remarkable range of forms from flat sheets with simple outlines to the cup-shaped traps found in carnivorous plants. A general question in…
Scientists Surprised to Find New Species of Horseshoe Bats
There are way more species of horseshoe bats than scientists thought. If you’ve never seen a horseshoe bat, you’re missing out. Their comically large ears…
New Insight Into the Evolution of Sight From 54 Million Year-Old Fossil
Fossilized flies that lived 54 million years ago have revealed a surprising twist to the tale of how insects’ eyes evolved. These craneflies, unveiled in…
Harvard Scientist Connects the Dots in Fin-to-Limb Evolution
About 400 million years ago, vertebrates first began to crawl from the primordial seas onto land. Last week, thanks to a cutting-edge mathematical-analysis technique, a…
Scientists Discover New Species of Early Human in the Philippines
An international team of researchers have uncovered the remains of a new species of human in the Philippines, proving the region played a key role…
Scientists Uncover Genes That Control Whole-Body Regeneration
When it comes to regeneration, some animals are capable of amazing feats. If you cut off a salamander’s leg, it will grow back. When threatened,…
Scientists Reproduce Origins of Life on Ocean Floor
Scientists have reproduced in the lab how the ingredients for life could have formed deep in the ocean 4 billion years ago. The results of…
Researchers Discover Human-Specific Gene for Building a Bigger Brain
The human brain owes its characteristic wrinkled appearance to its outer layer, the cerebral cortex. During human evolution, the neocortex, the evolutionarily youngest part of…
Dinosaur Egg Color Had a Single Evolutionary Origin
A new study says the colors found in modern birds’ eggs did not evolve independently, as previously thought, but evolved instead from dinosaurs. According to…
Scientists Find Evidence Of A Protein That Existed When Life Began
How did life arise on Earth? Rutgers researchers have found among the first and perhaps only hard evidence that simple protein catalysts – essential for…
Scientists Show Laziness Lead to the Extinction of Primitive Humans
New archaeological research from The Australian National University (ANU) has found that Homo erectus, an extinct species of primitive humans, went extinct in part because…
Scientists Reveal Homo Sapiens’ Secret of Success
A new study argues that the greatest defining feature of our species is not ‘symbolism’ or dramatic cognitive change, but rather its unique ecological position…
Link Between Individual Variation in Risk-Taking Behavior and Survival Revealed
For more than a century, scientists have understood that natural selection has profound effects on how an animal looks. Anole lizards that spend more time…