Fossil Tells the “Tail” of an Ancient Beast

Approximately 200 million years ago, Antarctica was attached to South America, Africa, India, and Australia in a single “supercontinent” called Gondwana. Paleontologists have long wondered about the unique mammals that lived only on this ancient supercontinent, including a particularly elusive group…

Male spiders maximise sperm transfer to counter female cannibalism

When sexual conflict results in reproductive strategies that only benefit one of the sexes, it may result in evolutionary arms races. Male spiders have evolved behavioural mating strategies to improve their chances of mating despite the risk of being cannibalised by their mates.Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have discovered that male spiders make choices on maximising their mating success when they are at risk of being cannibalised by their female mates.

Evolution in Chicago’s clover: DePaul University researchers help chart global human impact on nature

Jalene LaMontagne, associate professor of ecology, and Windsor Aguirre, associate professor of evolutionary biology, are among hundreds of researchers who collected clover in 160 cities all over the world. The research, published this week in the journal “Science,” offers insight into how urbanization is transforming the genetic properties of plants and animals around us.

Evolutionary ‘time travel’ reveals enzyme’s origins, possible future designs

“The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion,” Albert Einstein wrote. Now, researchers have used evolutionary “time travel” to study how an enzyme has evolved, with implications for future design. They will present their results at ACS Fall 2021.

CWRU Scientist’s Team Receives $1.2 Million W.M. Keck Foundation Research Grant to Determine How Ecological Factors Affect Evolution

A Case Western Reserve University researcher is leading an interdisciplinary global team that will use state-of-the-art technology to tackle an ancient question: How did ecological factors affect the evolution of our ancestors millions of years ago? The possible answers so intrigued the W. M. Keck Foundation that it awarded Armington Professor Beverly Saylor and her colleagues a $1.2 million grant to explore them.

Did Earth’s Early Rise in Oxygen Support The Evolution of Multicellular Life — or Suppress It?

Study offers significant new information on the correlations between oxygenation of the early Earth and the rise of large multicellular organisms. “We show that the effect of oxygen is more complex than previously imagined,” said Will Ratcliff with Georgia Tech’s School of Biological Sciences.

New book reveals Charles Darwin’s cultural impact in unprecedented detail

NUS historian of science Dr John van Wyhe has co-published a groundbreaking new book on Charles Darwin which shows for the first time the extent of his cultural impact over the past 160 years. A decade in the making, this volume demonstrates that Darwin is the most influential scientist who has ever lived, having the most species named after him and he is also the most translated scientist in history.