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UrduWhen it was discovered in the 1980s in Argentina, this hadrosaur was diagnosed with a fractured foot. However, a new analysis now shows that this ornithopod commonly known as the duck-billed dinosaur actually had a tumour some 70 million years…
Tag: Evolution
Researcher’s work with flies could be birth control boon
New testing technique could quickly find new ways to suppress ovulation with few side effects.
DNA duplication linked to the origin and evolution of pine trees and their relatives
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Plants are DNA hoarders. Adhering to the maxim of never throwing anything out that might be useful later, they often duplicate their entire genome and hang on to the added genetic baggage. All those extra genes are…
How a butterfly tree becomes a web
Evolution is often portrayed as a tree, with new species branching off from existing lineages, never again to meet. The truth however is often much messier. In the case of adaptive radiation, in which species diversify rapidly to fill different…
Bats are kings of small talk in the air
Echoes contain redundant information to help with high-speed navigation
Arrival of land plants changed Earth’s climate control system
The arrival of plants on land about 400 million years ago may have changed the way the Earth naturally regulates its own climate, according to a new study led by researchers at UCL (University College London) and Yale.
Inherited social networks shape spotted hyena society and survival
In spotted hyena societies, inherited social networks – passed from mothers to offspring – are essential to hyena life and survival, according to a new study. While the structure of animal social networks plays an important role in all social…
Among spotted hyenas, social ties are inherited
Massive study of data collected over 27 years sheds light on social networks, rank, and survival of this African species
Fossil rodent teeth add North American twist to Caribbean mammals’ origin story
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Two fossil teeth from a distant relative of North American gophers have scientists rethinking how some mammals reached the Caribbean Islands. The teeth, excavated in northwest Puerto Rico, belong to a previously unknown rodent genus and species,…
How spiders distinguish living from non-living using motion-based visual cues
Ability to identify other animals from relative positioning of the joints not unique to vertebrates
Rapid evolution in waterfleas yields new conservation insights
The extraordinary ability of animals to rapidly evolve in response to predators has been demonstrated via genetic sequencing of a waterflea population across nearly two decades. In a new study, published in Nature Communications , scientists at the Universities of…
When corals meet algae: First stages of symbiosis seen for the first time
First observations of coral cells and free-living algae physically interacting provide a deeper understanding of their symbiosis and improve conservation of reefs
Have you ever wondered how many species have inhabited the earth?
Professors in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences explored whether or not the scientific community will ever be able to settle on a ‘total number’ of species of living vertebrates, which could help with species preservation. By knowing what’s…
Oldest fossils of methane-cycling microbes expand frontiers of habitability on early Earth
A team of international researchers, led by the University of Bologna, has discovered the fossilised remains of methane-cycling microbes that lived in a hydrothermal system beneath the seafloor 3.42 billion years ago. The microfossils are the oldest evidence for this…
DNA reveals the evolutionary history of museum specimens
An international team, led by UNIGE and MHN, has optimized a method for analyzing the genomes of specimens from natural history collections making possible to identify their placement along the evolutionary timeline.
New evidence of menopause in killer whales
Scientists have found new evidence of menopause in killer whales – raising fascinating questions about how and why it evolved. Most animals breed throughout their lives. Only humans and four whale species are known to experience menopause, and scientists have…
Songbirds like it sweet!
A research co-developed by HKU Evolutionary Biologist found that Songbird ancestors evolved a new way to taste sugar
You can snuggle wolf pups all you want, they still won’t ‘get’ you quite like your dog
After 14,000 years of domestication, dogs have some of the same cognitive abilities as human babies.
Crystal clear: Lepidopterans have many ways of being transparent
Butterflies and moths have beautiful wings: the bright flare of an orange monarch, the vivid stripes of a swallowtail, the luminous green of a Luna moth. But some butterflies flutter on even more dramatic wings: parts of their wing, or…
Emotions and culture are most important for acceptance of carnivore management strategies
Emotions towards and cultural importance of large carnivores are better predictors of the acceptance of management strategies by local communities than the extent of livestock depredation. This is the result of a new interdisciplinary investigation led by scientists from the…
Symbionts sans frontieres: Bacterial partners travel the world
Some bacterial symbionts in travel the globe and are true cosmopolitans
Population-specific diversity within fungi species could enable improved drug discovery
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Wisconsin–Madison have discovered that genetically distinct populations within the same species of fungi can produce unique mixes of secondary metabolites, which are organic compounds with applications in medicine, industry and agriculture.
Huge Volcanic Eruption Disrupted Climate but Not Human Evolution
A massive volcanic eruption in Indonesia about 74,000 years ago likely caused severe climate disruption in many areas of the globe, but early human populations were sheltered from the worst effects, according to a Rutgers-led study.
Reading the rocks: Geologist finds clues to ancient climate patterns in chert
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — A million years ago, dry seasons became more frequent and forests retreated before the encroaching savanna. Meanwhile, clustered around a nearby lake, our ancient ancestors fashioned stone tools. During the long press of years, mud and sediment…
Climate changed the size of our bodies and, to some extent, our brains
The average body size of humans has fluctuated significantly over the last million years and is strongly linked to temperature. Colder, harsher climates drove the evolution of larger body sizes, while warmer climates led to smaller bodies. Brain size also…
More ancestral enzyme
Molecular evolution of enzyme beyond recruit hypothesis
Ancient ostrich eggshell reveals new evidence of extreme climate change thousands of years ago
Evidence from an ancient eggshell has revealed important new information about the extreme climate change faced by human early ancestors. The research shows parts of the interior of South Africa that today are dry and sparsely populated, were once wetland…
An early sensory shift from savory to sweet shaped the sensory biology of songbirds
An early sensory shift in the evolution of songbirds conferred the ability to detect sugars and may have played a critical role in the radiation of this large and diverse group of avian species, a new study finds. While a…
Longest known continuous record of the Paleozoic discovered in Yukon wilderness
Discovery illuminates a 120-million-year record of ancient Earth
Obscuring the truth can promote cooperation
People are more likely to cooperate if they think others are cooperating, too; new research by biologists in the School of Arts & Sciences shows that overstating the true level of cooperation in a society can increase cooperative behavior overall
Researchers detail the most ancient bat fossil ever discovered in Asia
A new paper appearing in Biology Letters describes the oldest-known fragmentary bat fossils from Asia, pushing back the evolutionary record for bats on that continent to the dawn of the Eocene and boosting the possibility that the bat family’s “mysterious” origins someday might be traced to Asia.
For female vampire bats, an equal chance to rule the roost
Female vampire bats establish an egalitarian community within a roost rather than a society based on a clear hierarchy of dominance that is often seen in animal groups, a new study suggests.
CNIO researchers help to decipher the structure of the large molecular machine that activates mTOR
“As our understanding of the mechanisms that control mTOR grows, new possibilities are opening up to interfere with these processes for therapeutic purposes,” says Óscar Llorca, co-author of the study
Not only humans got talent, dogs got it too!
Is talent in a given field a uniquely human phenomenon?
Wolbachia and the paradox of growth regulation
A genetic approach offers new clues to the regulation of Wolbachia proliferation and the effect of over-proliferation on the insect hosts.
For female vampire bats, an equal chance to rule the roost
Researchers observe an egalitarian approach to living together
Wild birds learn to avoid distasteful prey by watching others
How do predators know to avoid brightly-coloured toxic prey? A collaboration of researchers has put social information theory to the test in a reliable real-world system to find the answer – by copying what others do, or do not, eat.…
Researchers detail the most ancient bat fossil ever discovered in Asia
LAWRENCE — A new paper appearing in Biology Letters describes the oldest-known fragmentary bat fossils from Asia, pushing back the evolutionary record for bats on that continent to the dawn of the Eocene and boosting the possibility that the bat…
CWRU receives $1.2M W.M. Keck Foundation grant to determine ecological factors affect the evolution of our ancestors
Professor Beverly Saylor leads interdisciplinary global group applying state-of-the art technology to answer ancient questions
Human-driven habitat change leads to physical, behavioral change in mosquitofish
Bahamian mosquitofish in habitats fragmented by human activity are more willing to explore their environment, more stressed by change and have smaller brain regions associated with fear response than mosquitofish from unaffected habitats. The new study from North Carolina State…
Light pollution has complex effects on animal vision
Changes in the colour and intensity of light pollution over the past few decades result in complex and unpredictable effects on animal vision, new research shows.
Male dragonflies lose their ‘bling’ in hotter climates
A study led by Michael Moore at Washington University in St. Louis finds that dragonfly males have consistently evolved less breeding coloration in regions with hotter climates. The work reveals that mating-related traits can be just as important to how organisms adapt to their climates as survival-related traits.
Light pollution has complex effects on animal vision
Changes in the colour and intensity of light pollution over the past few decades result in complex and unpredictable effects on animal vision, new research shows. Insect attraction to light is a well-known phenomenon, but artificial lighting can also have…
The evolution of vinegar flies is based on the variation of male sex pheromones
Max Planck researchers decipher the chemical language underlying mating in 99 species of the genus Drosophila
Inherited memories of a chromosomal site
Two UNIGE teams have discovered that the location of a specific chromosomal site is transmitted between two generations, even if the part of the protein that initially defines that site is absent in the offspring
Methane in the plumes of Saturn’s moon Enceladus: Possible signs of life?
A study published in Nature Astronomy concludes that known geochemical processes can’t explain the levels of methane measured by the Cassini spacecraft on Saturn’s icy moon
Wallonia as an international reference for the timeline
Paleontologists from Univeristy of Liège (Belgium) redefine the geological boundary between the Devonian and Carboniferous periods. A Walloon site could be chosen as a world reference for this boundary.
New species of pseudo-horses living 37 million years ago
Researchers at the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country describe two palaeotheriidae mammals that lived in the subtropical landscape of Alava
How can ‘shark dandruff’ contribute to coral reef conservation?
For 400 million years, shark-like fishes have prowled the oceans as predators, but now humans kill 100 million sharks per year, radically disrupting ocean food chains. Based on microscopic shark scales found on fossil- and modern coral reefs in Caribbean…