New research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and University of Porto (CIBIO-InBIO) shows how global warming could reduce the mating activity and success of grassland birds. The study examined the threatened grassland bird Tetrax tetrax, or little…
Tag: Evolution
Scientists discover one of world’s oldest bird species in Waipara, New Zealand
Toothed fossil find rewrites history of seabird family
Palmer amaranth’s molecular secrets reveal troubling potential
URBANA, Ill. – Corn, soybean, and cotton farmers shudder at the thought of Palmer amaranth invading their fields. The aggressive cousin of waterhemp – itself a formidable adversary – grows extremely rapidly, produces hundreds of thousands of seeds per plant,…
Elaborate Komodo dragon armor defends against other dragons
Just beneath their scales, Komodo dragons wear a suit of armor made of tiny bones. These bones cover the dragons from head to tail, creating a “chain mail” that protects the giant predators. However, the armor raises a question: What…
Digital records of preserved plants and animals change how scientists explore the world
There’s a whole world behind the scenes at natural history museums that most people never see. Museum collections house millions upon millions of dinosaur bones, pickled sharks, dried leaves, and every other part of the natural world you can think…
Do animals control earth’s oxygen level?
No more than 540 million years ago there was a huge boom in the diversity of animals on Earth. The first larger animals evolved in what is today known as the Cambrian explosion. In the time that followed, the animals…
Researchers pinpoint animal model proteins important in study of human disease
Frank Conlon, PhD, co-led a study showing which proteins and pathways are conserved in four major an
USC scientist identifies new species of giant flying reptile
The prehistoric creature had a wingspan like a small plane, it could soar across oceans or continent
What the noggin of modern humans’ ancestor would have looked like
Despite having lived about 300,000 years ago, the oldest ancestor of all members of Homo sapiens had a surprisingly modern skull–as suggested by a model created by CNRS researcher Aurélien Mounier of the Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique laboratory (CNRS…
A new species of electric eel produces the highest voltage discharge of any known animal
An article shows that 3 species of electric eel exist, not just one as previously described, and tha
Sex for cooperation
New insights help to explain why same-sex sexual interactions are so important for female bonobos
Smithsonian scientists triple number of known electric eel species
Study also documents most powerful biologically produced electric shock and strengthens case for pre
Scientists find biology’s optimal ‘molecular alphabet’ may be preordained
The amino acids, a fundamental set of life’s building blocks, may have been adaptive throughout thei
Buzzkill?
Male honeybees inject queens with blinding toxins during sex
Raising a glass to grapes’ surprising genetic diversity
Could contribute to wine’s varying flavors, aromas, researchers say
Identity crisis for fossil beetle helps rewrite beetle family tree
There are more different kinds of beetle than just about any other kind of animal–scientists have described about 5,800 different species of mammals, compared with nearly 400,000 species of beetles. Of those 400,000 kinds of beetles, more than 64,000 species…
A new duck-billed dinosaur, Kamuysaurus japonicus, identified
The dinosaur, whose nearly complete skeleton was unearthed from 72 million year old marine deposits in Mukawa Town in northern Japan, belongs to a new genus and species of a herbivorous hadrosaurid dinosaur, according to the study published in Scientific…
UB and IRBio experts sequence the genome of an endemic spider from the Canary Islands
A ravening predator in the Canary laurel forests
Underrated and underground, tuber evolution study earns NSF grant
EAST LANSING, Mich – The United States grew more than a million acres of potatoes in 2017, making the number one vegetable crop in the country a tuber. But potatoes are not the only tubers. Jerusalem artichoke, potato bean and…
Synthetic biologists extend functional life of cancer fighting circuitry in microbes
UC San Diego researchers shown they can stabilize genetic circuits without getting into the business
The paradox of different house flies with few genetic differences
UH evolutionary biologist publishes findings on sex determinates of house flies
Denisovan finger bone more closely resembles modern human digits than Neanderthals
Morphology of the denisovan phalanx closer to modern humans than to Neanderthals
Death march of segmented animal unravels critical evolutionary puzzle
The death march of a segmented bilaterian animal unearthed from ~550-million-year-old rocks in China shows that the oldest mobile and segmented animals evolved by the Ediacaran Period (635-539 million years ago). The research was published in Nature on Sept. 4…
Ancient animal species: Fossils dating back 550 million years among first animal trails
In a remarkable evolutionary discovery, a team of scientists co-led by a Virginia Tech geoscientist has discovered what could be among the first trails made by animals on the surface of the Earth roughly a half-billion years ago. Shuhai Xiao,…
Why fruit flies eat practically anything
Nutritional adaptability and how some flies can be ‘generalists’ and others are ‘specialists’
ERC Starting Grant for MDC scientist Jane Reznick
Learning from naked mole-rats is key to Jane Reznick’s research into new therapies for heart disease and strokes. She has now been awarded an ERC Starting Grant, which will help her to start her own group and fund her work…
Slowed metabolism helps migrating geese soar
New insight on how bar-headed geese maintain flight at extreme altitudes opens avenues to further re
Comparing primate vocalizations
Study shows Old World monkeys combine items in speech — but only two and never more, unlike humans
Undercover evolution
Our individuality is encrypted in our DNA, but it is deeper than expected
Sexual selection influences the evolution of lamprey pheromones
In “Intra- and Interspecific Variation in Production of Bile Acids that Act As Sex Pheromones in Lampreys,” published in Physiological and Biochemical Zoology , Tyler J. Buchinger and others find that sexual selection may play a role in the evolution…
Tropical sea snake uses its head to ‘breathe’
Scientists describe complex oxygen absorption system
Remora-inspired suction disk mimics fish’s adhesion ability, offers evolutionary insight
Remora fishes are famed hitchhikers of the marine world, possessing high-powered suction disks on the back of their head for attaching themselves in torpedo-like fashion to larger hosts that can provide food and safety — from whales and sharks to…
Toxic frogs with weak defenses persist in the gene pool alongside stronger competitors
A multi-national team of evolutionary biologists shows that diversity exists even when expecting oth
Extreme mangrove corals found on the Great Barrier Reef
The first documented discovery of ‘extreme corals’ in mangrove lagoons around Australia’s Great Barr
A 3.8-million-year-old fossil from Ethiopia reveals the face of Lucy’s ancestor
Researchers discover ‘remarkably complete’ cranium of Australopithecus anamensis
A face for Lucy’s ancestor
Researchers discover remarkably complete 3.8-million-year-old cranium of Australopithecus anamensis
How worms snare their hosts
Study by the University of Bonn sheds light on the arms race between parasites and their victims
New information on regulation of sense of smell with the help of nematodes
PIM kinases are enzymes that are evolutionarily well conserved in both humans and nematodes. Led by Dr Päivi Koskinen, a research group from the Department of Biology of the University of Turku in Finland has previously proven that PIM kinases…
New information on regulation of sense of smell with the help of nematodes
PIM kinases are enzymes that are evolutionarily well conserved in both humans and nematodes. Led by Dr Päivi Koskinen, a research group from the Department of Biology of the University of Turku in Finland has previously proven that PIM kinases…
The genealogy of important broiler ancestor revealed
A new study examines the historical and genetic origins of the White Plymouth Rock chicken, an important contributor to today’s meat chickens (broilers). Researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden, The Livestock Conservancy and Virginia Tech in the USA have used…
The making of ‘Fancy Mouse’
Study reveals true cause of colorful hair on popular East Asian pet mice
Filter-feeding pterosaurs were the flamingos of the Late Jurassic
Modern flamingoes employ filter feeding and their feces are, as a result, rich in remains of microscopically-small aquatic prey. Very similar contents are described from more than 150 million year old pterosaur droppings in a recent paper in PeerJ .…
New research predicts stability of mosquito-borne disease prevention
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.–To reduce transmission of dengue to humans, scientists have introduced Wolbachia bacteria to A. aegypti mosquitoes. Now a team of international researchers has found that Wolbachia’s ability to block virus transmission may be maintained by natural selection, alleviating…
To stop mosquito-transmitted illnesses, pay attention to how humans behave: study
Targeting the mosquito population within a defined area is the primary way scientists and public health officials mitigate the spread of diseases caused by viruses like Zika, dengue fever, and West Nile. But researchers have discovered that evaluating how humans…
How the herring adapted to the light environment in the Baltic Sea
The evolutionary process that occurs when a species colonizes a new environment provides an opportunity to explore the mechanisms underlying genetic adaptation, which is essential knowledge for understanding evolution and the maintenance of biodiversity. An international team of scientists, led…
Evolution designed by parasites
While analyzing interactions between parasites and hosts, a substantial amount of research has been devoted to studying the methods parasitic organisms use to control host behavior. In “Invisible Designers: Brain Evolution Through the Lens of Parasite Manipulation,” published in the…
Bacterial sex drives evolution of microbes to conquer and colonize the gut
pioneer study now published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science – USA, the research te
The composition of fossil insect eyes surprises researchers
Eumelanin – a natural pigment found for instance in human eyes – has, for the first time, been identified in the fossilized compound eyes of 54-million-year-old crane-flies. It was previously assumed that melanic screening pigments did not exist in arthropods.…
Bloodsucker discovered: First North American medicinal leech described in over 40 years
Museum collections reveal the new leech has hidden in plain sight for decades
Early species developed much faster than previously thought, OHIO research shows
Ohio University researcher publishes landmark review of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Even