Browsing Tag
evolutionary biology
13 posts
This tiny Australian spider uses a high‑powered web catapult to trap and eat aggressive ants
Ajay Narendra, Macquarie University There’s more than one way a spider can spin its web. Some construct large…
Turtles finally have a place in the tree of life: X‑ray study of South African fossils was a decider
Valentin Buffa, University of Zurich; Jonah Choiniere, University of the Witwatersrand; Julien Benoit, University of the Witwatersrand, and…
Ancient bones show dogs have been woven into human life for nearly 16,000 years
Reconstruction of 14,300-year-old dog jawbone from Gough’s Cave, England. Tom Anders & Longleat Andrew Fairbairn, The University of…
Cacti may help explain a centuries‑old mystery of evolution
Jamie Thompson, University of Reading This question of why some branches of the tree of life explode into…
What’s it like to be a bat? Scientists develop new solution to the puzzle of animal minds
Graham Holtshausen/Unsplash Cristina Luz Wilkins, University of New England; Amy Lykins, University of New England; Cathrynne Henshall, Charles…
Fern stems reveal secrets of evolution – how constraints in development can lead to new forms
The lacy frond of the intermediate wood fern (Dryopteris intermedia). Jacob S. Suissa, CC BY-ND Jacob S. Suissa,…
How the first animals evolved – a new clue from a tiny relative
Max Telford, UCL The next time you go wild swimming, whether in a lake, river or sea, you…
The ancestors of ostriches and emus were long-distance fliers – here’s how we worked this out
Oleksii Synelnykov/Shutterstock Klara Widrig, Smithsonian Institution Aside from being a delight to watch, flight in birds is regarded…
You Are a Fish (And You Never Left the Water)
The secret to conquering land wasn't learning to breathe air, but evolving a way to carry the ocean with you.
Study finds wild Galápagos tomatoes resurrecting ancient chemical defenses
New research reveals how a single enzyme acts as a molecular switch to create distinct chemical defenses in plants, such as tomatoes and eggplants, even driving evolution in reverse.