Sonic deception: stealth moths
If you evolve to live in the dark, it’s handy if you develop some predator-evasion attributes.
Forget stealth military jets. Moths were there first. But rather than dodging enemy radar, they’re playing a differen...
Evolution
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The great unknown of global microbial diversity
Scientists warn of a gap in our knowledge – with consequences for all life on Earth.
While biologists are desperately raising the alarm about the rapidly decreasing diversity of plant and animal life, t...
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Why do humans have bigger brains than apes?
Researchers identify key genetic switch in brains grown in a dish.
Human brains grow three times larger than those of our primate cousins – and researchers have just figured out how. ...
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Ancient tree-climbing kangaroo discovered
Researchers discover extinct kangaroo adapted for life in the upper storey.
Researchers have discovered an extinct tree-climbing kangaroo species, which boasted powerful hind- and forelimbs, gr...
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Diverse crocodiles underwent rapid evolution
New study reveals ancient crocodiles were far more disparate than today, thanks to rapid evolution.
Ancient crocodile species were far more diverse than their modern counterparts, occupying niches held today by animal...
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Thumbs up (and over)
Manual dexterity emerged two million years ago, study suggests.
Dexterous thumbs – considered a hallmark of being human – were present two million years ago, according to a study pu...
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Research
Useless evolution
Some evolutionary changes have no particular reason or benefit.
It’s easy to focus on the big picture when one thinks of evolution: how organisms adapt and change over the march of ...
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Stark legacy: secrets of dire wolves revealed
Forensic DNA reveals dire wolves are their own species.
If you think dire wolves (Canis dirus) are closely related to other wolves then you know nothing, Jon Snow. A new ...
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The wolfish thylacine
Skull scans demonstrate example of convergent evolution.
The extinct Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), remains one of Australia’s most iconic and myste...
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Evolutionary link that helped pterosaurs fly
Fossils suggest flightless relative was a middleman.
It’s taking time – in no small part due to the difficulty in finding good evidence – but we’re slowly learning more a...
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Rethinking the origins of complex life
Studies shift timeline by 100 million years.
Scientists from Australia, Germany, France and the US have shifted the timeline of the origin of complex life, overtu...
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Well-preserved addition to the evolution story
South African cave throws up another important find.
A two-million-year-old hominin skull has been uncovered in a South African cave, providing fresh insight into the mic...