All articles tagged with #evolution
Originally Published 1 day ago — by The Daily Galaxy
Researchers comparing Dysdera tilosensis from Gran Canaria with its mainland relative Dysdera catalonica found the island spider has halved its genome (about 1.7 vs 3.3 billion base pairs) yet retains higher genetic diversity, suggesting genome streamlining via purifying selection rather than adaptive expansion and challenging traditional island-evolution patterns.
Originally Published 1 day ago — by Earth.com
New research shows bonobos respond to outsider calls with heightened alertness and a modest rise in affiliative behaviors like grooming, using social bonding rather than aggression to cope with threats—a pattern known as the common-enemy effect. The study across multiple groups found bonobos’ response is milder than chimpanzees but still demonstrates a link between external threat and internal cohesion, suggesting this cooperative toolkit evolved millions of years ago and that humans can also cooperate across borders instead of defaulting to warfare. The findings imply bonobos may have stopped lethal intergroup aggression long ago, offering insight into the roots of peaceful social strategies.
Originally Published 3 days ago — by SciTechDaily
Research shows that specific parts of the human brain respond distinctly to chimpanzee vocalizations, indicating deep evolutionary roots of voice recognition that predate human language and suggesting shared neural mechanisms with our closest primate relatives.
Originally Published 3 days ago — by Earth.com
Scientists have found that crab-like bodies have evolved independently at least five times in crustaceans, driven by similar environmental pressures and internal anatomical changes, a phenomenon known as carcinization, which involves predictable morphological adaptations across different lineages.
Originally Published 6 days ago — by Nature
A study published in Nature Communications reveals that jellyfish and sea anemones, despite lacking brains, sleep in patterns similar to humans, supporting the theory that sleep evolved to repair DNA in nerve cells and highlighting its fundamental biological role across species.
Originally Published 7 days ago — by ScienceDaily
A nearly complete early human fossil known as Little Foot, found in South Africa, is now believed by researchers to possibly represent a new, previously unrecognized species, challenging previous classifications and offering new insights into human evolution.
Originally Published 8 days ago — by Indian Defence Review
Scientists explore whether dinosaur meat could have been edible and what it might have tasted like, based on muscle structure, diet, and modern bird descendants, but no practical way exists to test this due to the age of fossils and lack of DNA.
Originally Published 10 days ago — by Interesting Engineering
A new study using 3D technology provides strong evidence that Sahelanthropus tchadensis, a 7-million-year-old fossil, was bipedal, challenging previous debates and suggesting early bipedalism in human evolution.
Originally Published 10 days ago — by IFLScience
Scientists discovered a 100-million-year-old spider-like creature called Chimerarachne yingi with a tail, providing new insights into spider evolution. The fossil shows a mix of modern spider traits and unique features like a segmented abdomen and a whip-like tail, suggesting it was a close relative or early branch of true spiders, highlighting the mosaic nature of their evolutionary development.
Originally Published 11 days ago — by Yahoo
USC researchers propose a new biological rule called 'selectively advantageous instability' (SAI), suggesting that instability in cellular components can be beneficial for genetic diversity and adaptability, but also contribute to aging and disease, challenging the traditional view that life favors stability.
Originally Published 11 days ago — by The Daily Galaxy
Scientists have identified the face of the 500-million-year-old creature Hallucigenia from Canada’s Burgess Shale, revealing a smiling face with tiny eyes and teeth, correcting previous misconceptions about its anatomy, and suggesting it may be an early ancestor of modern velvet worms, thus shedding new light on early animal evolution.
Originally Published 12 days ago — by The Daily Galaxy
Scientists discovered a 100-million-year-old fossil of a spider in Myanmar amber that had a tail, revealing that ancient spider ancestors possessed tails, a trait previously only hypothesized. The fossil, named Chimerarachne yingi, shows a blend of ancient and modern features, including spinnerets and a tail similar to early arachnids, suggesting web-building evolved later. The discovery provides new insights into spider evolution and raises the possibility that similar species might still exist in unexplored rainforests.
Originally Published 12 days ago — by IFLScience
The article explains the difference between hominids and hominins, clarifying that hominids include all great apes and their ancestors, while hominins specifically refer to the human lineage after diverging from chimpanzees, reflecting updated scientific classifications.
Originally Published 15 days ago — by Live Science
Primates are a highly diverse mammal group with over 200 species, found across multiple continents, but the majority are threatened with extinction. The article covers primate classification, characteristics, and interesting facts about their evolution and conservation status.
Originally Published 15 days ago — by The Daily Galaxy
Scientists discovered a 520-million-year-old fossilized larva with remarkably preserved internal structures, including its brain, digestive system, and nerves, providing new insights into early arthropod evolution and challenging previous assumptions about the simplicity of ancient creatures.