Evolution News

December 6, 2023

Top Headlines

Earliest-Known Fossil Mosquito Suggests Males Were Bloodsuckers Too

Dec. 4, 2023 — Researchers have found the earliest-known fossil mosquito in Lower Cretaceous amber from Lebanon. What's more, the well-preserved insects are two males of the same species with piercing mouthparts, suggesting they likely sucked blood. That's ...

Crocodile Family Tree Mapped: New Light Shed on Croc Evolution

Dec. 4, 2023 — Around 250 million years ago, 700 species of reptiles closely related to the modern-day crocodile roamed the earth, now new research reveals how a complex interplay between climate change, species competition and habitat can help explain why just 23 ...

A Mixed Origin Made Maize Successful

Nov. 30, 2023 — Maize is one of the world's most widely grown crops. It is used for both human and animal foods and holds great cultural significance, especially for indigenous peoples in the Americas. Yet despite its importance, the origins of the grain have been ...

Landscape Dynamics Determine the Evolution of Biodiversity on Earth

Nov. 29, 2023 — A landmark study into the geological timescale distribution of sediment and nutrients over 500 million years shows that species biodiversity on Earth is driven by landscape ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:41pm EST

How Shifting Climates May Have Shaped Early Elephants' Trunks

Nov. 28, 2023 — Researchers have provided new insights into how ancestral elephants developed their dextrous trunks. A study of the evolution of longirostrine gomphotheres, an ancestor of the modern day elephant, ...

Study Provides Fresh Insights Into Antibiotic Resistance, Fitness Landscapes

Nov. 23, 2023 — A new study suggests that E. coli bacteria may have a higher capability to evolve antibiotic resistance than previously believed. Researchers ...

Multiple Evolutionary Trajectories in Aquatic Crocodiles

Nov. 15, 2023 — In the geological past, several groups of crocodiles evolved towards a morphology adapted to marine life. However, the extent of these adaptations and their evolutionary trajectories remained ...

Evolution of Taste: Early Sharks Were Able to Perceive Bitter Substances

Nov. 13, 2023 — New genetic data show that humans and sharks share bitter taste receptors, even though their evolutionary pathways separated nearly 500 million years ...

New Research Exposes Early Humans' Ecological Versatility

Nov. 9, 2023 — A recent study sheds new light on the ecological adaptability of early humans at the time when they first expanded their range outside Africa, 2--1 million years ...

Bacteria-Virus Arms Race Provides Rare Window Into Rapid and Complex Evolution

Nov. 9, 2023 — Rather than a slow, gradual process as Darwin envisioned, biologists can now see how evolutionary changes unfold on much more accelerated timescales. ...

Head Lice Evolution Mirrors Human Migration and Colonization in the Americas

Nov. 8, 2023 — A new analysis of lice genetic diversity suggests that lice came to the Americas twice -- once during the first wave of human migration across the ...

450-Million-Year-Old Organism Finds New Life in Softbotics

Nov. 6, 2023 — Researchers have used fossil evidence to engineer a soft robotic replica of pleurocystitids, a marine organism that existed nearly 450 million years ago and is believed to be one of the first ...

Fossils Tell Tale of Last Primate to Inhabit North America Before Humans

Nov. 6, 2023 — Paleontologists have shed light on the long-standing saga of Ekgmowechashala, based on fossil teeth and jaws found in both Nebraska and China. Ekgmowechashala is the last primate found in the fossil ...

New Secrets About Cat Evolution Revealed

Nov. 2, 2023 — By comparing genomes of several cat species, the project has helped researchers understand why cat genomes tend to have fewer complex genetic variations (such as rearrangements of DNA segments) than ...

Earlier Headlines

Summaries
Headlines

Giant Dinosaur Carcasses Might Have Been Important Food Sources for Jurassic Predators

Nov. 1, 2023 — Carnivorous dinosaurs might have evolved to take advantage of giant carcasses, according to a new ...

Where Is a Sea Star's Head? Maybe Just About Everywhere

Nov. 1, 2023 — A new study that combines genetic and molecular techniques helps solve the riddle of sea star (commonly called starfish) body plans, and how sea stars start life with bilateral body symmetry -- just ...

How the Fish Got Its Shoulder

Nov. 1, 2023 — A new analysis of the bones and muscles in ancient fish gives new clues about how the shoulder evolved in animals -- including ...

The Genetic Heritage of the Denisovans May Have Left Its Mark on Our Mental Health

Oct. 30, 2023 — A research team has identified the most widespread genetic contribution by Denisovans to date. The study reveals that the genetic variant observed, which affects zinc regulation, could have signified ...

Evolutionary Chance Made This Bat a Specialist Hunter

Oct. 27, 2023 — It is generally believed that, for millions of years, bats and the insects they hunt at night have adapted to each other in an evolutionary arms race to become better at finding or avoiding each ...

Genetic Methods Enable the Use of Fossil Lipids as Biomarkers for Oxygen-Producing Primordial Bacteria

Oct. 27, 2023 — Cyanobacteria are a key species in Earth's history, as they introduced atmospheric oxygen for the first time. The analysis of their evolution therefore provides important insights into the ...

Fruit, Nectar, Bugs and Blood: How Bat Teeth and Jaws Evolved for a Diverse Dinnertime

Oct. 26, 2023 — Noctilionoid bat species evolved wildly different faces as they adapted to exploit diverse food sources -- including insects, fruit, nectar, blood and fish. New research shows that those adaptations ...

Ancient Diamonds Shine Light on the Evolution of Earth

Oct. 18, 2023 — Formed millions to billions of years ago, diamonds can shine light into the darkest and oldest parts of the Earth's mantle. The analysis of ancient, superdeep diamonds dug up from mines in ...

The Encounter Between Neanderthals and Sapiens as Told by Their Genomes

Oct. 18, 2023 — About 40,000 years ago, Neanderthals, who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years in the western part of the Eurasian continent, gave way to Homo sapiens, who had arrived from Africa. This ...

Scientists, Philosophers Identify Nature's Missing Evolutionary Law

Oct. 16, 2023 — A new article describes 'a missing law of nature,' recognizing for the first time an important norm within the natural world's workings. In essence, the new law states that complex ...

Extinct Ape Gets a Facelift, 12 Million Years Later

Oct. 16, 2023 — A new study has reconstructed the well-preserved but damaged skull of a great ape species that lived about 12 million years ago. The species, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, may be crucial to ...

Neanderthal Gene Variants Associated With Greater Pain Sensitivity

Oct. 10, 2023 — People who carry three gene variants that have been inherited from Neanderthals are more sensitive to some types of pain, according to a new ...

Long-Term Lizard Study Challenges the Rules of Evolutionary Biology

Oct. 9, 2023 — Researchers measured natural selection in four Anolis lizard species in the wild for five consecutive time periods over three years. This long-term study in a community of lizards reveals how ...

Ginger Pigment Molecules Found in Fossil Frogs

Oct. 6, 2023 — Palaeontologists discover molecular evidence of phaeomelanin, the pigment that produces ginger coloration. Phaeomelanin is now toxic to animals – this discovery may be first step in understand its ...

The End of Genes: Routine Test Reveals Unique Divergence in Genetic Code

Oct. 5, 2023 — Scientists testing a new method of sequencing single cells have unexpectedly changed our understanding of the rules of genetics. The genome of a protist has revealed a seemingly unique divergence in ...

Survival of the Newest: The Mammals That Survive Mass Extinctions Aren't as 'Boring' as Scientists Thought

Oct. 5, 2023 — For decades, scientists have assumed that mammals and their relatives that survived challenging times (like those during mass extinctions) made it because they were generalists that were able to eat ...

New 'Assembly Theory' Unifies Physics and Biology to Explain Evolution and Complexity

Oct. 4, 2023 — An international team of researchers has developed a new theoretical framework that bridges physics and biology to provide a unified approach for understanding how complexity and evolution emerge in ...

Genome Study Reveals 30 Years of Darwin's Finch Evolution

Sep. 29, 2023 — An international team of researchers has released a landmark study on contemporary evolutionary change in natural populations. Their study uses one of the largest genomic datasets ever produced for ...

Insights Into Early Snake Evolution Through Brain Analysis

Sep. 29, 2023 — Recent study sheds new light on the enigmatic early evolution of snakes by examining an unexpected source: their brains. The results emphasize the significance of studying both the soft parts of ...

Did Animal Evolution Begin With a Predatory Lifestyle?

Sep. 29, 2023 — Surprising findings on the development of sea anemones suggest that a predatory lifestyle molded their evolution and had a significant impact on the origin of their nervous system. The researchers ...

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