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New research led by William R. Thomas, PhD, with Professor Liliana M. D谩valos, PhD, in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University, shows how the Eurasian common shrew (Sorex araneus) changes its brain and bodily size throughout the year. The study, published online in eLife, reveals how changes in gene expression enable these small mammals to shrink their brain in winter and regrow it in spring, defying the typical mammalian pattern where organ size does not change. Their findings offer genetic clues to neurological and metabolic health in mammals.

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Fossils recovered from Utah's West Desert and held in the Natural History Museum of Utah offer new insights into the origins of vertebrate life during the Cambrian Period.

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A recent study in Ficus hispida genomics has unlocked the genetic mechanisms driving this fig tree鈥檚 unique reproductive system. The fully sequenced genome, a first of its kind for Ficus, reveals critical insights into how sex is determined in these plants鈥攁 factor crucial to their survival and ecological role. This research is a milestone for advancing the understanding of dioecy in plants and could open new doors for plant breeding and ecosystem management.

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A new study led by an Iowa State University evolutionary biologist described for the first time the three-dimensional architecture of turtle genomes, which fold in a configuration unlike any other animal observed so far.

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Researchers including a Johns Hopkins University evolutionary biologist report they have analyzed a fossil of an extinct giant meat-eating bird 鈥� which they say could be the largest known member of its kind 鈥� providing new information about animal life in northern South America millions of years ago.

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New study from Case Western Reserve University reveals link between oxygen delivery and reproductive success among women living on the high Tibetan Plateau

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Archaeological surveys led by scientists at Washington University in St. Louis suggest that coastal and underwater cave sites in southern Sicily contain important new clues about the path and fate of early human migrants to the island.

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An international research team led by the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna has used long-term demographic data from Japanese macaques 鈥� a monkey species within the family of Old World monkeys 鈥� to show that, unlike humans, there is no maternal mortality in these primates linked to childbirth.

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By studying rare fossils of jaws and other skull parts of a long-extinct Caribbean monkey, a team of researchers that includes a Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine professor says it has uncovered new evidence documenting the anatomy and ecology of an extinct primate once found on Hispaniola 鈥� the Caribbean island on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located.

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The discovery of new cynodont fossils from southern Brazil by a team of palaeontologists from the University of Bristol, alongside colleagues from Argentina and Brazil, has led to a significant breakthrough in understanding the evolution of mammals.

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Fifty years ago鈥攐n November 24, 1974鈥攐nly a few years after humans鈥� first steps on the moon, a young paleoanthropologist, Donald Johanson, walking in the dusty landscape of the Afar Rift Valley of Ethiopia discovered the first human ancestor fossil who reliably walked upright on two feet鈥斺�淟ucy.鈥�

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A new study reveals the surprisingly convergent evolution in the inner ear of mammals. An international research team led by Nicole Grunstra from the University of Vienna and Anne Le Ma卯tre from the Konrad Lorenz Institute (KLI) for Evolution and Cognition Research (Klosterneuburg) showed that a group of highly divergent mammals known as Afrotheria and distantly related, but ecologically very similar mammals independently evolved similar inner ear shapes. The study has just been published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications.

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Glen Hood, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences in Wayne State University鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was recently awarded a National Science Foundation grant for his study of parasitic wasps.

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FAU has received a five-year NIH grant to further research on designing and applying statistical methods to identify regions of the genome affected by natural selection, which is an important evolutionary force that enables humans to adapt to new environments and fight disease-causing pathogens.

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New study shows how the mismatch between where fossils are preserved and where humans likely lived may influence our understanding of early human evolution.

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In infancy, caregivers rely on facial expressions and vocal cues to understand a baby's needs and emotions, as babies do not use language. A new study shows that while facial expressions are important, they are less effective than vocal and cognitive signals. Adults are more focused on a child's voice when assessing emotional states and helplessness, but use cognitive content, such as reasoning abilities, to gauge intelligence. When a child's vocal immaturity conflicts with advanced cognitive abilities, caregivers prioritize vocal cues for emotional needs and cognitive cues for intelligence, highlighting how different cues influence judgments in early childhood.

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Researchers have described some of the best-preserved three-dimensional trilobite fossils ever discovered. The fossils, which are more than 500 million years old, were collected in the High Atlas of Morocco and are being referred to by scientists as 鈥淧ompeii鈥� trilobites due to their remarkable preservation in ash.

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New Fossil Bovids from Kromdraai shed light on South Africa's ancient ecosystems.