News Feature Channel: Evolution and Darwin

Fossil of Huge Terror Bird Offers New Information About Wildlife in South America 12 Million Years Ago

Johns Hopkins Medicine — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 01:00:00 EST

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

Evolution in Action: How Ethnic Tibetan Women Thrive in Thin Oxygen at High Altitudes

Case Western Reserve University — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 15:00:00 EST

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

Underwater Caves Yield New Clues About Sicily's First Residents

Washington University in St. Louis — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 14:00:00 EST

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.

Macaques Give Birth More Easily Than Women: No Maternal Mortality at Birth

University of Vienna — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 15:00:00 EST

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 - a monkey species within the family of Old World monkeys - to show that, unlike humans, there is no maternal mortality in these primates linked to childbirth.

Study of Monkey Fossils Found in Cave Sheds Light on the Animals' Extinction Centuries Ago

Johns Hopkins Medicine — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 11:05:20 EST

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 -- the Caribbean island on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located.

Brazilian Fossils Reveal Jaw-Dropping Discovery in Mammal Evolution

University of Bristol — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 11:00:00 EST

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.

In November the Famous 'Lucy' Fossil Discovery Turns 50, Continues to Impact Human Origins Scientific Research

Arizona State University (ASU) — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 06:05:00 EST

Fifty years ago--on November 24, 1974--only a few years after humans' 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--"Lucy."

An Unexpected Result: The Mammalian Inner Ear Is a Striking Example of Convergent Evolution

University of Vienna — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 05:00:14 EST

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 Maitre 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.

Wayne State Study Seeks Insight Into the Evolution of Parasitic Wasps

Wayne State University Division of Research — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 11:05:41 EST

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

$1.8M NIH Grant to FAU Engineering Fuels Quest to Decode Human Evolution

Florida Atlantic University — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 08:30:30 EST

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.

Fossil hotspots in Africa obscure a more complete picture of human evolution

George Washington University — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 09:05:32 EST

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

'Baby Talk:' Decoding How Children's Vocal and Cognitive Cues Sway Adults

Florida Atlantic University — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 08:30:32 EST

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.

Prehistoric Pompeii discovered: Most pristine trilobite fossils ever found shake up scientific understanding of the long extinct group

University of Bristol — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 14:00:00 EST

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 "Pompeii" trilobites due to their remarkable preservation in ash.

New Fossil Bovids from Kromdraai

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg — Thu, 09 May 2024 08:05:10 EST

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

ERC Advanced Grant for Paleoanthropologist Gabriele Macho

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 06:30:00 EST

Frankfurt, 04/11/024. Paleoanthropologist Prof. Dr. Gabriele Macho will be awarded an ERC Advanced Grant by the European Research Council (ERC).

Computational tools fuel reconstruction of new and improved bird family tree

University of California San Diego — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 15:00:00 EST

Using cutting-edge computational methods and supercomputing infrastructure at UC San Diego, researchers have built the largest and most detailed bird family tree to date--an intricate chart delineating 93 million years of evolutionary relationships between 363 bird species, representing 92% of all bird families.

Snakes: An Evolutionary Winner

Stony Brook University — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 14:00:00 EST

A study of more than 60,000 specimens of snakes and lizards worldwide reveals that snakes stand out alone in the evolution of reptiles. The team of scientists discovered that snakes evolved incredibly fast, as their ancestors shed limbs and adapted on multiple levels to live and spread out into thousands of species of snakes over 66 million years, up to today.

Did neanderthals use glue? Researchers find evidence that sticks

New York University — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 15:05:49 EST

Neanderthals created stone tools held together by a multi-component adhesive, a team of scientists has discovered.

Scientists try out stone age tools to understand how they were used

Tokyo Metropolitan University — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 21:05:23 EST

Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University crafted replica stone age tools and used them for a range of tasks to see how different activities create traces on the edge.

Mystery solved: the oldest fossil reptile from the alps is an historical forgery

University College Cork — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 22:05:41 EST

A 280-million-year-old fossil that has baffled researchers for decades has been shown to be, in part, a forgery following new examination of the remnants.