Marine organisms evolving in response to ocean acidification
Researchers at Plymouth University have found that polychaete worms living in acidified waters exhibit a tendency to nurture their offspring…
New technique for thought-controlled data input almost as accurate as one-fingered typing
When we type or perform other precise tasks, our brains and muscles usually work together effortlessly. But when a neurological…
How evolution shaped our idea of the perfect butt
New research from The University of Texas at Austin sheds light on today’s standards of beauty, attributing modern men’s preferences…
“Quantum jitter” mechanism behind the random mutations that drive evolution and cancer
The molecular machines that copy DNA in a living cell are fast and accurate at pairing up the correct bases…
Flores’ “hobbit” not a new human species, say detractors
Back in 2004, the excavation of unusual skeletal remains in Liang Bua cave on the island of Flores yielded what…
New fossil interpretation challenges notion that birds are descended from dinosaurs
Re-examination of a sparrow-sized fossil from China has led researchers to challengethe commonly held belief that birds evolved from ground-dwelling…
Human face evolved to be punched
A controversial new paper from the University of Utah contends that human faces have evolved over time to minimize injury…
Snakes on a brain: slithery reptiles leave lingering imprint on primate genes
A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesappears to confirm a theory that the…
Walk this way: how an upright gait made humans musical
Why don’t chimpanzees, our closest primate cousins, have musical ability? Scientists at örebro University in Sweden hypothesize that our musical…
Mechanical gears seen in nature for the first time
Gear mechanisms, previously thought to only exist in man-made machines, have also evolved in nature, according to scientists who say…
How generosity leads to evolutionary success
New insights into the classical game theory match-up known as the “Prisoner’s Dilemma” might help explain the presence of generosity…
Baits failing as cockroaches adapt to dislike sugar
Sugar is losing its attraction for roaches and making baits less effective, say scientists who have been investigating the genetic…
Computer scientists mull origins of evolvability
Over time, organisms appear to become increasingly capable of evolving in response to changes in the environment, but computer boffins…
Evolution making women taller, thinner
In many places around the world, people are living longer and are having fewer children. But a new study in…
Rapid evolution tied to environmental change
Environmental change can drive hard-wired evolutionary changes in animal species in a matter of generations, report ecologists from Ume� University…
Natural selection reducing road kill
Urban environments can be evolutionary hotspots, suggests a study in the journal Current Biology that explored why road kill surveys…
Simulation reveals evolutionary origins of modularity
Robotics researchers say they now understand why humans, bacteria and other organisms evolved in a modular fashion, a finding that…
Human intellectual abilities in decline, claims geneticist
An intriguing new hypothesis published in the journal Trends in Genetics suggests that we are losing our intellectual and emotional…
“It’s not you, it’s me,” means it’s probably you, say ovulation boffins
Long after women have chosen Mr. Stable over Mr. Sexy, they struggle unconsciously with the decision, with the highest levels…
Inflatable heat shield survives re-entry test
Developed by NASA, a large heat shield inflated with nitrogen has successfully completed a re-entry trip through Earth’s atmosphere while…
Iconic sexual selection study “fatally flawed”
A classic study from more than 60 years ago that suggested males are more promiscuous and females more choosy in…
Pop music created using natural selection and crowdsourcing
Software that uses Darwinian natural selection and the musical tastes of 7,000 people is well on the way to creating…
Worrying and intelligence evolutionarily inseparable
Anxiety and excessive worry, traits that are usually viewed as maladaptive, appear to have co-evolved with the attribute that is…
Black Queen Hypothesis offers new interpretations of organism interdependency
A new theory based on the same premise as the card game Hearts (also known as Hunt the Lady or…
Size matters: evolutionary changes in body size measured
For the first time, scientists have measured how quickly large-scale evolutionary changes in body size occur. Intriguingly, while it takes…
Scientists mull advantage of tasting words and hearing colors
Carried by a surprisingly large 4 percent of the population, scientists David Brang and VS Ramachandran have been pondering why…
Brain primed for nakedness
The uniquely human part of the brain that allows us to recognize faces in microseconds is even more sensitive at…
Lasting evolutionary change “slow and rare”
Addressing the long-running debate about short-term vs. long-term evolutionary change, a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy…
Mindless copying a good evolutionary strategy
Comparing the evolutionary success of blindly copying your parents’ lifestyle choices with that of innovative, informed lifestyle adaptations, researchers found…