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Top Headlines

Past Tropical Forest Changes Drove Megafauna and Hominin Extinctions

Oct. 7, 2020 — Researchers have discovered that Southeast Asia, today renowned for its lush rainforests, was at various points in the past covered by sweeping grasslands. The expansion and reduction of these ...

Evolution of the Y Chromosome in Great Apes Deciphered

Oct. 6, 2020 — New analysis of the DNA sequence of the male-specific Y chromosomes from all living species of the great ape family helps to clarify our understanding of how this enigmatic chromosome ...

Mud-Slurping Chinless Ancestors Had All the Moves

Oct. 1, 2020 — Researchers have revealed our most ancient ancestors were ecologically diverse, despite lacking jaws and paired ...

Study Traces the Evolution of Gill Covers

Sep. 28, 2020 — Scientists have identified a key modification to the genome that led to the evolution of gill covers more than 430 million years ...

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Rodent Ancestors Combined Portions of Blood and Venom Genes to Make Pheromones

Sep. 30, 2020 — Experts who study animal pheromones have traced the evolutionary origins of genes that allow mice, rats and other rodents to communicate through ...

Early human scene, | (c) (c) ginettigino / Adobe

The Ancient Neanderthal Hand in Severe COVID-19

Sep. 30, 2020 — Genetic variants that leave their carrier more susceptible to severe COVID-19 are inherited from Neanderthals, a new ...

Y Chromosomes of Neanderthals and Denisovans Now Sequenced

Sep. 24, 2020 — An international research team led by Martin Petr and Janet Kelso of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, has determined Y chromosome sequences of three ...

West African lungfish | (c) (c) Elena / Adobe

Tail Regeneration in Lungfish Provides Insight Into Evolution of Limb Regrowth

Sep. 16, 2020 — Researchers find that the molecular mechanisms underlying tail regeneration in West African lungfish are similar to those ...

Placing Barthelonids on the Tree of Life

Sep. 23, 2020 — Researchers have categorized barthelonids, a group of microscopic anaerobic flagellates, as an early branching Metamonada lineage based on their genetic identity and mitochondrial evolutionary ...

Computational Study of Famous Fossil Reveals Evolution of Locomotion in 'Ruling Reptiles'

Sep. 21, 2020 — Scientists used three-dimensional computer modelling to investigate the hindlimb of Euparkeria capensis -- a small reptile that lived in the Triassic ...

Archaeology Uncovers Infectious Disease Spread 4000 Years Ago

Sep. 21, 2020 — New bioarchaeology research has shown how infectious diseases may have spread 4000 years ago, while highlighting the dangers of letting such diseases run ...

Ancient Human Footprints in Saudi Arabia Give Glimpse of Arabian Ecology 120000 Years Ago

Sep. 18, 2020 — Using high resolution paleoecological information obtained from fossilized footprints, a new study presents ~120 thousand-year-old human and animal ...

An Evolutionary Roll of the Dice Explains Why We're Not Perfect

Sep. 9, 2020 — Scientists have found that chance events can be more important than natural selection in defining the genome of species like humans and other ...

New Fossil Ape Discovered in India

Sep. 8, 2020 — A 13-million-year-old fossil unearthed in northern India comes from a newly discovered ape, the earliest known ancestor of the modern-day gibbon. The discovery fills a major void in the ape fossil ...