Evolution

Forget feathers — this dinosaur had a rooster’s comb on its head

When scientists discovered that some dinosaurs had feathers, it completely changed our perception of what the ancient animals looked like — and pissed a lot of people off. Now, in another twist, researchers have found that the duck-billed dinosaur Edmontosaurus regalis had a fleshy crest similar to a rooster’s comb. https://gizmodo.com/dinosaur-feathers-discovered-in-canadian-amber-5840854 The Duck-Billed Dinosaurs The…

How the Cavefish Lost Its Eyes

Pictured above is a very peculiar fish that lives in a few North American caves. It looks very much like other fish, except in one respect: it has no eyes. The story of its adaptation to life in pitch blackness is one of the weirdest stories in evolutionary history. Mutations vs. Cryptic Variation When people…

The mystery of the human intelligence explosion

Over the past 200,000 years since Homo sapiens evolved, something extraordinary happened. Somehow, we went from being clever monkeys with stone tools, to being insanely brilliant masterminds who use complex language, and control the planet with agriculture and technology. How did we start the intelligence explosion that anthropologists call the “human revolution”? Perhaps one of…

This could be the earliest flowering plant ever found in North America

Quite by accident, a Smithsonian researcher has uncovered the remains of what appears to be an early Cretaceous-era flowering plant. The remarkable fossil was originally uncovered back in 1971, and it may be the oldest example of its kind from North America. Flowering plants first emerged from now-extinct plants related to conifers, ginkos, cycads, and…

Controversial study linking GM corn to tumors in rats retracted

Since its publication in September 2012, a study that showed rats fed Monsanto’s glyphosate-resistant NK603 maize developed more tumors than controls has been roundly criticized for its poor experimental design and dubious statistical methods. Yesterday, the study was retracted. The retraction was initiated by the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology after the authors refused to…

Evolution Doesn’t Look Like You Think It Does

There’s an iconic scientific image which depicts evolution, and it suggests that we went from monkey to man in six easy steps. The only problem is, that’s kinda bull. The image, now known as The March of Progress, first appeared in 1965 and has captured the imagination of wannabe scientists since. This video explains why…

Why would we evolve to poop in the same place as our friends?

Humans aren’t the only creatures who share communal toilets — many mammals do this. In fact, new research shows this behavior was an ancient evolutionary development. Scientists have discovered a large, rhino-like reptile defecated in “communal latrines” some 240 million years ago. Image above: Artistic recreation of the ancient reptiles, dicynodonts, using their communal latrine.…

When humans became a “crowd species,” epidemics followed

A pandemic could begin with one infected person flying across the world, shedding pathogens along the way. It’s a terrifying scenario, but it probably wouldn’t have happened thousands of years ago. Not because we didn’t have airplanes – but because humans had not yet become a crowd species. Today in the Guardian, Alok Jha reports…

How whales made the dramatic evolutionary shift from land to the sea

All whales and dolphins are descended from terrestrial mammals, ancient creatures that were very similar to the modern hippopotamus. Now, a fascinating new genetics study shows the incredible evolutionary changes these animals had to experience to become the perfectly adapted marine animals we see today. Biologists aren’t entirely sure which creature modern cetaceans (dolphins, whales,…

Modern humans are still carrying Neanderthal viruses

Neanderthals and Denisovans may be long gone, but their viruses continue to live on inside our bodies. The geneticists who discovered these ancient viruses aren’t sure if they’re bad for us, but they could make us more susceptible to certain cancers. Retroviruses are a special class of viruses that are comprised of RNA rather than…

50,000 generations of bacteria prove that evolution never stops

In a remarkable experiment that’s been going on for nearly a quarter century, biologists have shown that lab-grown bacteria — even in a stable, unchanging world — will continue to evolve in a way that makes it increasingly good at reproducing. Above: On left is a petri dish with equal numbers of colonies of two…

What would Earth be like if humans had never existed? New Scientist wanted to find out. This video is their speculative tour of an Earth that never included Homo sapiens. Would the world really be all that different?

8 Incredible Facts You May Not Know About Human Evolution

Homo sapiens evolved about 200-150,000 years ago in Africa, but our story as a species stretches back much further than that with early human ancestors. And the evolution of Homo sapiens is itself a tangled tale, full of unanswered questions and gothic family melodrama. Here are a few facts you may not know about the…

What Earth Would Be Like if Humans Had Never Existed

It’s one of those things you’ve probably idly wondered but never really lent masses of thought: what the hell would the planet be like if humans had never existed? Fortunately, this video tries to explain. It’s hard enough to imagine what the world was like before humans, let alone how it may’ve turned out if…

Disembodied duck feet helped Darwin make the case for evolution

Charles Darwin knew that making the case for evolution would involve more than just a good idea. . Darwin knew the idea of evolution would fall into disrepute if any aspect of it was questionable. Thankfully, dead duck feet provided the answer to one of evolution’s biggest mysteries. The problem was this: Why it was…

Why are babies scared of plants?

As adults, we have a habit of reaching out and touching plants without a second thought. But babies, apparently, aren’t so careless. New research shows that infants have an innate reluctance to touch plants — an aversion that protects them from potential dangers, such as toxins and thorns. Plant Dangers In our evolutionary history, we’ve…

Evolution is steered by aggressive competition between females

One of the classic images from evolutionary theory is of two males smashing each other up to compete for the chance to fertilize a female. Scientists have spent over a century studying this kind of male competition, but new discoveries reveal that competition between females is just as important. The problem is that female competition…

This amazing fruit fly evolved to have pictures of ants on its wings

This is unbelievable, but the fruit fly G tridens has somehow evolved to have what looks like pictures of ants on its wings. Seriously, its transparent wings have an ant design on them complete with “six legs, two antennae, a head, thorax and tapered abdomen.” It’s nature’s evolutionary art painted on a fly’s wings. Recently…

The trumpeter hornbill: Photoshop accident, or a real bird? Yep, it’s a real bird. More atWTF, Evolution? [Photo by Steve Garvie.]

The Mysterious Tool-Making Culture Shared by Crows and Humans

Many animal species use tools, from insects, elephants and sea urchins to apes, badgers and octopuses, but there are only two animals who make hooks to catch food: humans and crows. Why we both do this is a mystery — and unraveling it could explain the reasons why tool use evolved in the first place.…