Evolution

Physics Alert Science Articles

Transcriptional adaptation found to play a role in inherited epigenetic changes

A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research discovered that transcriptional adaptation appears to play a role in...

Mosquitoes highly resistant to insecticides found in Vietnam and Cambodia

A group of Japanese researchers, working with colleagues from Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Ghana have discovered evidence of mosquitoes that are highly...

Male fruit flies found to transfer chemical to females to induce sleep, so they won’t mate with other males

A team of researchers from Argentina's Bariloche Atomic Center and Fundación Instituto Leloir, IIBBA and CONICET have discovered that male fruit flies inject females...

Humans continue to evolve: Study tracks the emergence of 155 new genes

Modern humans diverged from our chimp ancestors nearly 7 million years ago. But we are still evolving. Within the human lineage, many new genes...

New study finds birds build hanging-nests to protect offspring from nest invaders

A new study has discovered that birds build hanging nests to protect their offspring from nest invaders such as snakes and parasitic cuckoos. It...

Extinct ‘monkey lemur’ shows similarities to human fossils

University of Otago scientists have discovered fascinating clues to human evolution. They have analysed the teeth of extinct lemurs for their study. The "surprisingly large"...

Evolution of bat wings and calls through ‘foraging syndromes’ allows diversity to flourish

Bats are an excellent example of evolutionary success. They thrive in all environments except the polar regions. They range in size from the golden-crowned...

Feline genetics help pinpoint first-ever domestication of cats

It may take a minute to notice the difference between a housecat and its direct ancestor, the Near Eastern wildcat. They're roughly the same...

Fossil discovery in storeroom cupboard shifts origin of modern lizard back 35 million years

A fossil discovered in a cupboard at the Natural History Museum in London. It has pushed the origins of the modern lizard back 35...

Fossil overturns more than a century of knowledge about the origin of modern birds

According to researchers, a skeleton fossil discovered in a grapefruit-sized rock has helped to disprove more than a century of knowledge about the origins...

Researchers find repeated gene duplications and genetic diversification in protein kinase R in mouse-eared bats

Bats are extremely unusual animals. They are the only mammals with the ability to fly. Different species have adapted to feed on a wide...

What octopus and human brains have in common

Our magnificent little blue marble of a planet is home to an astonishingly diverse array of lifeforms, but some are unquestionably odder than others. This...

Rhino horns have shrunk over the past century, likely due to hunting

Rhinoceros horns have shrunk steadily over the last century, and scientists believe it is due to hunting. The study, published in the journal People And...

Seals have the ability to sense a rhythm

The ability of seals to learn vocalisations may be linked to their rhythmic ability, which may have co-evolved in both humans and seals.

How did evolution oversee optimal bone structure in deterring rodents?

Foot bones that are separate in small hopping rodents are fused in their larger cousins, according to a team of researchers from the University...