A new primate species at the root of the tree of extant hominoids
Living hominoids are a group of primates that includes the small-bodied apes (the lesser apes, or gibbons and siamangs, which constitute the family Hylobatidae) and the larger-bodied great apes...
View ArticleShared genetics in humans and roundworms shed light on infertility, study finds
A discovery by Rutgers scientists links a protein in sperm to the same molecule needed for reproduction in tiny roundworms and provides clues to human infertility.
View Article'Virtual fossil' reveals last common ancestor of humans and Neanderthals
We know we share a common ancestor with Neanderthals, the extinct species that were our closest prehistoric relatives. But what this ancient ancestral population looked like remains a mystery, as...
View ArticleReintroduction of genetically distinct orangutan subspecies has led to...
As their natural habitats continue to be destroyed, increasing numbers of displaced endangered mammals are taken to sanctuaries and rehabilitation centres worldwide. The ultimate goal of these centres...
View ArticleTracing the ancestry of dung beetles
One of the largest and most important groups of dung beetles in the world evolved from a single common ancestor and relationships among the various lineages are now known, according to new research by...
View ArticleBacteria perfected protein complexes more than 3.5 billion years ago
Researchers are resurrecting ancient bacterial protein complexes to determine how 3.5-billion-year-old cells functioned versus cells of today. Surprisingly, they are not that different, reports a study...
View ArticleThe secret to an Oesia life: Prehistoric worm built tube-like 'houses' on sea...
The fossilised remnants of tube-like "dwellings" which housed a primitive type of prehistoric sea worm on the ocean floor have been identified in a new study.
View ArticleSome bacteria have lived in the human gut since before we were human
Some of the bacteria in our guts were passed down over millions of years, since before we were human, suggesting that evolution plays a larger role than previously known in people's intestinal-microbe...
View ArticleStudy tracing ancestor microorganisms suggests life started in a hydrothermal...
It's one of the greatest mysteries of modern science: how did life begin exactly? While most scientists believe that all lifeforms evolved from a common, primitive ancestor microorganism, the details...
View ArticleNew Zealand wren DNA analysis reshapes geological theory
A DNA analysis of living and extinct species of mysterious New Zealand wrens may change theories around the country's geological and evolutionary past.
View ArticleThe first crocodile ancestors
Did you know that birds and crocodiles are practically cousins? Around 230 million years ago, you wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between the two different lineages. This is because...
View Article'Red gene' in birds and turtles suggests dinosaurs had bird-like color vision
Earlier this year, scientists used zebra finches to pinpoint the gene that enables birds to produce and display the colour red.
View ArticleEvolutionary conservation explains similar genetic mechanism between...
An international team has discovered a genetic mechanism that is responsible for the development of stomata - microscopic valves on the surface of plants that facilitate the uptake of carbon dioxide...
View ArticleHow single-celled organisms navigate to oxygen
A team of researchers has discovered that tiny clusters of single-celled organisms that inhabit the world's oceans and lakes, are capable of navigating their way to oxygen. Writing in e-Life scientists...
View ArticleStudy finds key mechanism important for sex determination in vertebrates
In various vertebrate species, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, the DMRT1 gene is a master sex regulator, working to develop and maintain 'maleness' -either the sex cells (or...
View ArticleAnalysis of developing bat fetuses suggests common ancestor developed...
(Phys.org)—A team of researchers from several institutions in China and one in Ireland has found evidence in the ears of developing bat fetuses that suggests all bats evolved from a common ancestor...
View ArticleBag-like sea creature was humans' oldest known ancestor
Researchers have identified traces of what they believe is the earliest known prehistoric ancestor of humans—a microscopic, bag-like sea creature, which lived about 540 million years ago.
View ArticleDeeper origin of gill evolution suggests 'active lifestyle' link in early...
A new study has revealed that gills originated much deeper in evolutionary history than previously believed. The findings support the idea that gills evolved before the last common ancestor of all...
View ArticleWhere do flowers come from? Shedding light on Darwin's 'abominable mystery'
The mystery that is the origin of flowering plants has been partially solved thanks to a team from the Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire et Végétale (CNRS/Inra/CEA/Université Grenoble Alpes), in...
View ArticleGenetic evidence suggests that early mammals had good night-time vision,...
Our earliest mammalian ancestors likely skulked through the dark, using their powerful night-time vision to find food and avoid reptilian predators that hunted by day. This conclusion, published by...
View ArticleOrigins of Indonesian hobbits finally revealed
The most comprehensive study on the bones of Homo floresiensis, a species of tiny human discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003, has found that they most likely evolved from an ancestor...
View ArticleWhat roundworms can teach us about human growth
Human beings and the roundworm C. elegans have more in common than you'd expect. Thanks to a common ancestor more than 700 million years ago humans and roundworms have a similar hormone to drive and...
View ArticleSensitivity to inequity is in wolves' and dogs' blood
Not only dogs but also wolves react to inequity - similar to humans or primates. This has been confirmed in a new study by comparative psychologists of the Messerli Research Institute of the University...
View ArticleThe story of music is the story of humans
How did music begin? Did our early ancestors first start by beating things together to create rhythm, or use their voices to sing? What types of instruments did they use? Has music always been...
View ArticleSize of animals dating back 100-350 million years ago inferred from...
Titin is one of the proteins that make up the muscles of all vertebrates; it is an elastic protein that acts as a spring by refolding and returning to its original state. "Protein evolution has been...
View ArticleParasite revealed—new insights into dicyemida
Revealing the origin and evolutionary history of the world's manifold life forms is one way in which we seek to understand them. Even the smallest creature can yield fascinating insights. For example,...
View ArticleNew 13-million-year-old infant skull sheds light on ape ancestry
The discovery in Kenya of a remarkably complete fossil ape skull reveals what the common ancestor of all living apes and humans may have looked like. The find, announced in the scientific journal...
View ArticleScientists map sex chromosome evolution in pathogenic fungi
Biologically speaking, nearly every species on Earth has two opposite sexes, male and female. But with some fungi and other microbes, sex can be a lot more complicated. Some members of Cryptococcus, a...
View ArticleNew study suggests that last common ancestor of humans and apes was smaller...
New research suggests that the last common ancestor of apes—including great apes and humans—was much smaller than previously thought, about the size of a gibbon. The findings, published today in the...
View ArticleAncient DNA offers new view on saber-toothed cats' past
Researchers who've analyzed the complete mitochondrial genomes from ancient samples representing two species of saber-toothed cats have a new take on the animals' history over the last 50,000 years....
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