Evolution News :: ScienceDailyNew dinosaur with heart-shaped tail provides evolutionary clues for African continent
~ A new dinosaur that wears its 'heart' on its tail provides new clues to how ecosystems evolved on the African continent during the Cretaceous period. Find out more...
How your smartphone is affecting your relationship
~ The allure of smartphones, and how they impact our interpersonal relationships, might be the result of our evolutionary history, according to researchers. Find out more...
New technique pinpoints milestones in the evolution of bacteria
~ Scientists have devised a reliable way to determine when certain groups of bacteria appeared in the evolutionary record. The technique could be used to identify when significant changes occurred in the evolution of bacteria, and to reveal details about the primitive environments that drove such changes in the first place. Find out more...
Unusual microbes hold clues to early life
~ A new study has revealed how a group of deep-sea microbes provides clues to the evolution of life on Earth. Researchers used cutting-edge molecular methods to study these microbes, which thrive in the hot, oxygen-free fluids that flow through Earth's crust. Find out more...
Fossils of new oviraptorosaur species discovered in Mongolia
~ A new oviraptorosaur species from the Late Cretaceous was discovered in Mongolia. Find out more...
Research explains how snakes lost their limbs
~ The study is part of an effort to understand how changes in the genome lead to changes in phenotypes. Find out more...
Over 800 new genome regions possibly relevant to human evolution identified
~ Researchers have found genetic evidence of adaptations in 2,859 regions of the human genome, including some well-known examples such as those responsible for milk tolerance or high-altitude adaptation. The data is part of the PopHumanScan project, an exhaustive catalog of regions that show evidence of natural selection in the human genome. Find out more...
Evolution in vertebrates
~ Researchers conducted a years-long study that not only confirmed the intuition that light-colored mice survive better in light-colored habitats, and vice versa for dark-colored mice, but also allowed researchers to pinpoint a mutation related to survival, specifically that affects pigmentation, and understand exactly how the mutation produced a novel coat color. Find out more...
Iguana-sized dinosaur cousin discovered in Antarctica
~ Scientists have discovered the fossils of an iguana-sized reptile, which they named 'Antarctic king,' that lived at the South Pole 250 million years ago (it used to be warmer). Antarctanax was an early cousin of the dinosaurs, and it shows how life bounced back after the world's biggest mass extinction. Find out more...
Molecular analysis of anchiornis feather gives clues to origin of flight
~ Researchers have performed molecular analysis on fossil feathers from a small, feathered dinosaur from the Jurassic. Their research could aid scientists in pinpointing when feathers evolved the capacity for flight during the dinosaur-bird transition. Find out more...