Posts Tagged ‘evolution’
No single cause for Ice Age extinctions
TEXAS A&M (US) —Neither climate change nor humans alone can account for the Ice Age mass extinctions, according to a new international study. Continue…
Monday, November 7, 2011 11:16 - 1 Comment
Earth & Environment - Mar 25, 2011 14:07 - 0 Comments
Mass extinction made algae oxygen hogs
STANFORD (US) — After the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, algae and bacteria rebounded so fast they grabbed virtually all the oxygen in the sea, slowing the recovery of the rest of animals for millions of years. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jan 28, 2011 18:07 - 8 Comments
60% teachers tiptoe around evolution
PENN STATE (US) — The majority of public high school biology teachers are not strong classroom advocates of evolutionary biology, new research shows. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jan 11, 2011 15:55 - 1 Comment
Fertility gave early humans an edge
WASHINGTON U.-ST. LOUIS (US) — Increased fertility and/or reduced immature mortality—not longevity—is what gave early modern humans a demographic advantage over Neandertals. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Dec 17, 2010 13:58 - 0 Comments
Easy math: Less habitat = less diversity
U. OREGON (US) — Evolutionary diversity is more sensitive to extinction or loss of habitat than previously thought, making it all the more important that conservation efforts take into consideration how species are related. (more…)
Science & Technology - Nov 9, 2010 16:52 - 9 Comments
Does Darwin’s theory hold up?
NYU (US) — Charles Darwin’s theory of gradual evolution is not supported by geological history, according to a new paper. (more…)
Science & Technology - Aug 5, 2010 13:27 - 0 Comments
Was prehistoric crocodile a land lover?
MICHIGAN STATE (US)—The toothy grin of a recently discovered prehistoric reptile looks more mammal-like than that of modern crocodiles, according to an international group of researchers. (more…)
Science & Technology - Aug 5, 2010 11:09 - 0 Comments
Sponge genome wrings out evolutionary clues
UC SANTA BARBARA (US)—Scientists have sequenced the complete genome of a living marine sponge dating back hundreds of millions of years. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Aug 4, 2010 10:17 - 0 Comments
Orangutans rule as couch potato kings
WASHINGTON U.-ST. LOUIS (US)—Orangutans living in a large indoor/outdoor habitat use less energy, relative to body mass, than nearly any eutherian mammal ever measured, including sedentary humans. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jul 29, 2010 10:27 - 6 Comments
Lemurs smell funny on birth control
DUKE (US)—A new study finds hormonal contraception changes the chemical signals sent by female ring-tailed lemurs, making them less attractive to potential mates. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jul 6, 2010 11:02 - 0 Comments
Food fight: brain vs. gut
EMORY (US)—The relatively larger human brain makes us the most intelligent of the primates. But if we’re so smart, why have we eaten our way into an obesity epidemic? (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jun 9, 2010 15:57 - 0 Comments
Pre-humans in Africa evolved to beat the heat
JOHNS HOPKINS (US)—In the Turkana Basin of Kenya the average daily temperature has reached the mid-90s or higher, year-round, for the past 4 million years, which may explain in part why pre-humans learned to walk upright, lost the fur that covered the bodies of their predecessors, and became able to sweat more. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jun 1, 2010 16:06 - 0 Comments
Forget the forest. Prehumans lived in savannas
JOHNS HOPKINS (US)—Prehumans in East Africa 4.4 million years ago lived among grassy, tree-studded plains, not in the forests, according to a new study. (more…)
Society & Culture - May 17, 2010 16:23 - 7 Comments
Brawn beats beauty to get the girl
PENN STATE (US)—Male physical competition, not attraction, was central in winning mates among human ancestors, according to a Penn State anthropologist. (more…)
Science & Technology - Mar 3, 2010 11:53 - 0 Comments
‘Killer’ algae’s dark side
U. MINNESOTA (US)—A toxic alga, once thought to be a helpless, sun-loving microbe, is really a vicious, venom-producing predator responsible for massive fish kills in the Chesapeake Bay and other waterways. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Feb 2, 2010 23:11 - 3 Comments
Ancient teeth show effects of early stress
EMORY (US)—Ancient human teeth are telling secrets that may relate to modern-day health: Some stressful events that occurred early in development are linked to shorter life spans. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Feb 1, 2010 16:03 - 0 Comments
Unselfish apes live in ‘Peter Pan world’
DUKE (US)—For bonobos, sharing just comes naturally. In fact, unlike humans and chimpanzees, they seem incapable of being selfish—both as youngsters and as adults. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Dec 10, 2009 18:15 - 1 Comment
Surprising weakness found in H1N1
RICE (US)—The H1N1 influenza virus has been keeping a secret that may be the key to defeating it and other flu viruses as well. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 3, 2009 12:21 - 0 Comments
Human speech is music to our ears
DUKE (US)—Humans may love music, biologically speaking, because it mimics the sounds of our own voices. Neuroscientists say the use of 12 tone intervals in the music of many human cultures is rooted in the physics of how our vocal anatomy produces speech and conveys emotion. (more…)
