Posts Tagged ‘evolutionary biology’
Top Stories - Jul 27, 2011 11:01 - 0 Comments
Vanishing predators: Cascade of loss
UC DAVIS (US) — The declining number of animals at the top of the food chain is creating a downward spiral throughout the world’s ecosystems, largely due to the one predator they are vulnerable to: humans. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jul 25, 2011 8:49 - 0 Comments
‘Freaky’ mouse battles poison—and wins
RICE (US) — A genetic mutation evolved over millennia has turned the ordinary house mouse into Mighty Mouse—with the power to resist common poison. (more…)
Top Stories - Jul 18, 2011 10:07 - 0 Comments
Stress weighs down life at the top
PRINCETON (US) — The top of the social ladder may not be all it’s cracked up to be. In baboon society, alpha males have higher stress levels than those ranked below them—even in periods of stability. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Jul 12, 2011 12:34 - 3 Comments
Hawk or dove? How kids react to stress
U. ROCHESTER (US) — Whether a child confronts new situations in a cautious and submissive way or a bold and assertive one is linked to a hormonal response to stress. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jul 11, 2011 12:24 - 2 Comments
Parasites to blame for rampant sex
INDIANA U. (US) — It seems we may have parasites to thank for the existence of sex—as we know it. (more…)
Top Stories - Jul 11, 2011 11:57 - 4 Comments
Forage to farm: But are we healthier?
EMORY (US) — Human height and health declined soon after the shift to agriculture around 10,000 years ago, research shows. (more…)
Top Stories - Jul 6, 2011 10:57 - 0 Comments
Why we’re clueless about cow horns
U. OREGON (US) — Deer have antlers, giraffes have ossicones, and cows have horns—and scientists say we know shockingly little about why. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jun 30, 2011 9:18 - 0 Comments
Early and modern humans didn’t mingle
NYU (US) — New excavations in Indonesia show that Homo erectus disappeared from the area at least 143,000 years ago—and possibly as long as 550,000 years—long before modern humans arrived on the scene. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jun 28, 2011 12:40 - 0 Comments
How we chew: It’s all in the tongue
BROWN (US) — Beginning with early amphibians, mammals and fish took divergent evolutionary paths, using their tongue in different ways to chew and digest their food. (more…)
Top Stories - Jun 28, 2011 10:07 - 0 Comments
Pollen fossils unearth climate history
RICE U. (US) — The Antarctic Peninsula gave up its vegetation about 12 million years ago, succumbing to ice during a prolonged period of global cooling. (more…)
Top Stories - Jun 23, 2011 17:08 - 0 Comments
Dinosaurs were as warm as mammals
CALTECH (US) — The first direct measurements of the body temperature of dinosaurs show some were as warm as most modern mammals. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jun 23, 2011 10:53 - 4 Comments
Birds see colors invisible to humans
YALE (US) — Birds’ plumage has changed from dull to brilliant over millions of years, but the bright hues humans see are only a fraction of what birds see. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jun 22, 2011 9:05 - 3 Comments
Will global warming eclipse evolution?
UC DAVIS (US) — Climate change is leaving animals and plants little wiggle room, pushing them to the edge of their heat tolerance level. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jun 21, 2011 10:38 - 0 Comments
Fish tale tells communication story
CORNELL (US) — The grunts and hoots that make up fish chatter offer a basic wiring diagram for how all vertebrates, including humans, communicate. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jun 6, 2011 13:13 - 0 Comments
It’s alive! Extinct snail found in Alabama
U. MICHIGAN (US) — Using century-old reference specimens, scientists have discovered a freshwater limpet not seen for more than 60 years in a tributary in the heavily dammed Coosa River in Alabama. (more…)
Top Stories - Jun 6, 2011 11:41 - 1 Comment
In pristine forests, fungus threatens frogs
CORNELL (US) — Untouched forests may not be a complete safe haven for amphibians. Risk of fungal infections is higher in such pristine environments, a new study finds. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jun 3, 2011 9:05 - 2 Comments
Hominid guys stayed home, gals roamed
U. COLORADO-BOULDER (US) — An analysis of teeth from a hominid species that roamed the South African savannah more than a million years ago suggests males rarely left the comfort of the cave. (more…)
Earth & Environment - May 26, 2011 12:28 - 1 Comment
On extinction’s edge? No so fast
MCGILL U. (CAN) — According to recent estimates, around 20 percent of flowering plants are currently at risk of extinction. However, a new study suggests the criteria for assessing risk of extinction in plants should be revisited. (more…)
