Humans are diurnal—we are active in the day and sleep at night. But diurnalism is by far the exception rather the rule in mammals. About 250-230 million years ago, the mammalian ancestors, called the therapsids, became ...
Evolution
Oct 15, 2019
0
101
University of Cape Town (UCT) researchers have collected clear evidence—over a 23 year period between 1976 and 1999—that climate change is shrinking animals' body sizes.
Plants & Animals
Jul 22, 2019
1
734
The role of Hox genes in changing the layout of different body parts during evolution has been challenged by a study led by researchers out of the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Biological Sciences.
Evolution
Jul 9, 2019
2
489
Six hundred million years ago, fever appeared in animals as a response to infections: the higher body temperatures optimized their immune systems. At the time, virtually all animal species were cold-blooded. They had to sit ...
Evolution
Jun 5, 2019
1
126
A clutch of marine fossil specimens unearthed in northern Portugal that lived between 470 and 459 million years ago is filling a gap in understanding evolution during the Middle Ordovician period.
Paleontology & Fossils
Jun 4, 2019
0
126
Cows always rest on their chests so that their digestion is not impaired. Rodents sometimes rest sitting down, while kangaroos sometimes lie on their backs. The larger the animal, the less often it lies down, and when it ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 28, 2019
0
87
A quartet of researchers from the University of Tokyo in Japan and the University of Reading in the U.K. has found an association between the evolution of foot posture and body size in mammals. In their paper published in ...
Tyrannosaurus rex, renowned for being one of the most fearsome creatures to have ever lived, evolved a bite that was less impressive in relation to its body size than a tiny Galapagos ground finch, scientists say.
Plants & Animals
Jan 9, 2019
0
164
Starve or be eaten? For small animals, this challenge must be faced every day. Searching for food is a risky business, and small animals must balance their need to eat as much as possible against the risk of being eaten themselves. ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 19, 2018
1
11
Researchers studying the hunting of ibex in Switzerland over the past 40 years have shown how hunts, when tightly monitored, can help maintain animal populations at optimal levels.
Ecology
May 21, 2018
3
24
