Mammals put brawn before brains to survive post-dinosaur world
Prehistoric mammals bulked up, rather than develop bigger brains, to boost their survival chances once dinosaurs had become extinct, research suggests.
Prehistoric mammals bulked up, rather than develop bigger brains, to boost their survival chances once dinosaurs had become extinct, research suggests.
Evolution
Mar 31, 2022
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The evolutionary origin of endothermy (the ability to maintain a warm body and higher energy levels than reptiles), currently believed to have originated separately in birds and mammals, could have occurred nearly 300 million ...
Evolution
Dec 13, 2021
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Scientists have discovered that tiny 'microchromosomes' in birds and reptiles, initially thought to be specks of dust on the microscope slide, are linked to a spineless animal ancestor that lived 684 million years ago. They ...
Evolution
Nov 2, 2021
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61
With Mother's Day around the corner, it's a good opportunity to ask what being a mother looks like across the animal kingdom. Most of us have a solid concept of human motherhood, but in nature maternal care comes in many ...
Plants & Animals
May 7, 2021
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Seahorses have the unique characteristic of male pregnancy, which includes the carrying of many embryos in a brood pouch that incubates and nourishes the embryos, similar to the mammalian placenta. However, the regulatory ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 16, 2020
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The lack of certain genes in the BEC/TCEAL cluster could be related to alterations associated with autism spectrum disorder, according to a preclinical study published in the journal Genome Biology and led by Professor Jordi ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 26, 2020
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Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid struck the Earth. The world was plunged into darkness, killing the dinosaurs and over 90% of all species alive. Today, every living thing descends from the handful of surviving species. ...
Ecology
Jul 21, 2020
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Platelet cells, which prevent mammals from bleeding non-stop, first evolved around 300 million years ago in an egg-laying animal similar to the modern duck-billed platypus, finds joint research by UCL and Yale University.
Evolution
Jul 9, 2019
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After millions of years living in constant darkness, a species of blind cavefish found only in Somalia has lost an ancient system of DNA repair. That DNA repair system, found in organisms including bacteria, fungi, plants, ...
Archaeology
Oct 11, 2018
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150
The scrotum is a mystery. Why do most male mammals have their reproductive glands so vulnerably located in a sack of skin and muscle outside the body? According to new research, the answer might be found in those unusual ...
Ecology
Jun 29, 2018
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