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Evolution news
Genomic study reveals fungal domestication by leafcutter ants
While our human ancestors began domesticating food crops around 10,000 years ago, a lineage of ants called the "attines" became fungus farmers 60 million years earlier. The attine ants and their fungal crop mutually depend ...
Evolution
Oct 7, 2024
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Asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs may have led to the invention of 'ant agriculture'
The event that wiped out the dinosaurs wasn't all bad. The low-light environment caused by the meteor impact some 66 million years ago favored the spread of fungi that feed on organic matter, which was abundant at the time ...
Evolution
Oct 6, 2024
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149
Scientists uncover auditory 'sixth sense' in geckos
University of Maryland biologists have identified a hidden sensory talent in geckos that's shaking up what we thought we knew about animal hearing.
Plants & Animals
Oct 4, 2024
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162
Study determines when and how pterosaurs went from tiny tree-climbers to towering terrestrial titans
The evolutionary adaptations that allowed ancient pterosaurs to grow to enormous sizes have been pinpointed for the first time by paleontologists in the Center for Paleobiology and Biosphere Evolution at the University of ...
Evolution
Oct 4, 2024
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Study suggests statistical 'noise' affects perceived evolutionary rates
For decades, researchers have observed that rates of evolution seem to accelerate over short time periods—say five million years versus fifty million years. This broad pattern has suggested that "younger" groups of organisms, ...
Evolution
Oct 3, 2024
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The true global impact of species-loss caused by humans is far greater than expected, study reveals
The extinction of hundreds of bird species caused by humans over the last 130,000 years has led to substantial reductions in avian functional diversity—a measure of the range of different roles and functions that birds ...
Evolution
Oct 3, 2024
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Genetic database shows some fungal crops became completely reliant on ants 27 million years ago
When humans began farming crops thousands of years ago, agriculture had already been around for millions of years. In fact, several animal lineages have been growing their own food since long before humans evolved as a species.
Evolution
Oct 3, 2024
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The darker side of human rights for great apes
The Spanish government has announced plans to ban harmful experiments on great apes as part of a wider initiative to give them increased rights closer to the ones humans enjoy.
Evolution
Oct 3, 2024
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Ancient protein structure may have enabled early molecular evolution and diversification
In a finding that offers fresh insights into the early evolution of life on Earth, two RIKEN biologists have conducted lab experiments that have revealed a previously unknown protein fold, which is completely absent in modern ...
Evolution
Oct 3, 2024
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41
Study traces wild cat eye color diversity to ancient ancestor
Fans of Clementine, the cat who recently captivated TikTok with her rare eye color, should take note. The piercing golden gaze of cheetahs, the striking blue stare of snow leopards, and the luminous green glare of leopards ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 2, 2024
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Arctic plant study suggests the rate of climate change threatens to exceed the adaptive capacity of species
A research group at the Finnish Museum of Natural History is investigating the adaptive potential of plant species amid a warming climate. Their recent study investigates the Siberian primrose, a plant species that occurs ...
Evolution
Oct 2, 2024
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41
Do coyotes have puppy dog eyes? New study reveals wild canines share dog's famous expression
New research from Baylor University reveals that coyotes, like domestic dogs, have the ability to produce the famous "puppy dog eyes" expression. The study—"Coyotes can do 'puppy dog eyes' too: Comparing interspecific variation ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 2, 2024
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Scientists find plausible geological setting that may have sparked life on Earth
Researchers have discovered a plausible evolutionary setting in which nucleic acids—the fundamental genetic building blocks of life—could enable their own replication, possibly leading to life on Earth.
Evolution
Oct 1, 2024
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109
New study sheds light on ancient protoribosome and its role in early life evolution
Scientists have uncovered new insights into the protoribosome, a molecular fossil within the ribosome, which plays a key role in the origin of life on Earth.
Evolution
Oct 1, 2024
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108
Protein study reveals how the tiny shrew achieves a resting heart rate of 1,020 beats per minute
The shrew's resting heart rate can reach up to 17 beats per second, equivalent to about 1,020 beats per minute. In comparison, the average human resting heart rate is around 60 to 100 beats per minute, making the shrew's ...
Evolution
Sep 30, 2024
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119
The evolutionary history of rats has more holes than Swiss cheese, but researchers are trying to close them
Rats and humans have lived together for thousands of years. However, written historical records of rats migrating alongside people are sparse and some are entangled with myth and folklore.
Plants & Animals
Sep 30, 2024
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New insights into sauropod evolution: Discovery of tail clubs in India
A new University of Michigan study of dinosaur fossils from India has revealed that the sauropod dinosaur Kotasaurus yamanpalliensis wielded a bony tail club.
Evolution
Sep 30, 2024
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Plant lineage study provides insights into the ecological and evolutionary effects of different reproductive strategies
Hang Sun's group from Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences has demonstrated the ecological and evolutionary effects of changes in plant reproductive strategies on phylogenetic evolution. The study is published ...
Evolution
Sep 27, 2024
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Seal species carries 'genetic scars' after being hunted to the edge of extinction, new research reveals
Northern Elephant seals have staged a remarkable comeback after narrowly escaping extinction by hunting, but new research reveals lasting genetic effects in the present population.
Evolution
Sep 27, 2024
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220
Closely related plants shows species use different methods to adapt to extreme environments, study shows
Scientists have found that different populations of a plant species, which is closely related to many crops of worldwide importance, use very different strategies to adapt to environmental changes, which gives experts new ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 26, 2024
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More news
Bird study shows that grounded running styles conserve energy
New fossil species reshapes understanding of grape family history
Naked mole-rat found to have lost infection-resistant proteins
Independent origins of frog glue and its role in predator evasion
New mechanism uncovered for the reduction of emu wings
Other news
Study suggests elephants remember zookeepers after many years
Nanopore technique shows transport mechanism of chaperone proteins at the single-molecule level
Key molecule in wound healing identified through mapping of long non-coding RNA molecules
Study shows small RNA plays a crucial role in intestinal colonization
Iron catalyst study provides insights into ammonia decomposition
Yeast study shows ribosomes hibernate on mitochondria during cellular stress
