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'Genetic time machine' reveals complex chimpanzee cultures

In recent decades, scientists have clearly demonstrated that chimpanzees, like humans, pass on complex cultures such as tool use from generation to generation. But human culture has become vastly more sophisticated, from ...

How humans evolved to be 'energetically unique'

Humans, it turns out, possess much higher metabolic rates than other mammals, including our close relatives, apes and chimpanzees, finds a Harvard study. Having both high resting and active metabolism, researchers say, enabled ...

How brain evolution is linked to the use of tools

Researchers led by Dr. Alexandros Karakostis from the Institute for Archaeological Science and the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen suggest that changes in the brain ...

New fossil reveals the evolution of flying reptiles

The pterosaurs are extinct flying reptiles that lived alongside their close relatives, the dinosaurs. The largest of these reached 10 m in wingspan, but early forms were generally limited to around 2 m. In a paper, a team ...

3D virtual skulls study maps missing piece of brain evolution

The temporal lobe—a key area of our brain responsible for our memory and communication—could also reveal hidden clues about how human brains have evolved over time, according to a new study from The Australian National ...

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Evolution
Q&A: Holobiont biology, a new concept for exploring how microbiome shapes evolution of visible life
Evolution
Genetic legacy of Jomon hunter-gatherers linked to increased BMI in modern Japanese populations
Evolution
Fossil teeth suggest a long childhood is the prelude to the evolution of a large brain
Evolution
Bird brain from the age of dinosaurs reveals roots of avian intelligence
Evolution
How did the division of labor emerge in animals and humans? Little-known organisms hold clues
Evolution
Particle accelerator helps discover new fossil species of coelacanth
Evolution
Ouch! Study investigates pain vocalizations and interjections across 131 languages
Evolution
Hypercarnivores study reveals unique adaptations of jaw function and tooth wear
Evolution
Unexpected differences in genetically identical bacteria provide a new perspective on aging at the cellular level
Evolution
New insights into the Denisovans—the hominin group that interbred with modern day humans
Evolution
Plants and animals with bigger genomes grow less efficiently—new research helps explain why they never died out
Evolution
Insect-killing fungi find unexpected harmony in war
Evolution
Evolutionary anthropologist presents hypothesis about why humans are dominating the world over other animals
Evolution
Symmetry in biology: A look into how bees actively organize nests in mirroring patterns
Plants & Animals
Researchers discover genetic reason for the red, yellow and orange bills of Australian finches
Evolution
How do brains coordinate activity? From fruit flies to monkeys, scientists discover a universal principle
Evolution
The rise of color vision in animals: Study maps dramatic 100-million-year explosion in color signals
Plants & Animals
Mountaineering mice shed light on evolutionary adaptation
Evolution
Ancient unicellular organism indicates embryonic development might have existed prior to animals' evolution
Evolution
The high cost of complexity: New study explores energy needs of multicellular life

Other news

General Physics
Extending classical black hole inequalities into the quantum realm
Other
Saturday Citations: Sweaty, remarkable humans; ocean level rise projections; closeup of a star in another galaxy
Astrobiology
Ryugu asteroid sample rapidly colonized by terrestrial life despite strict contamination control
Archaeology
Earliest fish-trapping facility in Central America discovered in Maya lowlands
Biochemistry
Natural substance from edible cyanobacterium could combat skin aging by enhancing collagen
Astrobiology
Oldest direct evidence of hot water activity on Mars found
Molecular & Computational biology
'e-Drive': New gene drive reverses insecticide resistance in pests... then disappears
Archaeology
Peaches spread across North America through Indigenous networks, radiocarbon dating and document analysis show
General Physics
Accessing the lesser known nucleon: New neutron measurement can help physicists learn about nucleon structure and spin
Analytical Chemistry
Exploring new liquid organic hydrogen carrier materials for a safer, more transportable energy source
Planetary Sciences
Niagara fireball event leads to discovery of tiniest known asteroid
Optics & Photonics
Prototype lenses can block epileptic-seizure causing wavelengths
Biochemistry
Next-generation, nature-inspired sunscreens have a new molecular scaffold
Optics & Photonics
Improved ultrasound technique produces previously unattainable images inside live cells
Plants & Animals
Caste differentiation in ants: How a specific hormone regulates the process
Paleontology & Fossils
Fossil discovery reveals giant worm lizard with snail-cracking jaws
Condensed Matter
Discovery of van Hove singularities could lead to novel materials with desirable quantum properties
Earth Sciences
In Patagonia, more snow could protect glaciers from melt—but only if greenhouse gas are curbed emissions soon
Analytical Chemistry
Nano-patterned copper oxide sensor provides rapid ultra-low hydrogen detection
Cell & Microbiology
New technique points to unexpected uses for snoRNA across many cell types

Ancient microbes linked to evolution of human immune proteins

When you become infected with a virus, some of the first weapons your body deploys to fight it are those passed down to us from our microbial ancestors billions of years ago. According to new research from The University ...