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Animal social interactions could speed up evolution

Scientists typically predict how species evolve by looking at their genes and the environment they live in, but new research from the University of Aberdeen has highlighted a key factor that's often overlooked: social interactions, ...

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 ...

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.

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 ...

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Evolution
New insights into sauropod evolution: Discovery of tail clubs in India
Evolution
Protein study reveals how the tiny shrew achieves a resting heart rate of 1,020 beats per minute
Plants & Animals
The evolutionary history of rats has more holes than Swiss cheese, but researchers are trying to close them
Evolution
Seal species carries 'genetic scars' after being hunted to the edge of extinction, new research reveals
Evolution
Plant lineage study provides insights into the ecological and evolutionary effects of different reproductive strategies
Plants & Animals
Sea robins use leg-like fins to taste and navigate seafloor, researchers discover
Plants & Animals
Bird study shows that grounded running styles conserve energy
Evolution
Cretaceous fireflies reveal early evolution of insect bioluminescence
Plants & Animals
Closely related plants shows species use different methods to adapt to extreme environments, study shows
Evolution
Bronze age Lactobacillus genomes reveal origins of kefir cheese
Evolution
New evolutionary model revises the origins of biodiversity
Evolution
Brazilian fossils reveal early evolution of mammalian jaw and middle ear
Plants & Animals
New fossil species reshapes understanding of grape family history
Plants & Animals
Naked mole-rat found to have lost infection-resistant proteins
Evolution
Unveiling ancient life: New method sheds light on early cellular and metabolic evolution
Evolution
Ancient DNA helps uncover the Iberian lynx's potential secret weapon against extinction
Evolution
Researchers discover tumors inherited by generations of jellyfish-like creatures
Evolution
3D field-based tracking and field experiments of octopus and fish unlock the secrets of multispecies hunting
Evolution
Extreme polar light environment of the North and South Poles sustains biodiversity, researchers suggest
Evolution
How diversity in heat tolerance can help protect coral reefs

Other news

Ecology
Increasing plant diversity in agriculture can promote soil carbon sequestration
Cell & Microbiology
Trial results set benchmark for future clinical applications of lipidomic technologies
Environment
Huge waves in the atmosphere dump extreme rain on northern Australia
General Physics
World's highest-voltage gun accelerates electrons from zero to 80% the speed of light
Astronomy
A sharper view of the Milky Way with Gaia and machine learning
Archaeology
Advanced technology discovered under Neolithic dwelling in Denmark
Condensed Matter
Theoretical study demonstrates existence of giant photocaloric effects in ferroelectric perovskites
Materials Science
Inspired by Spider-Man, researchers recreate web-slinging technology
Molecular & Computational biology
Genetic mechanism unlocks a key secret behind disease infection in crops
Ecology
Study shows neonicotinoids are harmful to birds on all fronts
General Physics
Scientists accelerate uranium beam with record power
Cell & Microbiology
Lighting the way with accurate and safe 3D embryo imaging
Cell & Microbiology
Biomolecular condensates can split membranes without the aid of proteins, study finds
Social Sciences
Carefully exposing children to more misinformation can make them better fact-checkers, study suggests
General Physics
Researchers discover new isotope plutonium-227
Biochemistry
Barnacle-inspired polymers could present new way to design antibiotics, researchers say
Mathematics
In double breakthrough, mathematician helps solve two long-standing problems
Planetary Sciences
Jupiter's Great Red Spot shows unexpected size changes
Paleontology & Fossils
Scientists recreate the head of this ancient 9-foot-long bug
Astronomy
Black hole destroys star, goes after another

Ancient microbes may help us find extraterrestrial life forms

Using light-capturing proteins in living microbes, scientists have reconstructed what life was like for some of Earth's earliest organisms. These efforts could help us recognize signs of life on other planets, whose atmospheres ...

Octopus brain and human brain share the same 'jumping genes'

The octopus is an exceptional organism with an extremely complex brain and cognitive abilities that are unique among invertebrates. So much so that in some ways it has more in common with vertebrates than with invertebrates. ...

Humans can't, but turtles can: Switching off senescence

All living organisms age and die—there is no way of escaping death. But not all organisms follow the same pattern of weakening and deterioration to old age and death—counter-intuitive as it may seem.

Study reveals the first deep-sea crustacean genome

The deep-sea environment is characterized by darkness, low temperature, high hydrostatic pressure and lack of food. Despite the hostile environment, a growing number of deep-dwelling animals have been identified in this ecosystem, ...

Amphioxus sequencing gives insight on vertebrate evolution

Vertebrate evolution was accompanied by two rounds of whole genome duplication followed by functional divergence in terms of regulatory circuits and gene expression patterns. As a basal and slow-evolving chordate species, ...

New insight into the hunting patterns of ancient cephalopods

The Jurassic cephalopod Vampyronassa rhodanica, thought to be the oldest known ancestor of the modern-day vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis), was likely an active hunter—a mode of life that is in contrast with its ...