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Why humans have smaller faces than Neanderthals

The human face is strikingly distinct from our fossil cousins and ancestors—most notably, it is significantly smaller, and more gracile. However, the reasons behind this change remain largely unknown. A team of researchers ...

From dinosaurs to birds: The origins of feather formation

Feathers are among the most complex cutaneous appendages in the animal kingdom. While their evolutionary origin has been widely debated, paleontological discoveries and developmental biology studies suggest that feathers ...

New Zealand once home to southern elephant seals

Southern elephant seals are the "canary in the coal mine" for the Southern Ocean, offering insight into how the ecosystem may react to future climate change and human impact, new research shows.

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Paleontology & Fossils
New report calls for return of human remains—but UK museums lack the resources to act
Paleontology & Fossils
Oldest cerapodan ornithischian dinosaur discovered in Morocco
Ecology
Discovery of a new species of fossil tree helps paint picture of ancient African forest
Paleontology & Fossils
Ancient seafloor creature grew like modern marine invertebrates, study suggests
Paleontology & Fossils
Vulture fossil discovery reveals how volcanic deposits can preserve the microscopic details of animal tissues
Paleontology & Fossils
A 15-million-year-old fossilized freshwater fish with preserved stomach contents is a newly discovered species
Evolution
How big brains and flexible skulls led to the evolution of modern birds
Paleontology & Fossils
Museums have tons of data, and AI could make it more accessible
Paleontology & Fossils
The first fossil thrips in Africa: this tiny insect pest met its end in a volcanic lake 90 million years ago
Paleontology & Fossils
Western Europe's oldest human face discovered in Spain
Paleontology & Fossils
Melanosome patterns in Mesozoic mammals suggest they had dark, uniformly dull fur coloring
Paleontology & Fossils
Rare aardvark trace fossils discovered in South Africa
Evolution
DNA and 90 million-year-old pollen fossils reveal new insights into evolution of Asian tropics
Paleontology & Fossils
Dinosaur tracks, made 140 million years ago, have been found for the first time in South Africa's Western Cape
Evolution
We modeled how early human ancestors ran—and found they were surprisingly slow
Paleontology & Fossils
Archaeologists uncover the oldest known partial face fossil of a human ancestor in western Europe
Paleontology & Fossils
Unnoticed for decades, dinosaur footprints at Australian school reveal ancient secrets
Paleontology & Fossils
Terrestrial 'life oasis' from end-Permian mass extinction period discovered in China
Paleontology & Fossils
'Old stump' spotted by deer hunter is actually a mammoth tusk, Texas researchers say
Paleontology & Fossils
Wind turbine remains may be among 'most surprising' fossils for far future generations, paleontologists say

Other news

Plants & Animals
Monkeys are world's best yodelers, 'voice breaks' analysis finds
General Physics
Repurposed smartphone camera sensors create real-time, high-resolution imaging of antiproton annihilations
Plants & Animals
Flowerpot snake's DNA repair ability provides insights into human genetic conditions like Down syndrome
Archaeology
New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea
Cell & Microbiology
DNA repair protein's unexpected structure may lead to new cancer treatments
Analytical Chemistry
Frontier molecular orbital theory aids single-atom catalyst design
Astrobiology
Unique bacteria that survive by employing multicellular behavior offer clues to life's evolution
Polymers
3D-printing formula may transform future of foam
Earth Sciences
Helicopter-mounted sensor reveals volcanic CO₂ emissions could be three times higher than anticipated
Nanomaterials
Moving to autonomous experimentation: Growing thin films with machine learning
Earth Sciences
Hunga volcano eruption's unexpected Southern Hemisphere cooling effect challenges geoengineering assumptions
Plants & Animals
Alcohol makes male fruit flies more attractive to females by boosting sex pheromones, researchers find
Planetary Sciences
New distant warm Jupiter discovered with TESS
Plants & Animals
Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy
Analytical Chemistry
Quantum computing predicts proton affinity with superior accuracy
Ecology
Dark diversity reveals global impoverishment of natural vegetation
Archaeology
Study uncovers mercury treatment in 19th-century French child suffering from rickets and scurvy
Biochemistry
Organogold(III) complex accumulates in mitochondria of lung cancer cells, opening up new treatment avenues
Astronomy
Webb explores effect of strong magnetic fields on star formation
Earth Sciences
Gliding avalanches: Field monitoring tackles the great unknowns

Trilobite fossils from upstate New York reveal 'extra' set of legs

A new study finds that a trilobite species with exceptionally well-preserved fossils from upstate New York has an additional set of legs underneath its head. The research, led by the American Museum of Natural History and ...

AI-based technique speeds up the analysis of fossils

Queensland Museum and James Cook University scientists are using AI to unlock the mysteries of our fossil past. The scientists have developed an AI-based technique that has sped up the analysis of fossils, taking a months-long ...

Three new ancestors added to Tasmanian tiger's storyline

Eighty-eight years ago today, the last of the Tasmanian tigers, also known as the Thylacine, died in the Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart. Now scientists are adding three of its oldest ancestors to its evolutionary tree.

Mysterious 50-million-year-old fish to get a new genus

A pair of paleontologists, one with the Museum für Naturkunde, in Germany, the other from the Università degli Studi di Torino, in Italy, has found new evidence that an ancient fish, which has defied categorization for ...