In biological sciences, morphology is the branch that studies the form, external structure, and macroscopic organization of organisms and their parts, independent of function. It encompasses comparative morphology, which analyzes homologous structures across taxa; functional morphology, which relates structural features to mechanical or biomechanical constraints; and developmental morphology, which examines changes in form during ontogeny. Morphological data, including body plans, organ systems, and patterning of tissues, are central to systematics, phylogenetic inference, and taxonomy, and are integrated with molecular and genetic information to elucidate evolutionary relationships, phenotypic variation, and constraints on organismal design.
Flying is really hard work. Compared to walking, swimming, or running, flying is the form of movement that takes the most energy and requires the most calories. That means that birds have had to evolve specialized ways to ...
Evolution
Feb 2, 2026
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92
An international team has described Foskeia pelendonum, a tiny Early Cretaceous ornithopod from Vegagete (Burgos, Spain), measuring barely half a meter long. Led by Paul-Emile Dieudonné (National University of Río Negro, ...
Evolution
Feb 2, 2026
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419
A team of scientists from EPFL and Alaska Pacific University has developed an AI program that can recognize individual bears in the wild, despite the substantial changes that occur in their appearance over the summer season. ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 29, 2026
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128
A great white shark is a masterwork of evolutionary engineering. These beautiful predators glide effortlessly through the water, each slow, deliberate sweep of the powerful tail driving a body specialized for stealth, speed ...
Evolution
Jan 28, 2026
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140
When you hear the word "dinosaur," the first thing that might spring to mind is a hulking skeleton like Sue the T rex in Chicago's Field Museum or Sophie the Stegosaurus at the Natural History Museum in London. Dinosaur skeletons ...
Biotechnology
Jan 27, 2026
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26
A new app, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), could help scientists and the public identify dinosaur footprints made millions of years ago, a study reveals.
Biotechnology
Jan 26, 2026
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60
A research team from Munich has identified a previously unknown communication mechanism in harvestmen. Five closely related species show species-specific, strongly fluorescent structures on their backs that become especially ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 26, 2026
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21
Even some 200 years after his death, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's scientific curiosity continues to yield new insights. This has now been demonstrated by biologists at Friedrich Schiller University Jena while closely examining ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jan 26, 2026
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603
Prototaxites are something of a prehistoric mystery. They were the first giant organisms on land, towering over ancient landscapes at heights of up to 8 meters. They had smooth trunk-like pillars and no branches, leaves or ...
Life begins with a single fertilized cell that gradually transforms into a multicellular organism. This process requires precise coordination; otherwise, the embryo could develop serious complications. Scientists at ISTA ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 5, 2026
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