Strange fossil solves giraffe evolutionary mystery

Fossils of a strange early giraffoid have revealed the key driving forces in giraffe evolution, according to a study led by researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese ...

Societies evolve slowly, just like biological species

(PhysOrg.com) -- It has been a contentious issue for some time among historians, anthropologists, and archaeologists whether societies and cultures arise slowly or in sudden bursts and if they collapse in the same way. Now ...

Guess who? Chimpanzee faces reveal family relationships

Researchers from the University of St Andrews have shown for the first time that not only do wild chimpanzees tend to look like their family members, but also some relationships are easier to detect than others.

High-ranking naked mole-rats are more resilient

Naked mole-rats are full of surprises. The latest is that higher-ranked mole-rats most likely have an immunological advantage over animals with lower social status, a discovery made by Professor Gary Lewin's lab at the MDC. ...

Animal aggression depends on rank within social hierarchies

Humans and animals alike constantly size up one another. In the workplace, a new employee quickly learns which coworkers are the most respected—and therefore hold more power. Big brothers boss around little brothers. In ...

Two genes regulate social dominance

Rank in social hierarchy is a condition not solely claimed by humans. In the animal kingdom, male peacocks exhibit brightly colored plumes to illustrate dominance, and underwater, male fish show pops of bright colors to do ...

How status sticks to genes

Those at the bottom of the social ladder are known to live shorter and sicker lives than those at the top. And the stress of life at the bottom may have long-term health effects that even upward mobility can't undo, according ...

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