Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
- Animals
Fossils point to earliest dinosaurs that lived in herds
A fossilized family gathering of long-necked Mussaurus from 193 million years ago is the earliest evidence yet of herd behavior in dinos.
- Archaeology
Genetics show humans likely trace back to Africa
Our history began looking ever more complex once geneticists revealed our ancestors picked up new DNA as they traveled across time and continents.
- Agriculture
The ultimate genealogical search hunts for our earliest ancestors
The complex search to identify humans’ most distant cousins is long, complex and far from straightforward. It’s also far from over.
- Animals
What biologists call a species is becoming more than just a name
The tree of life — evolution — has been reshaping how scientists name and classify organisms. Some want naming to reflect evolutionary groups even more.
- Animals
Cloning boosts endangered black-footed ferrets
A cloned ferret named Elizabeth Ann brings genetic diversity to a species that nearly went extinct in the 1980s.
- Animals
Will the woolly mammoth return?
Scientists are using genetic engineering and cloning to try to bring back extinct species or save endangered ones. Here’s how and why.
- Animals
Baby pterosaurs may have been able to fly right after hatching
A bone crucial for lift-off was stronger in hatchling pterosaurs than in adults. The baby reptiles also had shorter, broader wings than grown-ups.
- Animals
Tiny animals survive 24,000 years in suspended animation
Tiny bdelloid rotifers awake from a 24,000-year slumber when freed from the Arctic permafrost.
- Genetics
Explainer: Virus variants and strains
When viruses become more infectious or better able to survive the body’s immune system, they become a type of variant known as a strain.
- Genetics
Just a tiny share of the DNA in us is unique to humans
Some of these tweaks to DNA, however, may have played a role in brain evolution.
- Animals
Even raised by people, wolves don’t tune into you like your dog
Dog puppies outpace wolf pups at engaging with humans, even with less exposure to people, supporting the idea that domestication changed dogs’ brains.
- Earth
New beetle species found in fossil poop of this dino relative
Whole beetles preserved in fossilized reptilian poop suggest that ancient droppings may deserve a closer look.
