MS-LS4-2

Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.

  1. Microbes

    This giant bacterium lives up to its name

    The newly discovered Thiomargarita magnifica is about the size of your eyelash and is surprisingly complex.

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  2. Fossils

    Bright-colored feathers may have topped pterosaurs’ heads

    Fossil remains of a flying reptile hint that their vibrant crests may have originated 250 million years ago in a common ancestor with dinosaurs.

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  3. Fossils

    Cool Jobs: Bringing paleontology to the people

    From museums to movies, these three paleontologists totally rock their connections with the public.

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  4. Animals

    Scientists Say: Primate

    Primates are mammals that tend to have big brains, forward-facing vision, fingernails and flexible hands and feet.

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  5. Archaeology

    Our species may have reached Europe while Neandertals were there

    Archaeological finds from an ancient French rock-shelter show periodic settlements by both populations, just not at the same time.

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  6. Animals

    Mysterious kunga is the oldest known human-bred hybrid animal

    People bred these animals — part donkey, part wild ass — some 4,500 years ago, probably for use in fighting wars.

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  7. Animals

    Scientists discover the first true millipede

    The newfound deep-living species tunnels belowground using a whopping 1,306 legs!

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  8. Animals

    Let’s learn about chimpanzees and bonobos

    Humankind’s closest cousins in the animal kingdom may look similar, but in terms of behavior, they’re polar opposites.

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  9. Fossils

    ‘Penis worms’ could have been the original hermits

    These soft-bodied critters lived in abandoned shells about 500 million years ago, a new study suggests.

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  10. Fossils

    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.

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  11. Humans

    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.

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  12. Humans

    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.

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