Massive tectonic event may have triggered explosion of animal life
A new analysis of geologic history may help solve the riddle of the “Cambrian explosion,” the rapid diversification of animal…
Category: Big Questions
Competition between related species of lizards can drive evolution really fast
Scientists working on islands in Florida have documented the rapid evolution of a native lizard species — in as little as 15 years…
First detection of dark matter
Cutting-edge paper by Professor George Fraser — who tragically died in March this year — and colleagues at the University of…
Decline in Fish Stocks at Puget Sound Hurts Diving Birds
Birds that dive for fish while wintering in the Salish Sea, located between British Columbia and Washington, are more likely to be in…
Climate change alters cast of winter birds
Over the past two decades, the resident communities of birds that attend eastern North America’s backyard bird feeders in winter have…
Geothermal heating increases the habitability of planets orbiting red dwarfs
Small red stars, known by astronomers as “M-dwarfs”, are the most abundant type of star in the sky and are also the most long-lived of…
New but really old genetic ‘operating system’ led to evolution of complex organisms
The evolution of worms, insects, vertebrates and other “bilateral” animals — those with distinct left and right sides…
When the Bangladesh people think the monsoon starts
You might expect that a term like “monsoon” has an agreed definition and that scientists can explain when it starts and ends. Defining…
Dinosaur–bird link Revealed By Wrist Bone Development
How this wrist bone development happened has been the subject of much debate, with substantial disagreement between developmental…
Evolutionary arms race via ancient viruses in primate evolution
New findings by scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, suggest that an evolutionary arms race between rival elements within…