Topic description and stories

Gorillas found to live in 'complex' societies, suggesting deep roots of human social evolution

10 Jul 2019

Algorithms reveal “social tiers” in gorillas seen in only a few other species, such as dolphins and humans. Researchers suggest that some of these...

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L-R: Knysna Turaco, Great Blue Turaco, Knysna Turaco

Past climate change pushed birds from the northern hemisphere to the tropics

10 Jun 2019

Researchers have shown how millions of years of climate change affected the range and habitat of modern birds, suggesting that many groups of...

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Galapagos finch specimens from Museum of Zoology, collected on the second voyage of HMS Beagle that carried Darwin to the Islands. Researchers say these famously diverse finches are an iconic example of rapid speciation in the tropics.

Species ‘hotspots’ created by immigrant influx or evolutionary speed depending on climate

06 Feb 2019

New research reveals that biodiversity ‘hotspots’ in the tropics produced new species at faster rates over the last 25 million years, but those in...

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Professor Eske Willerslev with Donna and Joey, two members of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone tribe.

Ancient DNA analysis unlocks secrets of Ice Age tribes in the Americas

09 Nov 2018

Scientists have sequenced 15 ancient genomes spanning from Alaska to Patagonia and were able to track the movements of the first humans as they...

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Sexton beetle and larva.

Neglected baby beetles evolve greater self-reliance

28 Sep 2018

A new study reveals that when burying beetle larvae are denied parental support, they evolve bigger jaws to compensate.

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Artist’s reconstruction of the community at Lower Mistaken Point

Why life on Earth first got big

25 Jun 2018

Some of the earliest complex organisms on Earth – possibly some of the earliest animals to exist – got big not to compete for food, but to spread...

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Mass burial of battle victims from the Xiongnu period in Omnogobi, Mongolia, from which scientists extracted ancient DNA from for the study.

Oldest genetic evidence of Hepatitis B virus found in ancient DNA from 4,500 year-old skeletons

09 May 2018

An extinct strain of the human Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been discovered in Bronze Age human skeletons found in burial sites across Europe and Asia...

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Birds learn from each other’s ‘disgust’, enabling insects to evolve bright colours

18 Dec 2017

A new study of TV-watching great tits reveals how they learn through observation. Social interactions within a predator species can have “...

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Dermal denticles on the tail of the Little Skate, as used in the latest research.

Ancient fish scales and vertebrate teeth share an embryonic origin

20 Nov 2017

Latest findings support the theory that teeth in the animal kingdom evolved from the jagged scales of ancient fish, the remnants of which can be seen...

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Femoral head bones of different hominin species. From top to bottom: Australopithecus afarensis (4-3 million years; ~40 kg, 130 cm); Homo ergaster (1.9-1.4 million years; 55-60 kg; ~165 cm); Neanderthal (200.000-30.000 years; ~70 kg; ~163 cm).

Height and weight evolved at different speeds in the bodies of our ancestors

08 Nov 2017

The largest study to date of body sizes over millions of years finds a “pulse and stasis” pattern to hominin evolution, with surges of growth in...

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Lead researcher Dr Danny Longman rowing with the Cambridge University Boat Club. This is an example of the type and standard of the sample population used in the study.

'Selfish brain' wins out when competing with muscle power, study finds

20 Oct 2017

New research on our internal trade-off when physical and mental performance are put in direct competition has found that cognition takes less of a...

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Petals produce a 'blue halo' that helps bees find flowers

18 Oct 2017

New study finds “messy” microscopic structures on petals of some flowers manipulate light to produce a blue colour effect that is easily seen by bee...

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