Evolution

A woman hugs her granddaughter. Some scientists believe child care from grandmothers influenced human evolution.

How Much Did Grandmothers Influence Human Evolution?

Scientists debate the evolutionary benefits of menopause

A newly described python species named Messelopython freyi. The 47-million-year-old specimen is the world’s oldest known fossil record of a python.

Oldest-Ever Python Fossil Found in Europe

The 47-million-year-old snake pushes the evolutionary origins of the group back some 20 million years

The pterosaurs were flying reptiles that lived in the age of the dinosaurs. This is an artist's illustration of a member of the genus Pteranodon, which included some of the largest known flying reptiles. .

Study Reveals Humble Origins of Flying Pterosaurs

Tiny, flightless reptiles called lagerpetids may have given rise to the largest flying animal ever to have lived on Earth

The spectacled tyrant (Hymenops perspicillatus) inhabits harsh, dry deserts, which new research suggests tend to produce new species at a higher rate than lush, biodiverse places like the Amazon.

Earth's Harshest Ecosystems May Birth New Species Fastest

A genetic study of nearly 1,300 different birds suggests places with fewer species spit out new ones more frequently than biodiversity hotspots

Lost Animals: Extinct, Endangered and Rediscovered Species by John Whitfield is just out from Smithsonian Books.

Ten Exquisite Creatures That Once Roamed the Earth

From Smithsonian Books, comes a magnificent tome to highlight evolution's greatest hits

Charles Darwin in 1857, photograph by Maull and Fox

Two Darwin Notebooks Quietly Went Missing 20 Years Ago. Were They Stolen?

Staff at Cambridge University Libraries previously assumed that the papers had simply been misplaced in the vast collections

Can you see the plant in this picture? This small brown Fritillaria delavayi has evolved camouflage in response to heavy harvesting by humans. The more closely the plant mimics its environment, the harder it is for humans to find and harvest the plant.

Medicinal Plant May Have Evolved Camouflage to Evade Humans

In places where people harvest the plant most aggressively, its color has changed to blend in with the rocky environment

The planets in our solar system all orbit the Sun in one shared plane.

Why Do the Planets All Orbit the Sun in the Same Plane?

You've got questions. We've got experts

Border collie Chaser had the largest tested word memory of any animal (other than a human).

The Most Famous Dogs of Science

These iconic canines have helped scientists make key discoveries, from archeological finds to cures for disease

Winston, a 100-pound longhaired German shepherd, is a veteran participant in a series of research projects at Yale.

The New Science of Our Ancient Bond With Dogs

A growing number of researchers are hot on the trail of a surprisingly profound question: What makes dogs such good companions?

Compared to other P. robustus males recovered from a nearby cave system called Swartkrans, DNH 155 (pictured here) was much smaller and had more female-like characteristics.

Newly Unearthed Skull Reveals How Ancient Hominids Evolved to Survive a Changing Climate

"Paranthropus robustus" evolved sturdier skulls to be able to eat new, tough vegetation

A stunned iguana lying on the ground during a cold snap in Florida on January 22, 2020. When temperatures dropped into the 30s and 40s, some of these cold blooded lizards lost their grip and fell from their nighttime perches up in the trees.

Lizards Fell From Palm Trees During a Florida Cold Snap, but Now They've Toughened Up

New research finds the lizards are now able to withstand temperatures up to 7.2 degrees colder than lizards tested in 2016

This month's picks include Mantel Pieces, The Dead Are Arising and A Series of Fortunate Events.

How the Alphabet Got Its Order, Malcolm X and Other New Books to Read

These five October releases may have been lost in the news cycle

A fossilized feather first unearthed in 1861 in Germany. New research suggests the feather came from the bird-like dinosaur Archaeopteryx.

New Study Reignites Debate Over Which Species Shed the First Fossil Feather Ever Found

Initially discovered in the 1800s, researchers argue that the 150-million-year-old plume came from the fluttering dinosaur Archaeopteryx

The results of a new study suggest crows are aware of their own sensory perceptions, a hallmark of what's called primary or sensory consciousness.

Do Crows Possess a Form of Consciousness?

New study suggests the corvids may join humans and some primates as one of the rare animals capable of having subjective experiences

The cave angel fish's unique pelvic shape was first documented in 2016. Its uncommon anatomy allows it to walk with all four appendages the way a salamander or a lizard might.

Study Finds Ten Species of Fish That May Have a Secret Talent for Walking on Land

The strange fish may help researchers envision the gaits of Earth’s first terrestrial vertebrates

Bronze-tailed Comet (Polyonymus caroli) perched on a cactus in Peru.

Hummingbirds in the Andes Go to Chilly Extremes for a Good Night’s Sleep

The longer a bird spent in a state of torpor, the less body mass it lost overnight

A photo of a highland wild dog in Papua, Indonesia. A new genetic study confirms that these wild dogs are in fact a surviving population of the New Guinea singing dog, which was thought to be extinct in the wild.

Thought to Be Extinct, New Guinea’s Singing Dogs Found Alive in the Wild

A new genetic study confirms that the unique dogs, thought to be extinct in the wild, still exist outside of human care

An illustration of the 30-foot-long, dinosaur eating crocodilian Deinosuchus.

30-Foot 'Terror Crocodile' Ambushed Dinosaurs at Water’s Edge

Study says the five-ton extinct reptiles had teeth the size of bananas

A fox in Germany (not pictured here) spirited away more than 100 shoes.

Sole-Searching, Shoe-Swiping Fox Caught in Germany

The crafty urban dweller built a colorful collection of footwear dominated by Crocs

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