Who will fly in front? When migrating, northern bald ibises fly in a ‘v’ formation and take turns with the toughest position at the front of the ‘v’, so they all have a chance to relax and enjoy riding the slipstream, a new study shows. The evidence gathered is the first to show cooperative reciprocal behaviour […]
Tag: evolution
Oldest fossilized snakes ever found
Researchers have found the oldest known snake fossils ever discovered, pushing back the first record of snakes by 70 million years. The authors suggest that the fossils hint that the classic snake head evolved first and was then followed by the evolution of the elongated, limbless body. Studying fossilized skull bones found in England, Portugal […]
Turn abruptly if you are hunted by a goshawk
Goshawks hunt by fixing their eyes on their prey. Their method is so effective that the hawks pursuit of their target can be over in seconds. Using cameras mounted on the heads of the birds, researchers analysed the raptors’ pursuit strategy from a birds-eye perspective. They found that Goshawks used different strategies at different stages […]
Language evolves faster in isolated populations
Changes in genetics and language follow similar patterns as human population disperse, however language is able to spontaneously change in isolated populations. Both genetics and language change over time as small mutations in genes or phonemes, like the ‘k’ sound in ‘cat’ or ‘skill’, accumulate or are lost. Additionally both language and genetics change by […]
Fossil discovered by young boy in PEI shines light on the origin of turtles
Researchers have discovered a new genus and species of reptile from a 300-million-year-old fossil from Prince Edward Island. The fossil was found in PEI by a young boy and its family, and the species was named in his family’s honour, Erpetonyx arsenaultorum. This discovery indicates that reptiles at the end of this era were more […]
Battle of the brains: Men v. Women
A group of scientists have reviewed the data and the answer is in, men are more likely to be more idiotic than women. The authors reviewed 20 years of the Darwin Awards – which tell the ridiculous stories of how people accidentally kill themselves – and found that men made up 88.7 per cent of […]
Fruit bats echolocate with wing clicks
Researchers have shown that Old World fruit bats – long thought to be non-echolocating species – use sound to help them navigate in the dark. Experiments showed that the fruit bats were making the noises not with their larynxes, but with their wing flaps. Although this form of echolocation is not as sophisticated as in […]
Fighting malnutrition with ‘stronger’ chickpeas
Researchers have determined which genetic variations influence the iron and zinc concentrations in chickpea seeds, a finding that could help fight malnutrition in developing countries. The study examined 94 varieties of chickpea and found eight genetic variations – known as single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs – that are associated with the iron and zinc concentration. Breeding […]
Chickadees can resist cold down to -10°C
Black-capped chickadees’ ability to resist cold temperatures by increasing their own heat output maxes out at about -10 degrees Celsius, according to a new study. After that point, they seek shelter from the cold rather than remain outside dealing with it. The study is the first to suggest that birds have a limit on their […]
Genes and cat domestication
International scientists compared the full genome of a domestic cat, a female Abyssinian cat named Cinnamon, to the genome of other domestic cats and wild cat species and found that the genes of felines have evolved to help them live with us. Compared to their wild counterparts, domestic cats have changes in genes involved in […]
No sitting duck(bill) – how hadrosaurs won the “dino derby”
A new paper indicates that hadrosaurs – also known as duck-billed dinosaurs – were built for endurance rather than speed, and that this helped them avoid predators despite their lack of horns or armour. Computer analysis of leg bones showed that a critical muscle known as the caudofemoralis attached lower on the thigh in hadrosaurs […]
Ancient amphibious reptile discovered in China
Fossil remains discovered in China could shed light on the early evolution of aquatic reptiles, including icthyosaurs. Icthyosaurs were sea-going reptiles whose body shape resembled modern dolphins, but the fossil record has been silent about the land-based animals they evolved from. The new remains – which date back to the Lower Triassic (about 248 million […]
How squirrels avoid ‘roid rage
A new study shows that Arctic ground squirrels use anabolic steroids to beef up for winter hibernation, but that they have evolved systems to avoid the negative side effects. Most hibernating animals burn fat during the winter, Arctic ground squirrels hibernate at such low temperatures that they need to burn muscle as well. A previous […]
Mongolian fossil finds expand ankylosaur family tree
A new paper on ankylosaurs from Mongolia has named one new species and ‘resurrected’ another. The new species is Zaraapelta nomadis: ‘Zaraapelta’ is a combination of the Mongolian and Greek words for ‘hedgehog’ and ‘shield’ and refers to the elaborate pattern of bumps and grooves near the eye and a ridge along the back of […]
Early mountain-dwellers offer insight on adaptation
Evidence of the highest and oldest human settlements in the Peruvian andes offers insight on how quickly humans can adapt to extreme environments. Researchers found tools, animal bones and plant remains that suggest a human habitation in three locations: the Pucuncho workshop site (4355 metres above sea level), the Cunchaicha workshop (4445 metres above sea […]
Genome of a 45,000-year-old modern human
Researchers have found that the genome of a 45,000-year-old human from Siberia is quite similar to the genome of modern Native Americans and East Asians and carries similar amount of Neanderthal ancestry. The remains of the Siberian male are believed by the authors to represent the oldest directly radiocarbon-dated modern human outside Africa and the […]
