Charles Darwin – PossibleThreat Articles

Massive fangs and a death crush: How a 370 million year old tetrapod hunted and killed

October 24, 2019 0 Comments Charles Darwin, Evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Fish, Fossils, Invasive Species, Nature, Origin of Life

The habits of a needle-toothed tetrapod which lived more than 370 million years ago have filled in a piece of the evolutionary puzzle after an international team of palaeontologists pieced together fossilized skeletons and found unusual characteristics such as a crocodile-like skull with high positioned eyes would have been used to 'keep an eye' on prey before it used its slender needle-like teeth and elastic jaw to snatch its kill and crush it to death.

News Science

Why are bald eagles such great gliders? It's all in the wrist

October 24, 2019 0 Comments Bird Flu Research, Birds, Charles Darwin, Early Birds, Environmental Awareness, Evolution, Nature, Rainforests, Weather

Birds come in an astounding array of shapes and colors. New research helps explain why bird species with similar flight styles or body sizes don't have consistent wing shapes. Bird species tend to reshape the range of motion of their wings — rather than wing shape or size itself — as they evolve new ways of flying.

News Science

New data on the evolution of plants and origin of species

October 23, 2019 0 Comments Botany, Charles Darwin, Endangered Plants, Evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Human Evolution, Nature, Origin of Life

There are over 500,000 plant species in the world today. They all evolved from a common ancestor. How this leap in biodiversity happened is still unclear. Researchers now present the results of a unique project on the evolution of plants. Using genetic data from 1,147 species the team created the most comprehensive evolutionary tree for green plants to date.

News Science

Building blocks of all life gain new understanding

October 23, 2019 0 Comments Biochemistry Research, Biology, Biotechnology, Charles Darwin, Evolution, Fossils, Genetics, Origin of Life

New research on an enzyme that is essential for photosynthesis and all life on earth has uncovered a key finding in its structure which reveals how light can interact with matter to make an essential pigment for life.

News Science

Butterflies and plants evolved in sync, but moth 'ears' predated bats

October 21, 2019 0 Comments Charles Darwin, Endangered Plants, Evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Fossils, Insects (including Butterflies), Nature, Origin of Life

A new study cross-examines classic hypotheses about the coevolution of butterflies with flowering plants and moths with bats, their key predators. The findings show flowering plants did drive much of these insects' diversity, but in a surprise twist, multiple moth lineages evolved 'ears' millions of years before the existence of bats, previously credited with triggering moths' development of hearing organs.

News Science

Phylogenetic analysis forces rethink of termite evolution

October 17, 2019 0 Comments Acid Rain, Charles Darwin, Ecology, Evolution, Exotic Species, Nature, New Species, Origin of Life, Trees

Despite their important ecological role as decomposers, termites are often overlooked in research. Evolutionary biologists have constructed a new family tree for this unassuming insect brood, shedding unexpected light on its evolutionary history.

News Science

An evolution in the understanding of evolution

October 17, 2019 0 Comments Biology, Charles Darwin, Environmental Awareness, Evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Human Evolution, Nature, Severe Weather, Weather

An engineering professor and her former Ph.D. student share a new, more accurate method for modeling evolutionary change.

News Science

Industrial melanism linked to same gene in 3 moth species

October 17, 2019 0 Comments Charles Darwin, Ecology, Environmental Awareness, Evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Exotic Species, Insects (including Butterflies), Life Sciences, Origin of Life

The rise of dark forms of many species of moth in heavily polluted areas of 19th and 20th century Britain, known as industrial melanism, was a highly visible response to environmental change. But did the different species rely on the same gene to adapt? New research by the University of Liverpool reveals that three species of moth, including the famous peppered moth, indeed did.

News Science

What happens under the Yellowstone Volcano?

October 17, 2019 0 Comments Charles Darwin, Early Climate, Earth Science, Geology, Natural Disasters, Origin of Life, Paleontology, Volcanoes

A recent study helps to better explain the processes in the Earth's interior beneath the Yellowstone supervolcano.

News Science

Sexual selection alone could spark formation of new species

October 17, 2019 0 Comments Charles Darwin, Evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Frogs and Reptiles, Mating and Breeding, New Species, Origin of Life

Because of imprinted preferences, strawberry poison frog females mate more with similar colored males, and less with differently colored males. Over time, the behavior could lead to two color types becoming separate species.

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