Researchers present new insights into the development of the human brain and differences in this process compared to other great apes. The study reveals features of brain development that are unique to humans, and outlines how these processes have diverged from those in other primates.
Read moreResearchers have developed new insight on how the natural loss of foot muscles occurred in rodents and other species during their evolution.
Read moreThe human brain is about three times the size of the brains of great apes. This has to do, among other things, with the evolution of novel brain structures that enabled complex behaviors such as language and tool production. A study by anthropologists now shows that changes in the brain occurred independent of evolutionary rearrangements of the braincase.
Read moreBefore life, there was RNA: Scientists show how the four different letters of this genetic alphabet could be created from simple precursor molecules on early Earth — under the same environmental conditions.
Read moreA new study offers an explanation for how ''protocells'' could have emerged on early Earth, eventually leading to the cells we know today. The work suggests that molecules called cyclophospholipids may have been the ingredient necessary for protocells to form important internal structures called vesicles, which likely kicked off the evolutionary process.
Read moreLimits to growth lie at the heart of how all living things function. The diversity of life is staggering. From microscopic algae to elephants, life has devised countless ways to thrive in every environment on the planet. But while biologists have tended to focus on the many varied forms that species have evolved, the age of 'big data' offers an unprecedented view of some surprisingly common features shared by all creatures, great and small.
Read moreChemists have found that deliquescent minerals, which dissolve in water they absorb from humid air, can assist the construction of proteins from simpler building blocks during cycles timed to mimic day and night on the early Earth.
Read moreLimnologists and other researchers show that rapid genomic changes during antagonistic species interactions are shaped by the reciprocal effects of ecology and evolution.
Read moreIf 'Why?' is the first question in science, 'Why not?' must be a close second. Sometimes it's worth thinking about why something does not exist. Such as a truly three-legged animal. At least one researcher has been pondering the non-existence of tripeds.
Read moreBefore the French Revolution, family trees were reserved for the feudal upper classes, who used them to consolidate their social status. While feudalism broke down and family trees lost their old roles, the trees gained new functions as scientific models.
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