Natural loss of foot muscle in rodents shares mechanisms often associated with disease and injury
Researchers have developed new insight on how the natural loss of foot muscles occurred in rodents and other species during their evolution.
Read moreEvolution
The brain does not follow the head
The 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 moreBelongings of warrior found on unique Bronze Age battlefield site
Recent archaeological investigations in the Tollense Valley by a research team has unearthed a collection of 31 unusual objects. Researchers believe this is the equipment of a Bronze Age warrior who died on the battlefield 3,300 years ago. This unique find was discovered by a diving team. It may have been protected in the river from the looting after the fighting.
Read moreExamining age, sustainability of fossil aquifers in Arabian Peninsula
What does the presence of 1,000 year old water mean for the future of water supplies under the desert regions of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates? New research has sought to identify how much good water is available in the Arabian Peninsula, where water is stored in what are known as 'fossil aquifers.'
Read moreSurvival strategy found in living corals which was only seen in fossil records
Some corals can recover after massive mortality episodes caused by the water temperature rise. This survival mechanism in the marine environment — known as rejuvenation — had only been described in some fossil corals so far. A new study reveals the first scientific evidence of the rejuvenation phenomenon in vivo in Cladocora caespitosa coral colonies, in the marine reserve in Columbrets, in the coast of Castellón.
Read moreEvolutionary history of oaks
Oaks have a complex evolutionary history that has long eluded scientists. New research, however, provides the most detailed account to date of the evolution of oaks, recovering the 56-million-year history that has made the oaks one of the most diverse, abundant and important woody plant groups to the ecology and economy of the northern hemisphere.
Read morePrivate property, not productivity, precipitated Neolithic agricultural revolution
The Neolithic Agricultural Revolution is one of the most thoroughly-studied episodes in prehistory. But a new article shows that most explanations for it don't agree with the evidence, and offers a new interpretation.
Read moreSolution to Ice Age ocean chemistry puzzle
New research into the chemistry of the oceans during ice ages is helping to solve a puzzle that has engaged scientists for more than two decades. At issue is how much of the CO2 that entered the ocean during ice ages can be attributed to the 'biological pump', where atmospheric carbon is absorbed by phytoplankton and sequestered to the seafloor as organisms die and sink.
Read moreMeet Siamraptor suwati, a new species of giant predatory dinosaur from Thailand
Fossils discovered in Thailand represent a new genus and species of predatory dinosaur, according to a new study.
Read moreChemical evolution — One-pot wonder
Before 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.
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