evolution Tag

06 Mar, 2015 | by

Dog lovers would be the first to agree that these faithful companions know when their human friends are happy or sad. Those who have a dog in their lives are completely convinced that their beloved pets are in tune with their moods and ready to comfort at any time. Scientific research however has never been...

19 May, 2014 | by

The male-sex defining Y chromosome, has only 19 of the approximately 600 genes it once shared with the female-defining X chromosome over 200 million years ago, making it much smaller than the X and our 21 other chromosome pairs. In fact, the Y has so few genes left that there was some concern that the...

12 Mar, 2014 | by

A fossil assemblage known as the “Daohugou Biota” offers a window into life on earth approximately 160 million years ago. Located in and around the region of Inner Mongolia, China, this incomparable fossil find dates back to an important time during evolution. A description of what paleontologists deem a “virtual paradise of fossils” can be...

27 Jan, 2014 | by

It has long been an accepted theory among paleontologists that the Americas were first populated by nomadic tribes of hunter-gatherers who emigrated from the far east of Asia during the last Ice Age nearly 15,000 years ago.  With ocean levels reduced worldwide because of glaciations drawing a vast portion of water into the ice, a...

14 Jan, 2014 | by

It has long been believed that dogs do not actually swim, but instead trot to propel them through water. A trot means that the front paw rises and falls in sync with the opposite hind paw. After looking at six breeds of dogs as they propelled through water, however, it looks more like they are...

08 Jan, 2014 | by

The human brain stands out from that of all other species by facilitating cognitive tasks that other species are not able to achieve. The human brain weighs about three pounds -- a gigantic size relative to the body. Scientists have long believed that the large size of the human brain and our powerful minds are...

27 Dec, 2013 | by

Until a recent discovery, a gap has existed in human evolution. The distinctive hand anatomy of humans is what allows them to make and use tools of which apes and other nonhuman primates are incapable. The question for scientists has always been “At what point in time did these features first appear during human evolution?”...

12 Nov, 2013 | by

Those in environmental science have long recognized that there is a direct link between global warming and the body size of mammals, including primates, horses and deer. During the period of global warming that took place approximately 55 million years ago, known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, or PETM, these animals became much smaller in...

30 Oct, 2013 | by

A human skull that has been fossilizing for almost two million years has been the focus of multiple recent science news articles, forcing scientists to take another look at the previously-thought explanations for human evolution. Discovered in Dmanisi, Georgia in Asia, the skull has proven to be one of the most interesting, yet controversial, finds...

27 Sep, 2013 | by

The sounds of a hissing snake or the crackle of a forest fire are enough to give any smart adult a fright. And parents everywhere know the importance of teaching their children the sounds of nearby peril. A new study shows that babies only months old are already paying attention to these types of audible...