Feature Channels: Evolution and Darwin

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Newswise: Old bone links lost American parrot to ancient Indigenous bird trade
Released: 8-Nov-2022 10:05 PM EST
Old bone links lost American parrot to ancient Indigenous bird trade
University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin)

For centuries, Indigenous communities in the American Southwest imported colorful parrots from Mexico.

Newswise: Study shows differences between brains of primates — humans, apes and monkeys — are small but significant
Released: 8-Nov-2022 2:25 PM EST
Study shows differences between brains of primates — humans, apes and monkeys — are small but significant
University of Wisconsin–Madison

While the physical differences between humans and non-human primates are quite distinct, a new study reveals their brains may be remarkably similar. And yet, the smallest changes may make big differences in developmental and psychiatric disorders.

   
Newswise: Mars's Crust More Complex, Evolved Than Previously Thought
Released: 4-Nov-2022 1:15 PM EDT
Mars's Crust More Complex, Evolved Than Previously Thought
University of Iowa

Early crust on Mars may be more complex than previously thought—and it may even be similar to our own planet’s original crust.

Released: 3-Nov-2022 11:05 PM EDT
Platypus Populations Impacted by Large River Dams Are More Vulnerable to Threats
University of New South Wales

The platypus is possibly the most irreplaceable mammal existing today. They have a unique combination of characteristics, including egg-laying despite being mammals, venomous spurs in males, electroreception for locating prey, biofluorescent fur, multiple sex chromosomes, and the longest evolutionary history in mammals.

Newswise: Ancient DNA Analysis Sheds Light on the Early Peopling of South America
27-Oct-2022 1:00 PM EDT
Ancient DNA Analysis Sheds Light on the Early Peopling of South America
Florida Atlantic University

Using DNA from two ancient humans unearthed in two different archaeological sites in northeast Brazil, researchers have unraveled the deep demographic history of South America at the regional level with some surprising results. Not only do they provide new genetic evidence supporting existing archaeological data of the north-to-south migration toward South America, they also have discovered migrations in the opposite direction along the Atlantic coast – for the first time. Among the key findings, they also have discovered evidence of Neanderthal ancestry within the genomes of ancient individuals from South America. Neanderthals ranged across Eurasia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic. The Americas were the last continent to be inhabited by humans.

Newswise: Rare and Iconic Atala Butterflies Retain an Ancient Pattern of Wing Symmetry
Released: 1-Nov-2022 6:20 PM EDT
Rare and Iconic Atala Butterflies Retain an Ancient Pattern of Wing Symmetry
Florida Museum of Natural History

Nature seems to have an inexhaustible supply of inspiration when it comes to butterflies.

Newswise: Study: More Than One Way to Build a Black Bird
Released: 1-Nov-2022 3:20 PM EDT
Study: More Than One Way to Build a Black Bird
Cornell University

Scientists have so far found at least two genetic pathways leading to the same physical outcome: all-black feathers. This change was no random accident. It was a result of nature specifically selecting for this trait. The new study is published in the journal PLOS Genetics.

Newswise: Photos Suggest Rhino Horns Have Shrunk Over Past Century, Likely Due to Hunting
Released: 1-Nov-2022 1:25 PM EDT
Photos Suggest Rhino Horns Have Shrunk Over Past Century, Likely Due to Hunting
University of Cambridge

By scrutinising over a century’s worth of photos, University of Cambridge researchers have made the first ever measurements that show rhinoceros horns have gradually decreased in size over time.

Newswise: Half of the Data Deficient Species May Be Threatened with Extinction
Released: 1-Nov-2022 12:30 PM EDT
Half of the Data Deficient Species May Be Threatened with Extinction
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Often we simply do not know enough about a species to know how it is doing. On the recognized red list from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), thousands of plants and animals are listed as "data deficient."

Newswise: Ancient Genomes Reveal Hidden History of Human Adaptation
30-Oct-2022 10:30 PM EDT
Ancient Genomes Reveal Hidden History of Human Adaptation
University of Adelaide

The use of ancient DNA, including samples of human remains around 45,000 years old, has shed light on a previously unknown aspect of human evolution.

   
Newswise: Math Model Shows Climate Change Puts Rainforest Animal’s Survival in Jeopardy
24-Oct-2022 9:00 AM EDT
Math Model Shows Climate Change Puts Rainforest Animal’s Survival in Jeopardy
American Physiological Society (APS)

A South American marsupial with ties to an ancient line of animals may go extinct in the next half-century due to warming temperatures. Researchers from the Universidad Austral de Chile will present a mathematical model of the monito del monte’s survival predictions this week at the American Physiological Society (APS) Intersociety Meeting in Comparative Physiology: From Organism to Omics in an Uncertain World conference in San Diego.

Newswise:Video Embedded it-s-not-the-heat-it-s-the-humidity-water-loss-hurts-bees-most-in-the-desert
VIDEO
24-Oct-2022 9:00 AM EDT
It’s Not the Heat, It’s the Humidity: Water Loss Hurts Bees Most in the Desert
American Physiological Society (APS)

Digger bees lose large amounts of water during flight, which compromises their activity period and survival in the desert heat. Researchers from Arizona State University will present their work this week at the American Physiological Society (APS) Intersociety Meeting in Comparative Physiology: From Organism to Omics in an Uncertain World conference in San Diego.

Newswise: Discovering the unknown processes of the evolutionary history of green lizards in the Mediterranean
Released: 28-Oct-2022 5:35 PM EDT
Discovering the unknown processes of the evolutionary history of green lizards in the Mediterranean
University of Barcelona

The evolutionary clade and biodiversity of green lizards of the genera Lacerta and Timon —reptiles common in the Mediterranean basin and surrounding areas of the European continent, North Africa and Asia— have never been studied in detail from the perspective of historical biogeography.

Newswise: Australians Clueless About Their Country’s Most Endangered Species
Released: 27-Oct-2022 8:05 PM EDT
Australians Clueless About Their Country’s Most Endangered Species
University of South Australia

A study led by University of South Australia conservation psychologist Dr Elissa Pearson reveals overwhelming public ignorance of Australia’s most threatened species, a factor that is contributing to the country's extinction crisis.

Newswise: New Scottish Fossil Sheds Light on the Origins of Lizards
Released: 26-Oct-2022 7:15 PM EDT
New Scottish Fossil Sheds Light on the Origins of Lizards
University of Oxford

A fossil discovery from Scotland has provided new information on the early evolution of lizards, during the time of the dinosaurs.

Newswise: New Research Shows How Octopuses May Have Evolved
Released: 26-Oct-2022 1:10 PM EDT
New Research Shows How Octopuses May Have Evolved
Oxford University Press

A new paper in Genome Biology and Evolution, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that a type of octopus appears to have evolved independently to develop something resembling a shell, despite having lost the genetic code that produced actual shells in its ancestors and relatives.

Newswise: Seals Have a Sense of Rhythm
Released: 26-Oct-2022 1:05 PM EDT
Seals Have a Sense of Rhythm
Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics

Why are we such chatty, musical animals? Evolutionary biologists think that our capacities for speech and music may be linked: only animals that can learn new vocalisations—such as humans and songbirds—seem to have a sense of rhythm.

Released: 26-Oct-2022 9:35 AM EDT
New Study Shows Spiders Use Webs to Extend Their Hearing
Binghamton University, State University of New York

A newly published study of orb-weaving spiders — has yielded some extraordinary results: The spiders are using their webs as extended auditory arrays to capture sounds, possibly giving spiders advanced warning of incoming prey or predators.

Newswise: Vocal Communication Originated Over 400 Million Years Ago
Released: 25-Oct-2022 3:50 PM EDT
Vocal Communication Originated Over 400 Million Years Ago
University of Zurich

The use of vocalizations as a resource for communication is common among several groups of vertebrates: singing birds, croacking frogs, or barking dogs are some well-known examples.

Newswise: Several Beautiful New Bird Species Found on Remote Indonesian Islands
Released: 25-Oct-2022 1:10 PM EDT
Several Beautiful New Bird Species Found on Remote Indonesian Islands
Trinity College Dublin

Zoologists from Trinity College Dublin, working with a research team in Indonesia, have found several new species of colourful, tropical sunbirds.

Newswise: UK’s Oldest Human DNA Obtained, Revealing Two Distinct Palaeolithic Populations
Released: 24-Oct-2022 7:50 PM EDT
UK’s Oldest Human DNA Obtained, Revealing Two Distinct Palaeolithic Populations
University College London

The first genetic data from Palaeolithic human individuals in the UK - the oldest human DNA obtained from the British Isles so far - indicates the presence of two distinct groups that migrated to Britain at the end of the last ice age, finds new research.

Newswise: Different blossoming schedules have kept these flowers from driving each other extinct
Released: 24-Oct-2022 5:25 PM EDT
Different blossoming schedules have kept these flowers from driving each other extinct
Field Museum

A big part of evolution is competition-- when there are limited resources to go around, plants and animals have to duke it out for nutrients, mates, and places to live.

Released: 21-Oct-2022 12:50 PM EDT
Butterfly Wing Patterns Emerge From Ancient “Junk” Dna
Cornell University

Butterfly wing patterns have a basic plan to them, which is manipulated by non-coding regulatory DNA to create the diversity of wings seen in different species, according to new research.

Newswise: Secret behind spectacular blooms in world’s driest desert is invisible to human eyes
Released: 21-Oct-2022 10:05 AM EDT
Secret behind spectacular blooms in world’s driest desert is invisible to human eyes
Frontiers

The Atacama desert, which stretches for approximately 1,600 km along the western coast of the cone of South America, is the driest place on Earth.

Released: 20-Oct-2022 5:20 PM EDT
Brain Evolution Is Linked to Competition
University of Texas, Arlington

In response to a high-competition environment, Trinidadian killifish evolve larger brains, increasing their fitness and survival rates, according to a new study in Ecology Letters by biologists at The University of Texas at Arlington.

Newswise: Sickly Shades of Grey: Disease Outbreaks Influence the Color of Wolves Across North America
Released: 20-Oct-2022 5:10 PM EDT
Sickly Shades of Grey: Disease Outbreaks Influence the Color of Wolves Across North America
University of Oxford

New research from the University of Oxford, Yellowstone National Park, and Penn State, published today in the journal Science, may have finally solved why wolves change colour across the North American continent.

Newswise: Ostrich-like dinosaurs from Mississippi are among the world’s largest at over 800kg
12-Oct-2022 11:25 AM EDT
Ostrich-like dinosaurs from Mississippi are among the world’s largest at over 800kg
PLOS

Ostrich-like dinosaurs called ornithomimosaurs grew to enormous sizes in ancient eastern North America, according to a study published October 19, 2022 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Chinzorig Tsogtbaatar of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and colleagues.

Newswise: New dataset reveals biological “treasure trove” of Arctic Ocean
Released: 17-Oct-2022 4:15 PM EDT
New dataset reveals biological “treasure trove” of Arctic Ocean
University of East Anglia

A major new project will help benchmark biodiversity change in the Arctic Ocean and guide conservation efforts by identifying unique species and assessing their extinction risk.

Newswise: How do mushrooms become magic?
Released: 17-Oct-2022 4:05 PM EDT
How do mushrooms become magic?
University of Plymouth

Psychedelic compounds found in ‘magic mushrooms’ are increasingly being recognised for their potential to treat health conditions such as depression, anxiety, compulsive disorders and addiction.

   
Newswise: NUS study addresses the causes of eye colour variation in primates
Released: 15-Oct-2022 8:05 AM EDT
NUS study addresses the causes of eye colour variation in primates
National University of Singapore (NUS)

A new study led by researchers from the National University of Singapore revealed that variation in primate eye colouration is partly due to differences in lighting in the habitats of primate species. This helps tip the balance towards an ecological, rather than sexual selection explanation, for the evolution of blue eye colour in humans.

   
Newswise: How fluctuating oxygen levels may have accelerated animal evolution
Released: 14-Oct-2022 4:15 PM EDT
How fluctuating oxygen levels may have accelerated animal evolution
University of Leeds

Oxygen levels in the Earth’s atmosphere are likely to have “fluctuated wildly” one billion years ago, creating conditions that could have accelerated the development of early animal life, according to new research. 

Released: 14-Oct-2022 4:10 PM EDT
Bumblebees have poor, but useful memories
Queen Mary University of London

Bumblebees don’t seem to keep memories for how sweet a flower was, but instead only remember if it was sweeter than another flower, according to researchers at Queen Mary University of London, along with an international team of scientists.

Released: 13-Oct-2022 3:05 PM EDT
Ancient humans: Clarifying the co-existence between modern humans and Neanderthals
Scientific Reports

Modern humans may have co-existed with Neanderthals in France and northern Spain for between 1,400 and 2,900 years before Neanderthals disappeared, according to a modelling study published in Scientific Reports.

Newswise: Japanese cockroach east-west separation already established in the over 5000 years ago
Released: 13-Oct-2022 1:05 PM EDT
Japanese cockroach east-west separation already established in the over 5000 years ago
Kumamoto University

A Japan-based research team led by Professor Hiroki Obata has been continuing the work of identifying cultivated plants and household pests from Japan’s Jomon period (16,500 – 2,800 years ago) using their own technique of identifying the subtle traces of organisms in and on earthenware and clay pottery.

Newswise: Research Shows Social Spiders Have Different Ways of Hunting in Groups
Released: 13-Oct-2022 10:45 AM EDT
Research Shows Social Spiders Have Different Ways of Hunting in Groups
University of Portsmouth

New research has identified how social spiders evolved different ways of hunting in groups. While these spiders have evolved socially similar behaviours - living in large family groups that share both communal nests and childcare duties - the findings suggest environmental conditions may have shaped how species developed different strategies of cooperating in hunting.

Newswise: Diego bows to ancestral sabretoothed mammal
Released: 13-Oct-2022 3:05 AM EDT
Diego bows to ancestral sabretoothed mammal
Kyoto University

Morphological analysis of the discovered specimen's tooth shapes helped to determine that the specimen was one of the earliest nimravids dating back 37 to 40 million years. Sabertoothed nimravids were early members of Carnivoramorpha, but dogs and cats did not evolve from them. Changes in ecosystems may have driven the evolution and rise of nimravids.

Newswise:Video Embedded a-small-trench-dwelling-fish-makes-a-splash-in-deep-sea-evolution
VIDEO
Released: 12-Oct-2022 12:35 PM EDT
A Small Trench-Dwelling Fish Makes a Splash in Deep-Sea Evolution
State University of New York at Geneseo

In 2018, an international team of scientists used free-falling “landers” to study the Atacama Trench, gathering images and specimens of deep-sea creatures. The team discovered a new snailfish species unique to and to all other known fish species.

Newswise: Insect-slapping flower stamens maximize pollination
Released: 12-Oct-2022 2:05 AM EDT
Insect-slapping flower stamens maximize pollination
eLife

For centuries scientists have observed that when a visiting insect's tongue touches the nectar-producing parts of certain flowers, the pollen-containing stamen snaps forward.

Released: 11-Oct-2022 3:20 PM EDT
New way to make new species
University of Konstanz

The evolution of a new species by hybridization from two already described species without a change in chromosome number is very rare in the animal kingdom.

Released: 7-Oct-2022 5:10 PM EDT
Scientists peel back ancient layers of banana DNA to reveal ‘mystery ancestors’
Frontiers

Bananas are thought to have been first domesticated by people 7,000 years ago on the island of New Guinea. But the domestication history of bananas is complicated, while their classification is hotly debated, as boundaries between species and subspecies are often unclear.

Newswise: Story tips: Reducing molten salt’s corrosive effect. VERIFI-ing and tracking carbon’s big footprint. Moss genome study identifies two new species. Ultrasound for battery health.
Released: 6-Oct-2022 4:05 PM EDT
Story tips: Reducing molten salt’s corrosive effect. VERIFI-ing and tracking carbon’s big footprint. Moss genome study identifies two new species. Ultrasound for battery health.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Story tips from Oak Ridge National Laboratory including reducing molten salt’s corrosive effect, VERIFI-ing and tracking carbon’s big footprint, moss genome study identifies two new species and ultrasound for battery health.

Newswise: Impact that killed the dinosaurs triggered “mega-earthquake” that lasted weeks to months
Released: 6-Oct-2022 3:50 PM EDT
Impact that killed the dinosaurs triggered “mega-earthquake” that lasted weeks to months
Geological Society of America (GSA)

66 million years ago, a 10-kilometer asteroid hit Earth, triggering the extinction of the dinosaurs. New evidence suggests that the Chicxulub impact also triggered an earthquake so massive that it shook the planet for weeks to months after the collision.

Newswise: Study Shows Gravitational Forces Deep Within the Earth Have Great Impact on Landscape Evolution
Released: 6-Oct-2022 11:15 AM EDT
Study Shows Gravitational Forces Deep Within the Earth Have Great Impact on Landscape Evolution
Stony Brook University

Scientists seeking the connection between gravitational forces deep in the Earth and landscape evolution discovered that deep roots under mountain belts trigger dramatic movements along faults that result in collapse of the mountain belt and exposure of rocks that were once below the surface.

Newswise: Study reports first evidence of social relationships between chimpanzees, gorillas
Released: 30-Sep-2022 11:15 AM EDT
Study reports first evidence of social relationships between chimpanzees, gorillas
Washington University in St. Louis

A long-term study led by primatologist Crickette Sanz at Washington University in St. Louis reveals the first evidence of lasting social relationships between chimpanzees and gorillas in the wild.Drawn from more than 20 years of observations at Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo, researchers documented social ties between individual chimpanzees and gorillas that persisted over years and across different contexts.

Newswise: What goes on in the brain when it gets too hot?
Released: 29-Sep-2022 1:50 PM EDT
What goes on in the brain when it gets too hot?
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

“It was pretty incredible, actually. The whole brain lit up,” said Anna Andreassen, a PhD candidate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

Newswise: Ancient 'shark' from China is humans’ oldest jawed ancestor
Released: 29-Sep-2022 1:10 PM EDT
Ancient 'shark' from China is humans’ oldest jawed ancestor
Chinese Academy of Sciences

Living sharks are often portrayed as the apex predators of the marine realm. Paleontologists have been able to identify fossils of their extinct ancestors that date back hundreds of millions of years to a time known as the Palaeozoic period.

Released: 28-Sep-2022 3:35 PM EDT
Revealing the genome of the common ancestor of all mammals
Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW)

An international team has reconstructed the genome organization of the earliest common ancestor of all mammals.

Newswise: Dead fish breathes new life into the evolutionary origin of fins and limbs
26-Sep-2022 5:05 AM EDT
Dead fish breathes new life into the evolutionary origin of fins and limbs
University of Bristol

A trove of fossils in China, unearthed in rock dating back some 436 million years, have revealed for the first time that the mysterious galeaspids, a jawless freshwater fish, possessed paired fins.

Newswise: Armoured worm reveals the ancestry of three major animal groups
23-Sep-2022 5:05 AM EDT
Armoured worm reveals the ancestry of three major animal groups
University of Bristol

An international team of scientists, including from the Universities of Bristol and Oxford, and the Natural History Museum, have discovered that a well-preserved fossilised worm dating from 518-million-years-ago resembles the ancestor of three major groups of living animals.



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