Hiding in the shadows, euglenoids are a fascinating group of single-celled protists that are neither plant nor animal. Plants photosynthesize, and animals eat. Euglenoids do… Read More »Tiny euglenoids hold 400 million years of secrets
An ancient species of great ape was likely driven to extinction hundreds of thousands of years ago when climate change put their favorite fruits out… Read More »Giant ape extinction linked to climate change and food shortages
The unique underwater kelp forests that line the Pacific Coast support a varied ecosystem that was thought to have evolved along with the kelp over… Read More »Kelp forests predate known ecosystem by 18 million years, nourishing extinct mammals
They’d been in the collections of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) since the 1870s when they were first discovered. Nestled in among the… Read More »Ancient fossils show trilobite defense
In a groundbreaking revelation, the earliest evidence of photosynthetic structures has emerged within a collection of microfossils dating back a staggering 1.75 billion years, as… Read More »1.75 billion-year-old fossils reveal ancient photosynthesis
In the ancient depths of the Early Cambrian, a groundbreaking discovery has unveiled the existence of a formidable group of aquatic predators that prowled the… Read More »Ancient worm predators ruled Cambrian seas
An international research team has examined unusual skeletal structures of various European bird fossils from the Eocene. The bone surfaces of the approximately 40- to… Read More »Ancient birds wore bony neck armor to ward off predators
The origin of insect wings remains an enigma in the realm of evolutionary biology, posing a puzzling question about their development and initial purpose before… Read More »Ancient bug fossils suggest wings evolved from gills
Recent analysis of fossils initially thought to be juvenile T. rex specimens has led researchers to identify them as adults belonging to a distinct species,… Read More »New species of small Tyrannosaur discovered
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) stands as a revolutionary technique in molecular biology, fundamentally altering the landscape of genetic research and diagnostics. Conceived by Kary Mullis… Read More »Concept of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and its applications
Lucy, the iconic fossil of Australopithecus afarensis discovered in 1974 by paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson and his team in the Afar region of Ethiopia, holds immense… Read More »What is the significance of Lucy in the study of human evolution?
Early in the 1970s, a paleontologist working on the outskirts of an Indian village found small, bead-like fossils embedded in the gray chert dotting the… Read More »Ancient pyrene discovery reveals origins of frankincense family in Southern Hemisphere
Analyses of amber show that insect larvae were already using a wide variety of tactics to protect themselves from predators 100 million years ago. Early… Read More »Insect larvae’s diverse defense tactics unveiled from cretaceous fossils
Physicists from the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, led by Professor Dr. Herwig Ott, have achieved a groundbreaking feat by directly observing pure trilobite Rydberg molecules. What… Read More »Physicists uncover unique trilobite-shaped rydberg molecules with record electric dipole moments
Paleontology is the scientific discipline that focuses on the study of fossils to understand the history of life on Earth. It encompasses a diverse range… Read More »What is paleontology?
For years, scientists have debated whether humans or the climate have caused the population of large mammals to decline dramatically over the past several thousand… Read More »Humans, not climate change, drove the decline of large mammals, new DNA study shows
The discovery of ancient tools and artifacts has played a pivotal role in shaping our understanding of human origins, providing crucial insights into the technological,… Read More »How has the discovery of ancient tools and artifacts shaped our understanding of human origins?
The “Out of Africa” theory, also known as the recent African origin of modern humans, is a widely accepted model explaining the migration and dispersal… Read More »What evidence supports the “Out of Africa” theory of human migration?
The fossil record is a rich source of information that allows scientists to explore and understand the evolutionary history of life on Earth, including the… Read More »How does the fossil record provide insights into human ancestry?
The origin of Homo sapiens, the species to which all modern human beings belong, is a complex and intriguing topic that has captivated the attention… Read More »What are the prevailing theories about the origin of Homo sapiens?