Topic description and stories

Mother and child

On the origin of (robot) species

12 Aug 2015

Researchers have observed the process of evolution by natural selection at work in robots, by constructing a 鈥榤other鈥 robot that can design, build...

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Artist's reconstruction of the Fractofusus community on the H14 surface at Bonavista Peninsula

Earliest evidence of reproduction in a complex organism

03 Aug 2015

A new study of 565 million-year-old fossils has identified how some of the first complex organisms on Earth 鈥 possibly some of the first animals to...

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Comparison of embryos of fish, salamander, turtle, chick, pig, cow, rabbit and human embryos at three different stages of development.

Haeckel鈥檚 embryos: the images that would not go away

06 Jul 2015

A new book tells, for the first time in full, the extraordinary story of drawings of embryos initially published in 1868. 探花直播artist was accused of...

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 探花直播camera eye of an octopus is structurally similar to that of a human, but has evolved independently, making it a classic example of convergent evolution.

鈥淢ap Of Life鈥 predicts ET. (So where is he?)

02 Jul 2015

探花直播author of a new study of evolutionary convergence argues that the development of life on Earth is predictable, meaning that similar organisms...

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Faces

Women鈥檚 faces get redder at ovulation, but human eyes can鈥檛 pick up on it

30 Jun 2015

Past research shows men find female faces more attractive at peak fertility. A new study shows an increased redness of women鈥檚 face skin at the most...

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Collinsium ciliosum, a Collins鈥 monster-type lobopodian from the early Cambrian Xiaoshiba biota of China

Spiky monsters: new species of 鈥榮uper-armoured鈥 worm discovered

29 Jun 2015

A newly-identified species of spike-covered worm with legs, which lived 500 million years ago, was one of the first animals on Earth to develop...

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Left: Hallucigenia sparsa from the Burgess Shale (Royal Ontario Museum 61513)  探花直播fossil is 15 mm long. Right: Colour reconstruction of Hallucigenia sparsa.

Newly-discovered 鈥榬ing of teeth鈥 helps determine what common ancestor of moulting animals looked like

24 Jun 2015

A new analysis of one of the most bizarre-looking fossils ever discovered has definitively sorted its head from its tail, and turned up a previously...

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A Young Chimpanzee Playing with Twigs

Tool use is 'innate' in chimpanzees but not bonobos, their closest evolutionary relative

16 Jun 2015

First evidence for a species difference in the innate predisposition for tool use in our closest evolutionary cousins could provide insight into how...

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Cuckoo finch on the left and a bishop bird on the right

Cuckoos mimic 'harmless' species as a disguise to infiltrate host nests

10 Jun 2015

First time 鈥榳olf in sheep鈥檚 clothing鈥 mimicry has been seen in birds. Host birds have evolved a general counter-strategy in which they defend against...

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Odaraia alata, an arthropod resembling a submarine from the middle Cambrian Burgess Shale.

Clues contained in 500 million-year-old brain point to the origin of heads in early animals

07 May 2015

探花直播discovery of a 500 million-year-old fossilised brain has helped identify a point of crucial transformation in early animals, and answered some of...

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Left: Illustration of Ottoia, a prehistoric priapulid, burrowing. Right: Ottoia worm.

Compiling a 鈥榙entist鈥檚 handbook鈥 for penis worms

06 May 2015

A new study of teeth belonging to a particularly phallic-looking creature has led to the compilation of a prehistoric 鈥榙entist鈥檚 handbook鈥 which may...

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Music in the tree of life

Music in the tree of life

18 Mar 2015

Modern scientific methods for mapping the evolution of species are being applied to centuries-old hand-copied music, providing new inspiration for...

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