Tardigrade Protein Protects DNA from Chemical Attack
The Dsup protein protects DNA under conditions that create caustic free radical chemicals.
Evolution11588 articles archived since 1845
Canada Gets Its First Smilodon
Fossils found near Medicine Hat, Alberta, expand the saber-tooth cat’s range by more than 600 miles
Ancient Teeth Reveal Social Stratification Dates Back to Bronze Age Societies
Humans have a history of status division stretching back at least 4,000 years
Is Death Reversible?
An experiment that partially revived slaughterhouse pig brains raises questions about the precise end point of life
How Cells Sense Oxygen Levels: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
William Kaelin, Jr., Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza share the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.” New therapies for cancer and conditions such as anemia are in the pipeline, based on these discoveries...
Nobel in Physiology or Medicine for How Cells Sense Oxygen Levels
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to William G. Kaelin, Jr., Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza “for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.” They identified molecular machinery that regulates gene activity in response to changing levels of oxygen...
How Did Water Get on Earth?
About 70 percent of our planet’s surface is covered with water, and it plays an important role in our daily lives. But how did water get on Earth in the first place?
Tiny Worms Are Equipped to Battle Extreme Environments
Scientists found eight species of nematodes living in California’s harsh Mono Lake—quintupling the number of animals known to live there. Christopher Intagliata reports.
“Biggest Shark of All Time” Gets Downsized
Real megalodons weren’t nearly as enormous as their silver-screen counterparts
How Monarch Butterflies Evolved to Eat a Poisonous Plant
By engineering mutations into fruit flies, scientists reconstructed how the bright orange butterflies came to tolerate milkweed toxins
Can Rabbits Help Unravel the Mystery of Female Orgasm?
A study suggests the phenomenon may have evolved from a mechanism for triggering ovulation
My Regrets about Controversial Anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon (RIP)
Chagnon’s views of the “fierce” Yanomamö and of the roots of war were more subtle than his critics or admirers suggested...
New Pterosaur Was Fossilized with a Ridiculous Grin
A skull found in China reveals a previously unknown flying reptile
Bizarre Fossil Mammal Was an Ice Age Tree Hugger
A new analysis finds extinct wombat cousins were heftier and stranger than previously thought
Asteroid Dust Triggered an Explosion of Life on Ancient Earth
At 466 million years ago, the breakup of a large space rock may have led to major changes in our planet’s biodiversity
Monogamy May Be Written in Our Genes
In animal studies, a set of 42 genes involved in neural development, learning and memory, and cognition seems to be associated with monogamy
Early Butchers Used Small Stone Scalpels
Homo erectus used hand axes to butcher elephants and other game. But a new study suggests they also used finer, more sophisticated blades. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Pterosaurs Were Monsters of the Mesozoic Skies
Fossils and mathematical modeling are helping to answer long-standing questions about these bizarre animals
Did a Jurassic Dinosaur Smoosh a Turtle?
A smashed shell may have been crumpled by an ambling dinosaur
