The New Science of Sex and Gender
Why the new science of sex & gender matters for everyone
Evolution6654 articles archived since 1845
Stop Hoarding Ancient Bones, Plead Archaeologists
Scientists call for wider access to rare samples rich in DNA
Family Meal? Ancestral Humans May Have Engaged in Ritualistic Cannibalism
Patterns carved in an arm bone could mean the gruesome practice held some ceremonial value for Paleolithic people
Fossil Reveals What Last Common Ancestor of Humans and Apes Looked Liked
The 13-million-year-old infant skull may have resembled a baby gibbon
No Bull: Lizards Flee When They See Red
Western fence lizards are more spooked by red and gray shirts than they are by blue ones—perhaps because the males have blue bellies themselves. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Exploring the Mysterious Life of One of Earth's First Giant Organisms
Strange creatures known as “rangeomorphs” could help paleontologists understand the origins of animal life
Meet Neo, a Spectacular New Fossil of Homo naledi
A remarkably complete skeleton and, at last, an age for mysterious Homo naledi
Cold Snap Shapes Lizard Survivors
An epic bout of cold weather quickly altered a population of lizards—an example of natural selection in action. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Well-Preserved Armored Fossil Reveals Cretaceous Camouflage
The Cretaceous Period was a dangerous time for many animals, even for the “dinosaur equivalent of a tank.” Watch how researchers analyzed the pristine remains of a heavily armored nodosaur to discover this dino’s additional layer of defense.
Goodbye, Vaquita: How Corruption and Poverty Doom Endangered Species
What the demise of a small Mexican porpoise tells us about extinction in the 21st century
Revealed: The First Flower, 140-million Years Old, Looked Like a Magnolia
Scientists have reconstructed the ancient plant and figured out how it reproduced
Screams Heard Round the Animal World
Humans appear well equipped to recognize the alarm calls of other animals—perhaps because sounds of distress tend to have higher frequencies. Karen Hopkin reports.
This Caterpillar Whistles While It Irks
The North American walnut sphinx caterpillar produces a whistle that sounds just like a songbird's alarm call--and the whistle seems to startle birds. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Bacteria Can Be Resistant to Brand-New Antibiotics
Exposure to existing antibiotics can imbue infectious bacteria with resistance that also kicks in against new drugs related to the originals. Christopher Intagliata reports.
The Shark That Conquered the Whorl
Journalist and author Susan Ewing talks about her new book Resurrecting the Shark: A Scientific Obsession and the Mavericks Who Solved the Mystery of a 270-Million-Year-Old Fossil. (And we'll discuss how Helicoprion is not technically a shark, but it's really close!)
Buried Tools and Pigments Tell a New History of Humans in Australia for 65,000 Years
Australia is the end point of early modern human migration out of Africa, and sets the minimum age for the global dispersal of humans
Untangling the Mystery of How Fido Became Humankind's Best Friend
New DNA-based research suggests dogs were domesticated in a single event, in contrast with a previous hypothesis
Nasty, Brutish and Short: Are Humans DNA-Wired to Kill?
Some research suggests a tendency toward violence has shaped our anatomy throughout evolution. But anthropologists are sharply divided
Life on Earth Came from a Hot Volcanic Pool, Not the Sea, New Evidence Suggests
Deep oceans were thought to hold life's origins. New evidence points instead to an active volcanic landscape
Can Microbes Encourage Altruism?
If gut bacteria can sway their hosts to be selfless, it could answer a riddle that goes back to Darwin
