Evolution

Here are a few brief reports about international science and technology from around the world, including one from the Democratic Republic of the Congo about a toad that has evolved coloring that makes it look like a deadly snake’s head.

One hypothesis says the ability to vocalize arose in nocturnal animals—and a new evolutionary analysis suggests there may be some truth to it. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

New work shows how jackdaw flocks (sometimes) transition from chaos to order

Well more than 100 distinct sign languages exist worldwide, with each having features that made it possible for researchers to create an evolutionary tree of their lineages.

The fossil of an ancient squid relative tells paleontologists something new about the reptile that tried to feed on it

Journalist and author Peter Brannen talks about his book The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions.

Stunning new fossil reveals that at least one Cretaceous slime mold—an “intelligent” giant amoeba—looks identical to one alive today

The sites are rich in cultural history, but the blazes might also reveal some unknown ones, say archaeologists

Some wolf pups will play fetch with a stranger, suggesting that an ability to playfully interact with people could have come before, and played a role in, dog domestication.

The cat parasite Toxoplasma gondii boosts curiosity in mice—which makes them more likely to be caught by cats, thus continuing the parasite’s life cycle. Karen Hopkin reports.

A fossil penguin wing found in Antarctica has broader implications for what dinosaurs looked like

A new study finds that music and some other human phenomena have altered at a pace comparable to that of animals such as Darwin’s finches