Evolutionary Biology

Johanna Gabriela Ottilie “Tilly” Edinger dedicated her career to studying ancient brains. It saved her life

Some extinct human ancestors and modern-day apes appear to share wrist traits that raise the question of whether our last common ancestor walked on its knuckles

Sled dogs have worked alongside humans for thousands of years. In the harsh Alaskan winter they remain the best option for traversing the snowy landscape

Light pollution is dangerous for birds flying over towns and cities. Here’s how you can help

Fossil jaws from colossal octopuses place them at the top of a prehistoric marine food chain

A new study links genetic regions that predate the divergence of modern humans and Neanderthals to language

Even before water reaches them, the sound of droplets triggers germination in rice plants

A new study in songbirds might help explain why humans don’t generate many new brain cells, called neurons, as adults

How a few unique traits helped modern-style birds—the last living dinosaurs—survive the asteroid apocalypse that took out T. rex and other mighty beasts

Laying eggs may have helped mammal ancestors thrive after Earth’s worst mass extinction

A treasure trove of fossils from China shows that the Cambrian explosion may have been less explosive than scientists once believed

Humans are the only species that has chins. A recent study sheds light on how that came to be and why evolution doesn’t always follow the rules