Evolutionary Biology1969 articles archived since 1845

Biggest Mass Extinction Was Fastest, Too

It took just 60,000 years for the End Permian extinction to wipe out 96 percent of aquatic species and 70 percent of land species some 252 million years ago. Cynthia Graber reports

Although Purebred Dogs Can Be Best in Show, Are They Worst in Health?

Why diseases plague purebred dogs and how breeders, owners and genetics can help

Wing and fin motions share universal principles

Tricks common to animals ranging from whales to insects could inspire designs for air and water vehicles

Hole-y Phobia May Have Evolutionary Origins

Images that induce trypophobia, the fear of holes, share visual features with images of certain venomous animals, implying that the aversion has an evolutionary basis. Allie Wilkinson reports...

Asian Elephants Console One Another When in Distress

Using trunks and vocalizations, elephants reassure one another when distressed

Baboons Use Yawns to Convey Social Messages

Gelada baboons use three separate types of yawns, differentiated by the amount of teeth and gums showing, to demonstrate friendliness and aggression

What Does Our DNA Say about How We Look?

A biologist aims to profile suspects from genetic material left at crime scenes

Ancient Genome Suggests Native Americans Really Did Descend from the First Americans

The new analysis of "Clovis boy" DNA also stirs an ethics debate about the handling of tribal remains

The Startling Intelligence of the Common Chicken

Chickens are smart, and they understand their world, which raises troubling questions about how they are treated on factory farms

This Tiny Animal Can Live an Estimated 1,400 Years

Salmon Use Magnetic Field–Based Internal Maps to Find Their Way

Even salmon raised in captivity have an innate sense of how to reach their oceanic foraging grounds

Making Winter Sports Olympic Champions out of Australian "Beach Babes" [Excerpt]

In The Sports Gene David Epstein explores what separates elite athletes from the rest of us

Is the Quintuple Jump in Figure Skating Physically Possible?

Some scientists think that the human body is incapable of surpassing the quadruple jump, currently considered the most challenging figure-skating move

Faraway Planets May Be Far Better for Life

Astronomers have come up with a shopping list of what a planet needs to support life, perhaps even better than our Earth does, making them "superhabitable." Michael Moyer reports 

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Winning Athletes Engage in Arms Raise

Across cultures, victorious athletes raise their arms, puff out their chests and shout, in what appears to be a physical display of dominance. Erika Beras reports

 

City Sea Otters Live Better Than Their Country Cousins [Slide Show]

By doggedly tracking California sea otters, marine biologists learn that sea otters often face bigger challenges than human pollution

How a Contagious Dog Tumor Went Global

A sexually transmitted canine cancer has acquired almost two million mutations and is still going strong

Why Sloths Leave the Trees to Defecate

Sloth dung nourishes the moths and algae that sloths eat

Treating Flu Symptoms May Create More Cases

Medicines that cut fever and pain help viruses replicate and send infectious people out into the world, at a possible cost of an additional thousand U.S. flu deaths a year

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Docile Island Animals Face Invader Threat

A meta-analysis finds that island-dwelling lizards are less anxious than their mainland relatives, which could pose a survival problem should a new predator arrive on the scene. Christopher Intagliata reports...