The (Pre-)Neanderthals were the first, you see: One early Out-Of-Africa (OoA) wave occurred ~600 kiloyears ago (according to OoA theory that is, but it is still open whether Asian orangutans or…

We know water is essential to life as we know it, but why?  A paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides strongest evidence that proteins--the large and complex molecules…

A study of the ancient and modern DNA of the single humped camel or dromedary has shed new light on how its use by human societies has shaped its genetic diversity. Long-distance and back-and-forth…

Pregnancy sounds like the ultimate form of animal cooperation – mothers share their own bodies to grow and support their children’s prenatal development. But in reality, embryos use every trick in…

Some new speculation on animal (metazoan) evolution, suggesting that it was partly mediated through a biochemical oscillator (cycler), named Life's Timekeeper, present in all animal cells. The cycler…

Inside Science -- How can you tell how a creature walked when all that you have is the head? For many years, scientists looked to the foramen magnum – the large hole at the base of the skull where…

1) Motivation (insufficient justification): Throughout the world, there is a ‘new enlightenment.’ Maintaining certain illusions has become so demanding and frustrating that increasingly people simply…

The fungal pathogen Batrachochrytrium dendrobatridis (Bd), which has been known to cause the disease chytridiomycosis and decimate frog populations for close to half a century, is causing frogs to…

If you trace our evolutionary tree way back to its roots, before the shedding of gills or the development of opposable thumbs, you will likely find a common ancestor with the amazing ability to…

While wheat has been much maligned recently for it's gluten content, and new suspicions casted about as to its nutritional value, scientists have been eager to trace the evolutionary history of wheat…