In an evolutionary sense, memory of pain serves an important purpose. Pain indicates a threat to our safety or our life, and human survival depends on us avoiding things that are going to kill us.
Historically…
How and why have the colour patterns of coral reef fish changed over time?
David Cook
Have you ever wondered why coral reef fishes are so brilliantly coloured and bizarrely patterned? A quick flick through any coral reef fish guide will leave you bewildered and awed.
To answer this question…
The discovery of the skeleton of the Homo floresiensis has sparked significant debate among evolutionary scientists.
Ryan Somma
To state the obvious: human evolution is not without its drama – and the latest salvo in the ongoing Hobbit, or Homo floresiensis, battle confirms this yet again.
The 2004 announcement of Homo floresiensis…
A female zebra finch finds herself surrounded by male suitors – but who to listen to?
Simon Griffith
A new study has revealed what many people possibly already suspect – males are more honest when displaying their “quality” to a partner than to an unfamiliar female.
These findings, from a study of a…
The giant river lizard Pannoniasaurus inexpectus (top) was roughly six metres long. In life, the animal would have resembled the smaller, related Aigialosaurus (bottom).
FunkMonk/Wikimedia Commons
An aquatic lizard twice the length of a Komodo dragon once lurked in rivers during the age of dinosaurs, according to a team of Hungarian-Canadian researchers.
The 85 million-year-old Pannoniasaurus is…
In order to drag themselves onto land, fish-like creatures needed limbs.
Thierrry
In the late Devonian period, roughly 365 million years ago, fish-like creatures started venturing from shallow waters onto land.
Among the various adaptations associated with the switch to land life was…
The butts flicked by smokers can end up lining birds' nests – but why?
Matthew Kenwrick
The negative impacts of cigarettes on both smokers and those around them are widely known. While some effects are cosmetic (wrinkling, yellowing of the skin), others, such as cancer, can be fatal. But…
It seems our impressions of faithfulness are distinct from our impressions of trustworthiness.
shannonkringen
In a study published today in the Royal Society’s journal Biology Letters, my colleagues and I ask if there is any validity in judgements of sexual faithfulness made from the faces of unfamiliar men and…
Taxonomists are in the business of classifying the life we see around us – plant, animal and otherwise.
Gnilenkov Aleksey
For taxonomists, days often start – and sometimes end – with the question: what’s that?
Whether you’re an entomologist, staring at a new species of riffle bug from a rainforest stream, or a paleontologist…
The plumage of male fairy-wrens is certainly impressive, but why is it so blue?
Ralph Green
Why are some animals blue and others red? Explaining the diversity of colours in nature is a central issue in evolutionary biology.
And part of the answer may lie in the most obvious place: the eye…
Our ability to climb and swing is impressive, but not necessary for survival.
spencer.lattimer
Just when did our human ancestors come down from the trees to become permanent ground-dwelling apes? Did the evolution of our upright posture and two-footed (bipedal) locomotion mark the end of a life…
Opsin genes, one of the building blocks of vision, first emerged roughly 700 million years ago.
~Dezz~
By Wayne Davies, University of Western Australia and David Hunt, University of Western Australia
The eye is perhaps one of the best examples of Darwinian evolution. Incremental steps driven by natural selection have led to the evolution of this complex organ from its origin as a simple light-sensitive…
We share many behaviours and characteristics with our primate cousins and now we know our blood types are more closely linked as well.
AAP Image/Taronga Zoo
A study published in PNAS this week has confirmed that human blood types were present in one of our ancient primate ancestors.
The ABO blood groups
Beloved by genetics teachers the world over, the ABO…
Here’s some good news: having more sexual partners makes females more fertile.
A recent study on Trinidadian guppies has shown that females who mate with multiple males produce more grand-offspring than…
Things we’d normally turn our noses up at can become more manageable when we’re aroused.
marsmet462/Flickr
Does it seem strange that we will enthusiastically kiss an attractive person’s mouth, with tongues intertwining and saliva going everywhere, but that we might wrinkle our nose up at the idea of using that…
Female wasp spiders often eat their mate straight after intercourse.
Wikimedia Commons
When it comes to selecting a mate, females are traditionally thought of as the choosy sex; males, meanwhile, aren’t thought to be particularly picky.
This makes sense for many species – the sex that invests…
“If the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” Research shows that plants spread news of trouble.
Flickr/Peter Nijenhuls
Sound and its use in communication have shaped the ecology, evolution, behaviour, and ultimately the success of many animal species. But are animals the only lifeforms to communicate with sound? Do plants…
