Dung beetles are largely invisible. And yet without their vital activities, the world would have a lot more faeces in it.
Do fungi like this Penicillium mold, which produces the the antibiotic penicillin, trace their origins to an ancestor that lived a billion years ago?
Rattiya Thongdumhyu/Shutterstock.com
The discovery of a fungus fossil is pushing back the origin of these ancient organisms and rewriting what we know about evolution and the tree of life.
Researchers have discovered a lineage of yeast species that ignores the laws of cell growth.
Alexander Kirch/Shutterstock.com
Yeast isn’t just important for the foods we consume. A rogue lineage of yeast species that evolves faster than any other is revealing secrets that may help illuminate the molecular causes of cancer.
Delivering a human baby – which has a large, highly developed brain – is risky for mother and baby.
jaredandmelanie/flickr
We like to think that all creatures play a role in the local ecosystem. We’re especially interested in insects that provide a benefit for people too. But that’s not always how it is.
Human self awareness is an evolutionary outcome, but where has it brought us?
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Understanding the evolutionary roots of what draws us to delusions of legacy and distractions of leisure will help us address the environmental challenges of the 21st century.
The story of Australia has been studied and explored many times by researchers. Look what they’ve revealed, so far.
The living coelacanth in its natural environment off the South African coast.
Laurent Ballesta, Gombessa expeditions, Andromede Oceanology Ltd (from the book Gombessa, meeting with the coelacanth)
The discovery of a living coelacanth fish rocked the world in 1939, as scientists thought they had died out with the dinosaurs. A new study illuminates how its skull and tiny brain develop.
Reversing lactose intolerance might make it possible for adults to enjoy a milkshake again.
YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV / Shutterstock.com
You may think that your milk-drinking, ice cream-licking days are behind you as you battle the discomfort of lactose intolerance. But there maybe be a way to reverse the situation.
Genetically modified mice express a green fluorescent protein which causes them to glow in the dark.
Moen et al. (2012)/Wikipedia
It was not until the late 1990s that the anatomy of the human clitoris was accurately described by Australia’s first female urologist. And now research in animals is starting to catch up.
The evolution of live birth from egg-laying is no mean feat. Now new research reports on the first known example where both eggs and a live birth come from the same lizard pregnancy.
Nails help us scratch an itch, but also pick up tiny things.
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A series of new studies sheds light on the population crash and extinction of the giant birds, lemurs and more that roamed the island until around A.D. 700-1000.