There’s a difference in the sex chromosomes between various mammals, such as the platypus compared to humans.
Flickr/Darren Puttock
How new species are created is at the core of the theory of evolution. Mammals may be a good example of how sex chromosome change drove major groups apart.
Smithsonian's National Zoo/flickr
Our planet’s huge range of environments has led some animals to evolve some bizarre but very useful features.
The Australian lungfish has a bigger brain than you might think.
Alice Clement
To understand how some creatures evolved, you need to see how their brain developed over millions of years. That’s now possible thanks to some clever use of scanning technology.
DiegoMariottini / shutterstock
Islands are very special when it comes to quirks of evolution.
NASA/NOAA
Human activity doesn’t just reduce biodiversity – new research explores how we are continually creating new species and ecosystems, too.
Excalibur Media
A lot of people thought America’s religious right was losing its mojo – but it’s still got the wherewithal to build a $172m ark.
Playing ‘Spore’ is a good way to explore evolution.
'Spore' screenshot
Many digital games claiming to simulate evolution are inaccurate. These errors can undermine the games’ potential educational benefits.
Some of the Earth’s fault lines between tectonic plates in the East Asia region.
Shutterstock /Mopic
Earth is the only planet in our solar system with both plate tectonics and life. Is there a connection?
Mammals like otters use their whiskers to orientate themselves – just like their pre-mammalian ancestors did.
Peter Trimming/Flickr
A tiny pit on mammal-like animals’ snouts has revealed a great deal about how mammalian hair originated.
An anaconda peers above and below the water. Did snakes evolve on land or underwater?
Michael Lee (Flinders University & South Australian Museum)
One of the enduring controversies in evolution is why snakes evolved their long, limbless bodies. A new study suggests snakes may have lost their legs at sea, before crawling ashore.
Early mammal Purgatorius unio
Nobu Tamura
New research reveals that mammals didn’t wait for the dinosaurs to die out before starting their rapid spread.
Fire significantly added to our ability to change the world.
Fire image from www.shutterstock.com
The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising faster than at any point in the past 55 million years.
from www.shutterstock.com
New research shows that street lighting changes the activity of moths, and is likely to disrupt nocturnal pollination.
sumikophoto / shutterstock
Transport, climate change and environmental destruction mean all sorts of species are bumping into each other for the first time.
Many can identify with the phenomenon of feeling a thrill – followed by a chill – when listening to a particularly moving piece of music.
'Pink' via www.shutterstock.com
When seeing or hearing something poignant, many get the chills. But about one-third of the population doesn’t feel this sensation.
The “Roman” nose, such as the Colossus of Constantine (from c. 312–315 AD), has been a target of both admiration and abuse.
Jean-Christophe BENOIST/wikimedia
The genes controlling nose shape can reveal a lot about our evolutionary history.
'Story' via www.shutterstock.com
Not everyone can weave a gripping tale. But for one gender, it matters more than the other.
There’s a battle for resources going on in there.
Christian Glatz
Embryos greedily want more resources than their fair share. New research investigates how early in evolution their hormonal tactics arose.
Computers can be our prediction machines.
Data image via www.shutterstock.com.
Scientists of all kinds turn to computer models to investigate questions they can’t get at any other way. Here’s how models work and why we can trust them.
Research suggests beards evolved to help men impress other men rather than attracting women.
Ezume Images/shutterstock
Do women prefer ‘manly men’ with thick beards and deep voices? Science reveals all.