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Articles on Evolutionary biology

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The characteristic hammer-shaped head is just becoming visible in this image of an embryonic bonnethead shark. Scale bar = 1 cm. Steven Byrum and Gareth Fraser, Department of Biology, University of Florida

Rare access to hammerhead shark embryos reveals secrets of its unique head development

Because hammerhead sharks give birth to live young, studying their embryonic development is much more complicated than harvesting some eggs and watching them develop in real time.
Temperature sensitivity makes western fence lizards vulnerable to climate change. Greg Shine/BLM

Climate change is already forcing lizards, insects and other species to evolve – and most can’t keep up

From dark dragonflies becoming paler to plants flowering earlier, some species are slowly evolving with the climate. Evolutionary biologists explain why few will evolve fast enough.
Being feverish is unpleasant, but it can help your body overcome invading pathogens. Narisara Nami/Moment via Getty Images

How does fever help fight infections? There’s more to it than even some scientists realize

The heat and chills that come with fever are not only uncomfortable but also metabolically costly. Increased body temperature, however, can make all the difference when you’re sick.
Older monkeys still hang out, just with a smaller circle of intimates. Lauren Brent

Macaque monkeys shrink their social networks as they age – new research suggests evolutionary roots of a pattern seen in elderly people, too

Many older people tend to trim their social circles and focus their social efforts on family and close friends. New research on our close primate relatives may help explain why.
Human evolution is typically depicted with a progressive whitening of the skin, despite a lack of evidence to support it. Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov/Wikimedia Commons

Racist and sexist depictions of human evolution still permeate science, education and popular culture today

From Aristotle to Darwin, inaccurate and biased narratives in science not only reproduce these biases in future generations but also perpetuate the discrimination they are used to justify.
Tibetan monks at a monastry in Gansu province in China. New research shows sending a child to a monastery can have surprising evolutionary advantages for a family. Matyas Rehak/Shutterstock

Celibacy: family history of Tibetan monks reveals evolutionary advantages in monasticism – podcast

Listen to the first episode of Discovery, a new series available via The Conversation Weekly podcast, telling the stories of fascinating new research discoveries from around the world.
A hopping mouse from the arid desert of Australia (Notomys). Hopping mice have evolved highly efficient kidneys to deal with the low water environments of Australia’s deserts. David Paul/Museums Victoria

‘Impressive rafting skills’: the 8-million-year old origin story of how rodents colonised Australia

Australia has more than 60 species of native rodents found nowhere else in the world. New research used museum specimens to find out how they got here.
Dogs use their tails to communicate. Eastimages/Moment via Getty Images

Why do animals have tails?

An anthropologist explains some of the many ways animals use their tails, from balancing as they walk to attracting a mate.

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