Killer whales taking food from fishing lines reveal something intriguing about human evolution

To a group of hungry killer whales, a longline fishing boat looks like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Luke Rendell, MASTS Lecturer in Biology, University of St Andrews • conversation
Feb. 2, 2022 ~6 min

Did male and female dinosaurs differ? A new statistical technique is helping answer the question

The lack of large numbers of fossils makes it hard to study sexual dimorphism in dinosaurs. But a new statistical approach offers insight into this question and others across science.

Evan Thomas Saitta, Postdoctoral Scholar in Paleontology, University of Chicago • conversation
Feb. 1, 2022 ~10 min


How many bones do penguins have?

How did penguins end up with so few bones – and become lightning-fast swimmers?

Julie Sheldon, Clinical Assistant Professor of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Tennessee • conversation
Jan. 24, 2022 ~5 min

Evolution: how Victorian sexism influenced Darwin's theories – new research

Darwin thought female animals were non-strategic and uniform, making similar decisions.

Matthew Wills, Professor of Evolutionary Palaeobiology at the Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath • conversation
Jan. 20, 2022 ~8 min

Five fascinating insights into the inner lives of plants

David Attenborough’s new BBC documentary The Green Planet shows plants are stranger than they first appear.

Sven Batke, Lecturer in Biology, Edge Hill University • conversation
Jan. 12, 2022 ~8 min

A taste for sweet – an anthropologist explains the evolutionary origins of why you're programmed to love sugar

If you ever feel like you can’t stop eating sugar, you are responding precisely as programmed by natural selection. What was once an evolutionary advantage has a different effect today.

Stephen Wooding, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Heritage Studies, University of California, Merced • conversation
Jan. 5, 2022 ~9 min

Curious Kids: why didn't other creatures evolve the intelligence humans have?

Having intelligence helps humans survive.

Barry Bogin, Professor of Biological Anthropology (Emeritus), Loughborough University • conversation
Jan. 5, 2022 ~5 min

How a handful of prehistoric geniuses launched humanity's technological revolution

The stone age saw a pattern where technologies like spears, fire and bows were invented once, then spread

Nicholas R. Longrich, Senior Lecturer in Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Bath • conversation
Dec. 29, 2021 ~10 min


Five ways reindeer are perfectly evolved for pulling Santa's sleigh

Millions of years of natural selection have prepared reindeer for Christmas Eve.

Louise Gentle, Senior Lecturer in Wildlife Conservation, Nottingham Trent University • conversation
Dec. 10, 2021 ~6 min

How changing levels of iron shaped the evolution of life on Earth – and why alien hunters should take note

Life doesn’t just need water and oxygen to thrive, it also needs iron.

Jon Wade, Associate Professor of Planetary Materials, University of Oxford • conversation
Dec. 7, 2021 ~8 min

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