Huge dinosaurs evolved different cooling systems to combat heat stroke
Different dinosaur groups independently evolved gigantic body sizes, but they all faced the same problems of overheating and damaging their brains.
Read moreEvolutionary Biology
Factors that predict obesity by adolescence revealed
Three simple factors that predict whether a healthy weight child will be overweight or obese by adolescence have been revealed in a new study.
Read morePiranha fish swap old teeth for new simultaneously
With the help of new technologies, a team has confirmed that piranhas lose and regrow all the teeth on one side of their face multiple times throughout their lives. How they do it may help explain why the fish go to such efforts to replace their teeth.
Read moreBullies may come and go, but the 'molecular memory' of being a target lingers
Life at the bottom of the social ladder may have long-term health effects that even upward mobility can't undo, according to new research in monkeys. A team studied 45 rhesus macaques. They found that monkeys who move up in the hierarchy still show the effects of their once-lowly status at the cellular level, even after they rise in rank.
Read moreNew genome sequence of the date palm
Researchers have developed an improved assembly of the genome for the date palm using long-read sequencing technology. This improvement over the current versions of the genome will help advance further research, and also inform the propagation practices of this essential MENA region food source.
Read moreResearchers solve puzzle about link between genetic mutations, mating in fruit flies
More than a century ago, early geneticists showed that the inheritance of a single mutation by fruit flies can change the insect's body color and simultaneously disrupt its mating behavior.
Read moreThe brain does not follow the head
The human brain is about three times the size of the brains of great apes. This has to do, among other things, with the evolution of novel brain structures that enabled complex behaviors such as language and tool production. A study by anthropologists now shows that changes in the brain occurred independent of evolutionary rearrangements of the braincase.
Read moreSperm and egg cell 'immune response' protects koala DNA
Discovery of a type of immunity that protects koalas' DNA from viruses has importance for the survival of koalas and our fundamental understanding of evolution. A team of scientists are studying tissue samples from koalas to understand how a unique type of cell responds to retrovirus infections, which cause diseases such as chlamydia and cancer.
Read moreTaming the wild cheese fungus
The flavors of fermented foods are heavily shaped by the fungi that grow on them, but the evolutionary origins of those fungi aren't well understood. Experimental findings offer microbiologists a new view on how those molds evolve from wild strains into the domesticated ones used in food production.
Read moreInvesting in love and affection pays off for species that mate for life
A new study by biologists explains how sexual cooperation and bonding evolves in bird species that form pair bonds.
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