Despite their important ecological role as decomposers, termites are often overlooked in research. Evolutionary biologists have constructed a new family tree for this unassuming insect brood, shedding unexpected light on its evolutionary history.
Read moreThe rise of dark forms of many species of moth in heavily polluted areas of 19th and 20th century Britain, known as industrial melanism, was a highly visible response to environmental change. But did the different species rely on the same gene to adapt? New research by the University of Liverpool reveals that three species of moth, including the famous peppered moth, indeed did.
Read moreScientists have detected primordial chemical signatures preserved within modern kimberlites, according to new research. The results provide critical insight for understanding the formation of Earth.
Read moreResearchers studied fossilized Moroccan Ampyx trilobites, which lived 480 million years ago and showed that the trilobites had probably been buried in their positions — all oriented in the same direction. Scientists deduced that these Ampyx processions may illustrate a kind of collective behavior adopted in response to cyclic environmental disturbances.
Read moreA recent study helps to better explain the processes in the Earth's interior beneath the Yellowstone supervolcano.
Read moreBecause of imprinted preferences, strawberry poison frog females mate more with similar colored males, and less with differently colored males. Over time, the behavior could lead to two color types becoming separate species.
Read moreResearcher finds evidence of ancient solar magnetic storms based on cuneiform astrological records and carbon-14 dating. This work may help with our understanding of intense solar activity that can threaten modern electronics.
Read moreResearchers have developed new insight on how the natural loss of foot muscles occurred in rodents and other species during their evolution.
Read moreHumans are diurnal — we are active in the day and sleep at night. But diurnalism is by far the exception rather the rule in mammals. About 250-230 million years ago, the mammalian ancestors, called the therapsids, became exclusively nocturnal, and stayed so until the demise of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
Read moreWhat does the presence of 1,000 year old water mean for the future of water supplies under the desert regions of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates? New research has sought to identify how much good water is available in the Arabian Peninsula, where water is stored in what are known as 'fossil aquifers.'
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