News articles tagged with 'ancestor' (Page 2)
Stone Age humans needed more brain power to make big leap in tool design
— 4 Nov 2010 13:09 | Geology and palaeontologyStone Age humans were only able to develop relatively advanced tools after their brains evolved a greater capacity for complex thought, according to a new study that investigates why…
Do holes make moles?
— 3 Nov 2010 11:14 | Geology and palaeontologyThe mysterious origins of Australia's bizarre and secretive marsupial moles have been cast in a whole new and unexpected light with the first discovery in the fossil record of one of…
Rotten experiments help to create picture of our early ancestors
— 13 Oct 2010 15:48 | Geology and palaeontologyAn innovative experiment at the University of Leicester that involved studying rotting fish has helped to create a clearer picture of what our early ancestors would have looked like…
Evolutionary tinkering produced complex proteins with diverse functions
— 6 Oct 2010 05:56 | BiologyBy reconstructing an ancient protein and tracing how it subtly changed over vast periods of time to produce scores of modern-day descendants, scientists have shown how evolution tinkers…
Researchers find first genetic evidence for loss of teeth in the common ancestor of baleen whales
— 30 Sep 2010 12:05 | BiologyIn contrast to a toothed whale, which retains teeth that aid in capturing prey, a living baleen whale (e.g., blue whale, fin whale, humpback, bowhead) has lost its teeth and must sift…
Adapting to darkness: How behavioural and genetic changes helped cavefish survive extreme environment
— 15 Sep 2010 12:00 | BiologyUniversity of Maryland biologists have identified how changes in both behaviour and genetics led to the evolution of the Mexican blind cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus) from its sighted,…
Nature's gift for gardening may hold key to biodiversity
— 14 Sep 2010 11:07 | BiologyGardeners are used to cross-breeding flowers to produce pretty petals or sweet scents - now scientists have shown the importance of nature's talent for producing new types of flowers…
What can a New Zealand reptile tell us about false teeth?
— 7 Sep 2010 12:00 | BiologyUsing a moving 3D computer model based on the skull and teeth of a New Zealand reptile called tuatara, a BBSRC-funded team from the University of Hull, University College London and…
Brainy worms: Evolution of the cerebral cortex
— 3 Sep 2010 10:49 | BiologyOur cerebral cortex, or pallium, is a big part of what makes us human: art, literature and science would not exist had this most fascinating part of our brain not emerged in some less…
Cactus genes connect modern Mexico to its prehistoric past
— 23 Aug 2010 18:18 | BiologyIn prehistoric times farmers across the world domesticated wild plants to create an agricultural revolution. As a result the ancestral plants have been lost, causing problems for anyone…