Evolution, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 30, 2007

Why Males Die Before Females

In humans and many other animals, males age faster and die earlier than females. New research suggests this might happen because of intense competition over sex. Scientists compared monogamous species with polygynous species, in which each male mates with many females. Males in monogamous species, such as the barnacle goose...

Sep 30, 2007

Some Neanderthals Were Redheads

Like bringing to life a naked mannequin, scientists are using genetic and physical evidence found in fossils to clothe the skeletal remains of our closest hominid relatives, the Neanderthals. More and more, they seem familiar. Bones from two Neanderthals yielded valuable genetic information that adds red hair, light skin and...

Apr 30, 2007

Letters Reveal Young Darwin Had Stinky Feet

Before Charles Darwin's squeamish stomach forced him to quit medical school, before sailing aboard the HMS Beagle and before penning his masterwork “The Origin of Species,” the future father of evolutionary theory was a child who had bad spelling and stinky feet. I only wash my fett [sic] once a...

Apr 30, 2007

The Primal Roots of Red Hair Revealed

Primatologists know humans, apes and monkeys can see red, but have quarreled over what initially locked the adaptation into place. Did it first help primates find meals, or was the ability to see a red-headed, red-skinned mate from a mile away the first benefit of full-color vision? A new study...

Mar 31, 2007

The Coulter Hoax: How Ann Coulter Exposed the Intelligent Design Movement

In the summer of 2006, I heard that a new book called Godless presented an insightful and devastating criticism of the theory of evolution. Although I learned that its author, Ann Coulter, is not a scientist but a lawyer turned author and TV pundit, she nevertheless appeared to be an...

Mar 31, 2007

Parasites Evolve from Bad to Good

Parasites are by definition bad for you. Some, such as malaria, can kill. Others, like microbes known as Wolbachia that are found in more than one-fifth of all insects, often make female hosts less fertile. Now scientists discover parasites can evolve surprisingly rapidly to become helpful instead of harmful. The...

Feb 28, 2007

Sea Squirt Regrows Entire Body from One Blood Vessel

Our closest invertebrate relative, the humble sea squirt, can regenerate its entire body from just tiny blood vessel fragments, scientists now report. The entire regeneration process, which in part resembles the early stages of embryonic development, can produce an adult sea squirt in as little as a week. Video: Skimming...

Jan 31, 2007

First Humans: Time of Origin Pinned Down

The lineages of humans and chimpanzees, our closest relatives, diverged from one another about 4.1 million years ago, according to a new estimate that is said to be far more precise than previous ranges for this critical evolutionary moment. However, the claim is a bad match with previous estimates based...

Dec 31, 2006

Strange Old Skull: Human or Not?

A strange ancient skull recently uncovered adds to mounting evidence that humans and Neanderthals interbred and suggests that humans evolved considerably after settling the European continent some 40,000 years ago. Modern humans emerged from Africa about 150,000 years ago, according to the leading theory (which has been challenged in recent...

Oct 31, 2008

The Exciting Evolution of ... Rocks

Every rock tells a story. And some of those stories are about the history of life. You might think rocks and the minerals they are made of are rather boring. But a new study shows life has been integral to the evolution of minerals, giving rise to the majority of...

Sep 30, 2008

Oldest 'Footprints' on Earth Found

The oldest-known tracks of a creature apparently using legs have been discovered in rock dated to 570 million years ago in what was once a shallow sea in Nevada. Scientists think land beasts evolved from ancient creatures that left the sea and evolved lungs and legs. If the new finding...

Aug 31, 2008

Neanderthal Brains Grew Like Ours

Score one more for Neanderthals. A new study has found that Neanderthal brains grew at much the same rate as modern human brains do, knocking down the idea that they grew faster in a style considered more primitive. The recent discoveries of two very young Neanderthal skeletons, as well analysis...

Jun 30, 2008

Human Speech Traced to Talking Fish

From Don Knotts' portrayle of Mr. Limpet to the children's favorite Nemo and the tuna-pitching character in the Sorry, Charlie commercials, we all have seen fish that can talk. But that's just fiction, right? Well ... Researchers say real fish can communicate with sound, too. And they say (the researchers,...

Jun 30, 2008

How the Galapagos Islands Changed the World

Each Monday, this column turns a page in history to explore the discoveries, events and people that continue to affect the history being made today. Boobies and lava gulls and giant tortoises, oh my! The Galapagos Islands host a faunal freak show of rare animal species endemic only to those...

Mar 31, 2008

Why Humans Bother With Emotions

The last few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions for me. I'm sad, I'm angry, I'm happy, I'm anxious. At the end of the day, I'm physically and mentally exhausted from the whirling dervish that seems to have taken over my head. Why do we have emotions? Wouldn't...