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July 25, 2008 12:51:02 PM CDT

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Stories related to: evolution

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  • July 2008

    • Roots of Speech Found in Humming Fish

      newser  |  National Geographic  |  Jul 18, 08 3:13 AM CDT

      Roots of Speech Found in Humming Fish

      The songs of birds, the hums and grunts of toadfish, and the lofty speech of humans all use the same ancient brain circuit, despite an evolutionary split 400 million years ago, reports National Geographic . Researchers have discovered that the base of the hindbrain and upper spinal cord is the starting point for all vocalizations. More »

      Tags

      animal  • evolution  • brain  • fish  • speech  • nature  • amphibians

    • Devils Breed Earlier to Stave Off Cancer

      newser  |  Daily Telegraph (UK)  |  Jul 14, 08 8:46 PM CDT

      Devils Breed Earlier to Stave Off Cancer

      Tasmanian devils are reproducing at a younger age to offset a contagious cancer epidemic, the Daily Telegraph reports. The ill-tempered marsupials, suffering from tumors that cut their lifespan in half, are now breeding at age 1 instead of 2 or 3. "We could be seeing evolution occurring before our eyes," one expert told the AP—though the devils may still die off in about 25 years. More »

      Tags

      Australia  • endangered species  • evolution  • tumor  • breeding  • Tasmania  • Tasmanian Devil

    • Beer: Cause of, and Solution to, Civilization

      newser  |  Washington Post  |  Jul 10, 08 12:18 PM CDT

      Beer: Cause of, and Solution to, Civilization

      Recently, Investor’s Business Daily had the effrontery to suggest that Americans might cut down on beer “and other non-essential items.” It was a statement that sent Washington Post columnist George F. Will into a frothy rage. Beer is completely essential—without it civilization as we know might not exist. Early urbanites had just one respite from waterborne illness, he notes: Beer. More »

      Tags

      alcohol  • beer  • evolution  • George Will

  • June 2008

    • Study Rewrites Birds' Family Tree

      newser  |  Chicago Sun Times  |  Jun 26, 08 9:45 PM CDT

      Study Rewrites Birds' Family Tree

      A five-year study of bird DNA is turning the world of ornithology on its head. The study revealed such drastic new information about the evolution of birds that dozens will need new scientific names, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Notable finds: Falcons are not related to hawks or eagles; hummingbirds—colorful daytime creatures—evolved from the drab nocturnal nightjar; and parrots are more closely related to songbirds than thought. More »

      Tags

      DNA  • evolution  • birds  • scientific discoveries  • scientific research  • Field Museum

    • Scientists Find Fossil of Most Primitive 4-Legged Creature

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  Jun 26, 08 2:08 AM CDT

      Scientists Find Fossil of Most Primitive 4-Legged Creature

      Scientists have found a partial skeleton of the world's most primitive four-legged creature— a water-dwelling tetrapod—in Latvia, AP reports. The four-foot-long fish eater resembles a small alligator and likely belongs to an extinct offshoot of the four-legged family tree. The fossil is 365 million years old—predating dinosaurs by 100 million years. More »

      Tags

      evolution  • fish  • scientific discoveries  • scientists

    • Anti-Evolution Groups Change Texas Tactics

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Jun 4, 08 2:02 PM CDT

      Anti-Evolution Groups Change Texas Tactics

      Evolution opponents are adapting. Now that “intelligent design” and “creation science” have failed in court, the new catch phrase, the New York Times reports, is “strengths and weaknesses.” It might seem innocuous, but critics say it’s yet another tactic to undermine the teaching of evolution in schools. Evolution opponents are insisting that curriculum discuss the flaws in Darwin’s theory. More »

      Tags

      Texas  • education  • evolution  • Charles Darwin  • creationism  • intelligent design

  • May 2008

    • Here's Why Platypus Look So Goofy

      newser  |  National Geographic  |  May 7, 08 7:00 PM CDT

      Here's Why Platypus Look So Goofy

      Scientists have decoded the genome of the duck-billed platypus, National Geographic reports, with their findings as interesting as they expected. Research, published in Nature , confirms that the platypus is the earliest living offshoot of mammalian evolution, yet retains many genetic throwbacks to reptilian ancestors thought to have lived 300 million years ago. More »

      Tags

      evolution  • genome  • reptiles  • mammals

  • April 2008

    • Darwin's Papers Now Online

      newser  |  BBC  |  Apr 17, 08 4:48 PM CDT

      Darwin's Papers Now Online

      A vast collection of the papers of Charles Darwin is now online, providing public access to volumes once restricted to Cambridge scholars, the BBC reports. 20,000 items are available, including the first draft of his seminal book on evolution, travel notes and personal pieces such as family recipes, Reuters reports. “Darwin changed our understanding of nature forever,” says the project’s director. More »

      Tags

      science  • research  • evolution  • nature  • biology  • Charles Darwin  • natural selection

    • Study Links Sex and Gambling

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  Apr 5, 08 7:46 AM CDT

      Study Links Sex and Gambling

      Taking risks with money lights up the same parts of the brain as sexual arousal, a "neuroeconomics" study has found. Men shown sexy pictures gambled more daringly than those shown scary pictures—spiders and snakes—or neutral pictures, reports the AP. The study of 15 heterosexual Stanford students focused on the nucleus accumbens, which sits near the base of the brain and plays a central role in the experience of pleasure. More »

      Tags

      evolution  • gambling  • brain  • neurology  • scientific research  • risky trading

  • March 2008

    • Cheating, Corruption Rampant in Ant Society

      newser  |  LiveScience  |  Mar 13, 08 12:00 PM CDT

      Cheating, Corruption Rampant in Ant Society

      A power-mad elite is secretly rigging the system so their offspring rise to power, LiveScience reports. That’s the situation a team of researchers has discovered in ant society—not exactly the epitome of community collaboration once thought. Until now, it appeared that any properly-fed larvae could hatch into a queen, but now researchers have found a secret ant elite, which has evolved a DNA strand more likely to produce ruling offspring. More »

      Tags

      DNA  • evolution  • nature  • animal behavior  • larvae  • nature vs. nurture  • ants

  • February 2008

    • Stop Temper Tantrums Like a Caveman

      newser  |  LiveScience  |  Feb 22, 08 12:28 PM CST

      Stop Temper Tantrums Like a Caveman

      When your kid has a temper tantrum, they’re a lot like a Neanderthal, reports LiveScience. Two-year-olds are still driven by instinct and emotion, explains one pediatrician, not the higher reasoning of mature adults. So don’t try to logic away a tantrum (“But honey you already have that action figure”), engage them with simple caveman sentences such as, “You are angry.” More »

      Tags

      parenting  • evolution  • toddler  • emotion  • Neanderthals  • temper tantrums

    • Florida Schools Must Teach Evolution

      newser  |  Tallahassee Democrat  |  Feb 19, 08 6:18 PM CST

      Florida Schools Must Teach Evolution

      Teachers in Florida's public schools must for the first time teach evolution, but they must present it as a "scientific theory" rather than a fact, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. The state's Board of Education approved the new curriculum standards today. The old ones made no mention of evolution. Religious leaders and conservative lawmakers fought for the last-minute amendment to teach it as a theory. More »

      Tags

      Florida  • evolution

  • January 2008

    • Angry Students Block Pope Visit

      newser  |  Los Angeles Times  |  Jan 16, 08 4:31 AM CST

      Angry Students Block Pope Visit

      Pope Benedict XVI has scrapped plans to speak at a prestigious Italian university after unprecedented protests by furious students and professors who accused him of justifying Galileo's trial and "affronting" people of science, the Los Angeles Times reports. The pope once described as "reasonable" the 400-year-old heresy trial of Galileo, and Benedict's negative take on science now extends to issues like stem cell research and evolution, critics charge. More »

      Tags

      Italy  • science  • Catholic Church  • Pope Benedict XVI  • evolution  • stem cell research  • Galileo

    • Evolution Coming to Space Race

      newser  |  Space.com  |  Jan 9, 08 2:33 PM CST

      Evolution Coming to Space Race

      Engineers have devised a way of coming up with flight paths for space missions by using the laws of natural selection, Space.com reports. An algorithm called "differential evolution" treats different paths as individual organisms, which then "mutate," and the best solutions survive to the next generation. Engineers behind differential evolution hope NASA and other agencies consider using the method in future. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • evolution  • space exploration

  • December 2007

    • Scientists Spot 6 Giraffe Species

      newser  |  BBC  |  Dec 24, 07 3:40 AM CST

      Scientists Spot 6 Giraffe Species

      Giraffes had long been thought to be one species with several subspecies, but researchers now believe they have identified six distinct species—some of which are on the brink of extinction, reports the BBC. Only 160 Nigerian giraffes remain. But there's hope the researchers' find will spur greater conservation efforts. More »

      Tags

      evolution  • wildlife  • nature  • giraffes

    • Earliest Whale Ancestor a Deer?

      newser  |  Guardian (UK)  |  Dec 20, 07 1:50 PM CST

      Earliest Whale Ancestor a Deer?

      Quick: What's the the whale's earliest-known ancestor? Wrong. It may not have been Bambi, but it was a deer about the size of a domestic cat, the Guardian reports. Fossil hunters have named the small deer-like animal that waded in lagoons and munched on vegetation Indohyus. It lived 48 million years ago, and it's thought to be the "missing link"  between ancient land mammals and the likes of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. More »

      Tags

      evolution  • whale

    • Nature's Back-Up Plan Keeps Pregnant Women Upright

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  Dec 12, 07 8:03 PM CST

      Nature's Back-Up Plan Keeps Pregnant Women Upright

      Scientists have found slight differences in the lower back and hip joints of men and women—results of evolution—that help women keep their balance and avoid serious back pain while pregnant, the AP reports. “(Women) are experiencing a pretty impressive challenge. Evolution has tinkered ... to the point where they can deal with the challenge," a Harvard anthropology researcher said. More »

      Tags

      pregnancy  • evolution  • Nature

    • Humans Evolving at Warp Speed

      newser  |  Los Angeles Times  |  Dec 11, 07 3:59 AM CST

      Humans Evolving at Warp Speed

      The pace of human evolution switched to the fast track when people began forming agrarian societies 10,000 years ago, researchers have discovered. Scientists had theorized that evolution would slow as challenges to survival waned, but the opposite appears to be the case with changes occurring surprisingly quickly, the Los Angeles Times reported. More »

      Tags

      disease  • evolution  • genes  • population  • malaria  • genetic mutation  • human evolution  • milk

    • Altruism Linked to Gene

      newser  |  BBC  |  Dec 9, 07 6:35 AM CST

      Altruism Linked to Gene

      Researchers have identified a gene that may influence altruism, reports the BBC. Test subjects who had the choice of keeping money or giving it away were 50% more likely to give it away if they had a more active version of the gene AVPR1a. The gene is linked to arginine vasopressin, a hormone involved in social bonding. More »

      Tags

      evolution  • generosity

    • Religion Remains Flashpoint With Huckabee

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  Dec 5, 07 10:40 PM CST

      Religion Remains Flashpoint With Huckabee

      A month before the Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee reacted with frustration when asked if creationism should be taught in public schools, the AP reports. Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister who has said he does not believe in Darwin's theory of evolution, said his personal views on religion were irrelevant—though they remain a hot topic. More »

      Tags

      Mike Huckabee  • presidential campaign  • religion  • Iowa  • education  • GOP  • Iowa caucus  • evolution  • campaign trail  • presidential politics  • human evolution  • public schools  • creationism

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