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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: evolution

evolution stories: 83 news summaries

1 - 20 of 83 Stories | 1 2 3 4 5 Next >>

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 Women Getting 
 Shorter, Heavier 

They'll lose 1 inch and gain 2 pounds by 2409

Oct 21, 09 2:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - Humans are still changing, and the female winners of the evolutionary crapshoot will be shorter and heavier down the line. A new study that tracked the motherly productivity of the slim-and-tall set alongside their squatter peers concludes that a lower center of gravity will win out in the end, and... More »

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evolution • women • menopause • childbirth • human • scientific study • medical study • women's issues • inherited traits

Scientists Unearth Fossils of 'Missing Link' Flying Reptiles

Researchers believe Darwinopterus is proof of modular evolution

Oct 14, 09 2:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have discovered the remains of a flying reptile in China that they believe represents the "missing link" in a controversial theory of evolution. The reptile—named Darwinopterus in honor of Charles Darwin—lived some 160 million years ago and has features from both early, short-tailed pterodactyls and their... More »

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evolution • fossil • Charles Darwin • pterodactyl • reptiles

 Fossil Find 
 Shakes Up 
 Evolution 
 Timeline 

Ardipithecus ramidus lived in trees and walked upright

Oct 1, 09 11:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - A primate fossil found in Africa in 1994 predates the famous “Lucy” skeleton by 1 million years and offers clues to human evolution, researchers say. “This is huge,” a paleoanthropologist tells the Washington Post. “This is the biggest discovery really since” Lucy. The researchers believe... More »

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Africa • evolution • archaeology • paleontology • fossil • chimpanzees • Lucy • primates • scientific study • Australopithecus • Ardipithecus ramidus

 Oldest Feathered 
 Dino Found 
 in China 

Dinosaur is earliest known feathered species, may have flown on four wings

Sep 25, 09 5:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - A fossilized creature found in northern China puts an end to any controversy over whether birds descended from dinosaurs, say Chinese scientists. The dinosaur, who lived some 10 million years before Archaeopteryx, is the oldest feather species ever discovered. The feathers cover its arms, tail, and also its feet, leading... More »

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China • evolution • birds • paleontology • dinosaur • feather

Religious America Snubs Darwin Film: Producer

Brits 'can't imagine religion in America': Jeremy Thomas

Sep 12, 09 6:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - The producer of a new film about Charles Darwin says he hasn't landed a US distribution deal because Americans can't stand the theory of evolution, the Daily Mail reports. Creation, the story of Darwin's struggle between reason and faith as he wrote The Origin of Species, has opened the Toronto... More »

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evolution • film • creationism • Charles Darwin

(Newser) - Facing broad new US regulations on emissions, big business wants to put the science behind global warming before a judge, the Los Angeles Times reports. “It would be evolution versus creationism,” says an executive for the US Chamber of Commerce, which is pushing the idea of a public... More »

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climate change • evolution • global warming • science • creationism • Environmental Protection Agency • emissions standards • big business • carbon emissions • Scopes monkey trial • US Chamber of Commerce

(Newser) - Global warming is changing the face of the planet, and a key panel estimates that a quarter of the world's species will die out—but a few organisms are already evolving to survive in a hotter world. In the past few years Scottish sheep have become smaller, while species of... More »

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climate change • evolution • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change • Charles Darwin • squirrel • biology • natural selection

INTERVIEW

Cooking: What Separates Men From Apes (and Women)

And anthropologically speaking, women are always the cooks

Jul 29, 09 1:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - Cooking—not just eating—meat is what prompted human evolution, Richard Wrangham argues in his book Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, and he discusses his beliefs—including an opposition to the trend of raw diets—with Salon. “Raw foodists argue quite strongly that it is our... More »

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evolution • cooking • human evolution • human • anthropology • book • raw food • Richard Wrangham

(Newser) - Humans may be built for day-long hunts that could take a pack 100 miles, all without shoes, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. “We didn’t evolve as weight lifters, yoga gurus, or swimmers,” says barefoot runner Christopher McDougall, whose book Born to Run explores the hypothesis. “We evolved... More »

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evolution • marathon • injury • hunting • running • barefoot • long distance • pack • Christopher McDougall

 Global Warming 
 Shrinking Sheep 

Warmer winters make evolutionary drive to grow do a U-turn

Jul 3, 09 8:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Add it to the list of weird things blamed on climate change: smaller sheep. Scientists say Scotland's warmer winters explain why a wild herd on an uninhabited northern island are a full 5% smaller than they were in the '80s, the BBC reports. The theory says that only big sheep... More »

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climate change • evolution • Scotland • sheep • natural selection

 Mammals Evolve Faster 
 in Hot Weather: Study 

Faster metabolism thought to be why

Jun 24, 09 2:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - Evolution happens faster in warmer climates, a new study finds. Researchers found that DNA changes more frequently among mammals in the species-rich tropics than among comparable species elsewhere, the BBC reports. Scientists believe the germ cells that become sperm and eggs divide more often in hotter weather, perhaps because those... More »

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weather • evolution • DNA • mammals • scientific study

(Newser) - The jump in human ingenuity during the Stone Age could have resulted not from a biological change but from closer, more populous communities, NPR reports. “Anything that we teach is going to be susceptible to loss, or to decay,” said the British scientist who cooked up the theory.... More »

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evolution • human intelligence • University College London • scientific study • human population • Stone Age • population density

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered the oldest intact primate fossil on record, ABC News reports. Nicknamed “Ida,” the 47-million-year-old lemur-like creature had opposable thumbs, fingernails instead of claws, and legs that could have evolved to walk upright. Scientists don’t think Ida is a direct ancestor of humans, though. “... More »

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evolution • paleontology • fossil • scientific discoveries • primates • opposable thumbs

 Island 'Hobbits'  
 Separate Human Species 

Separate species may have evolved from homo erectus

May 7, 09 12:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - Two new reports forward the theory that the tiny people who roamed an Indonesian island 8,000 years ago were a separate species of human, the BBC reports, not just pygmy versions of homo sapiens. The biggest clue is the feet of the “hobbits,” which are distinctly primitive... More »

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evolution • Indonesia • homo sapien • Homo erectus • skeleton • hobbits • Homo floresiensis

 Meet 
 the First 
 European 


Forensic artist reconstructs face of first modern human found in Europe

May 5, 09 3:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - Meet the first modern European. His face—or hers, as researchers have been unable to determine the sex—was reconstructed by a forensic artist based on a partial skull and jawbone discovered in a Romanian cave. The facial features linked to the 35,000-year-old bones recall the continent's immediate African... More »

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evolution • BBC • fossil • homo sapien • bone • anthropology • Homo habilis • Homo erectus • Neanderthals • Romania • caves • cavemen • ice age

glossies

 Genome Whiz 
 Aims to Reunite 
 God, Science 

Geneticist seeks to reconcile conflicts between faith, science

May 2, 09 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Young Christians inevitably experience a crisis when they realize how deeply religion clashes with science, but an evangelical geneticist is aiming to restore their faith, Time reports. Unveiling the BioLogos Foundation this week, Francis Collins seeks to resolve questions over Adam and Eve’s creation and evolution. “We cannot... More »

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evolution • Christianity • science • intelligent design • faith • Bible • evangelicals

Fossil of 'Missing Link' Walking Seal Found

Arctic creature's existence was predicted by Charles Darwin

Apr 23, 09 3:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - The fossil of a semi-aquatic creature unearthed in northern Canada may hold the key to how seals and walruses evolved, the BBC reports. The carnivore—which resembles a cross between an otter and a seal—had feet that were webbed but weren't flippers. Scientists believe the animals walked on land... More »

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evolution • Arctic • fossil • Charles Darwin • walruses • marine mammals • seal

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered an Antarctic ecosystem of microorganisms cut off from light and oxygen for as many as 2 million years, the Guardian reports. The microbes, living under one-third of a mile of ice, in a 14-degree lake four times as salty as seawater, give researchers clues to how life... More »

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evolution • Antarctica • oxygen • microorganisms • freezing temperatures • microbes • outer space • photosynthesis • salt water

(Newser) - When you wolf down a box of cookies at midnight, it only shows you're being human and relinquishing your self-control, Meredith Small writes on LiveScience. A recent study supports your habit, showing that subjects following the story of a waiter who resists gourmet dishes finally have to eat the same... More »

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evolution • study • psychology • overeating

Dinos Evolved Wings
to Lure Opposite Sex

Feathered displays may have been about finding mates, not climbing trees

Apr 5, 09 1:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - Among paleontologists, one of the big battles has long been over why dinosaurs originally evolved wings: Did they start gliding down from trees, or need extra propulsion when running? According to a new study, the first wings were all about impressing the ladies—it was sexual selection that let bigger-winged... More »

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evolution • paleontology • dinosaur • natural selection • wings

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