evolutionary biology

(Newser) - "The moment you say 'anus,' you can hear a pin drop in the room." So a jellyfish biologist at the University of North Carolina at Asheville tells Katherine Wu, who has written a fascinating piece for the Atlantic about this "evolutionary marvel" that also happens...

(Newser) - City dwellers have evolved bigger brains than their rural counterparts, a new study suggests—at least among white-footed mice and meadow voles. University of Minnesota biologist Emilie Snell-Rood looked at the skulls of 10 species of small mammals, and found that in those two species, specimens from urban environments had...

(Newser) - Why exactly does the Jaws theme send a chill down our spine? What makes Darth Vader's entrance music so unsettling? In short, why does certain music freak us out? Evolutionary biologist Daniel Blumstein thinks he has the answer. Blumstein hit on the idea while observing baby marmots, who would...