Evolution

July 2008

Roots of Speech Found in Humming Fish

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

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 »
Devils Breed Earlier to Stave Off Cancer

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

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 »

June 2008

Study Rewrites Birds' Family Tree

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

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 »
Anti-Evolution Groups Change Texas Tactics

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

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 »

May 2008

Morning Sickness May Help Protect Embryos

newser | LiveScience | May 20, 08 5:59 PM CDT

Far from being a mere nuisance, morning sickness may actively protect embryos, LiveScience reports. Doctors have long recognized the association of morning sickness and a healthy pregnancy, but new research suggests the condition evolved to protect embryos from dangerous environmental factors. More »
Baby Birds' Babbling Suggests Intricate Brain

newser | Boston Globe | May 5, 08 4:54 PM CDT

Being bird-brained might not be much of an insult: New MIT research paints a more intricate portrait of how songbirds learn to sing, with one part of the brain used for learning and another for singing itself. Rather than maturing from babbling to birdsong, the independent but overlapping pathways work together during different life stages. More »

April 2008

Texas doesn't want to allow group's degree in creationism

Houston Chronicle | Apr 23, 08

Saying that a belief in creationism — the theory that God created the Earth in six literal days, as recounted in the Bible — falls outside the realm of science, the state's commissioner for higher education has recommended that a Dallas-based organization not be authorized to offer a master's degree in science education.
Darwin's Papers Now Online

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

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 »
Study Links Sex and Gambling

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

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 »

March 2008

Researchers Let the Cats Out of the Bag

newser | Washington Post | Mar 17, 08 12:57 PM CDT

Cats don't talk, but their genes can tell a good story, and they're revealing plenty about the animal's 10,000-year history. DNA samples from more than 1,100 cats, from fancy show breeds to wild animals from around the world, are confirming earlier discoveries as well as refuting some claims, reports the Washington Post. Persians, for instance, appear to be Western European in origin. More »
Cheating, Corruption Rampant in Ant Society

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

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 »
Humans Wired to Fear Snakes

newser | LiveScience | Mar 5, 08 4:42 PM CST

Evolution seems to have given humans a hard-wired ability to recognize snakes and spiders, LiveScience reports. Intrigued by the widespread fear of serpents despite the fact that most humans rarely interact with them, researchers showed groups of adults and 3-year-olds natural scenes containing various hidden animals. Both groups were consistently able to find snakes and spiders faster than other animals. More »

February 2008

Florida Schools Must Teach Evolution

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

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 »

January 2008

Baby Blues Come From Single Ancestor

newser | LiveScience | Jan 31, 08 7:21 PM CST

All blue-eyed people have a single, shared ancestor, scientists say. And all those baby blues are the result of a genetic mutation that occurred between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, LiveScience reports. Before that, everyone had brown eyes. The mutation limits the effects of the gene that produces melanin, which colors our eyes and hair, thus diluting browns to blues. More »
Earth's Mystery Core Plumbed

newser | Der Spiegel | Jan 27, 08 9:32 AM CST

Climate change has sparked heated debate about the Earth’s surface, but a controversial new theory is directing scientists to its core, Der Spiegel reports. To explain why contintental plates drift on the surface of the Earth's molten mantle, Maruyama Shigenori, a leading geophysicist, argues that continents actually have life cycles. Old, cold plates on continental fringes sink to “plate graveyards” deep in the Earth’s mantle, and then rise again, creating volcanoes. More »
Religious Belief Linked to Loneliness

newser | LiveScience | Jan 24, 08 8:05 PM CST

Most people can't stomach loneliness, and they're more prone to believing in the supernatural or creating strong bonds with pets and household objects to compensate, a new study finds. It's a throwback to our ancestors, who relied on group living to survive, LiveScience reports. "Being socially isolated is just not good for you," said the lead scientist. More »
Laughter Also Good Medicine for Orangutans

newser | BBC | Jan 2, 08 4:52 PM CST

Humans aren't the only animals who laugh, according to a new study. Orangutans engage in a primitive form of laughing, the BBC reports—when one exhibits a facial expression such as an open, gaping mouth, and a companion displays the same expression less than half a second later. This sense of empathy and mimicry is a key component of laughter. More »

December 2007

Earliest Whale Ancestor a Deer?

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

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

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

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 »
Humans Evolving at Warp Speed

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

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 »

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Stories

Roots of Speech Found in Humming Fish

Devils Breed Earlier to Stave Off Cancer

Study Rewrites Birds' Family Tree

Anti-Evolution Groups Change Texas Tactics

Morning Sickness May Help Protect Embryos

Baby Birds' Babbling Suggests Intricate Brain

Texas doesn't want to allow group's degree in creationism

Darwin's Papers Now Online

Study Links Sex and Gambling

Researchers Let the Cats Out of the Bag

Cheating, Corruption Rampant in Ant Society

Humans Wired to Fear Snakes

Florida Schools Must Teach Evolution

Baby Blues Come From Single Ancestor

Earth's Mystery Core Plumbed

Religious Belief Linked to Loneliness

Laughter Also Good Medicine for Orangutans

Earliest Whale Ancestor a Deer?

Nature's Back-Up Plan Keeps Pregnant Women Upright

Humans Evolving at Warp Speed

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