Colder Climates Meant Bigger Bodies For Ancient Humans
Human ancestors got steadily larger over the last 1 million years. Our relatives living in colder places developed bigger bodies, a new study finds.
paleontology
New Research Shows Dinosaurs Suffered From Malignant Cancer, Too
Scientists have identified an aggressive bone cancer — for the first time — in the fibula of a dinosaur that lived 76 to 77 million years ago. The diagnosis sheds new light on dinosaurs and disease.
Scientists Find The Biggest Soft-Shelled Egg Ever, Nicknamed 'The Thing'
A new study of dinosaur eggs, as well as a football-size egg from Antarctica, shows how some ancient creatures relied on soft shells rather than hard ones.
Geologists Question 'Evidence Of Ancient Life' in 3.7 Billion-Year-Old Rocks
A new analysis of what were initially thought to be microbial fossils in Greenland suggests they might instead just be mineral structures created when ancient tectonic forces squeezed stone.
How Did Birds Lose Their Teeth And Get Their Beaks? Study Offers Clues
Modern birds are dinosaurs without toothy jaws, and with bigger brains. Newly published research fills in some of the missing links in their evolution.
'Butterfly Tongues' Are More Ancient Than Flowers, Fossil Study Finds
Scientists have discovered the proboscis butterflies use to suck nectar from flowers existed before flowers did. So: What were ancient butterflies using their long, tongue-like suckers for?
Amber-Trapped Tick Suggests Ancient Bloodsuckers Feasted On Feathered Dinosaurs
The tick was with a feather from a dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous Period. Modern ticks love to bite mammals, and scientists have long wondered what the tiny vampires ate millions of years ago.
6,000-Year-Old Knee Joints Suggest Osteoarthritis Isn't Just Wear And Tear
Even after a Harvard team took into account differences in age and weight among ancient specimens and knees today, they found that modern humans tend to have more osteoarthritis.
Scientists Describe Ancient Bag-Like Sea Creatures From China
They were ugly. And, unfortunately, they were not equipped with an anus. But the sand dwellers could be an important part of filling in our own early evolutionary tree.
The Curious Case Of The Hyolith, An Ancient 'Ice Cream Cone' That's Found A Home
The creature, which roamed ocean floors over 500 million years ago, went years without a definitive scientific classification. Now, researchers think the oddball finally has a group to call its own.