Evolution

This 200 Million-Year-Old Plant Species Helps Explain the Origin of All Flowers

Of the 300,000 flowering plants known today, Amborella is the only one that directly traces back to the common ancestor of them all

Ancient Reptiles Kept Switching Between Laying Eggs And Giving Birth to Live Babies

Colder temperatures seem key to triggering the switch to live births

A golden eagle swoops for a rabbit.

Beautiful Anatomical Skeletons, Posed and Photographed As Sculptures

Photographer Patrick Gries transforms ordinary specimens, stripped of fur and flesh, into art that showcases motion, predation and evolution

Two Scientists Share Credit for the Theory of Evolution. Darwin Got Famous; This Biologist Didn’t.

When the Linnean Society of London hears the case for natural selection in 1858, Darwin shared credit with biologist A.R. Wallace

Cats have graced Asian households for millennia, as depicted in this 12th century print by Mao Yi.

Domestic Cats Enjoyed Village Life in China 5,300 Years Ago

Eight cat bones discovered in an archeological site in China provide a crucial link between domestic cats' evolution from wildcats to pets

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These Carnivorous Plants Glow Under Ultraviolet Light to Attract Prey

Their florescent blue glow lures ants to their death. Mask it, and the plants barely catch any

This flashy male chameleon is deadly beautiful to his competitors.

The More Rainbow Bright a Chameleon, the Greater His Battle Prowess

Male chameleons quickest on the color-changing draw and sporting the brightest palette tend beat out duller competitors

Many Animals, Including the Platypus, Lost Their Stomachs

Not only did those animals toss their stomachs out with the evolutionary garbage, they burned the genetic instructions, too

One of the ancient human fossils found in Spain's La Sima de los Huesos.

Scientists Just Sequenced the DNA From A 400,000-Year-Old Early Human

The fossil, found in Spain, is mysteriously related to an ancient group of homonins called the Denisovans, previously found only in Siberia

Dazzle camouflage distorts perception by pairing contrasting patterns.

Predators May Use a Bit of the Old Razzle Dazzle to Snag Prey

The bright colors and harsh angles of dazzle camouflage confounds locusts, suggesting that predators who sport the abstract patterns can hunt more easily

Where Do Humans Really Rank on the Food Chain?

We're not at the top, but towards the middle, at a level similar to pigs and anchovies

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Why Brain Size Doesn't Correlate With Intelligence

We can nurture growth, but never really control it

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This Could Be the Oldest Flowering Plant Ever Found in North America

A new look at Smithsonian's fossil collection turned up a remarkably ancient flowering plant—scientists think it's at least 115 million years old

One species ant can build floating rafts (above), resilient bridges and temporary shelters using nothing but their own bodies.

Watch Fire Ants Use Their Bodies To Form Living Architecture

One species of ant can build floating rafts, resilient bridges and temporary shelters using nothing but their own bodies

The seahorse may appear ungainly, but it’s actually a sophisticatedly engineered copepod-killing machine.

The Seahorse’s Odd Shape Makes It a Weapon of Stealth

The shape of the seahorse's snout and its painfully slow movements create help create minimal water disturbance, increasing its odds of bagging prey

A friendly garter snake

Mating Snakes Engage in a Literal Battle of the Sexes

Male and female red-sided garter snakes have antagonistic genitals, evolved to further the interests of their respective gender

CT scans (left) and photos (right) of the skull

This Fossil Skull Unearthed in Tibet Is the Oldest Big Cat Ever Found

The fossil belongs to a newly discovered species called Panthera blytheae and is between four and five million years old

A computer rendering of the ancient froghoppers mating

These Insects Died While Having Sex 165 Million Years Ago

A remarkable fossil from China captures two froghoppers copulating, showing how the insects' genital structures haven't changed despite time's passage

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What Is a Species? Insight From Dolphins and Humans

More than 70 definitions exist for what makes a species--each is applied to a different group of organisms & uses different methods for determining a label

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This Mouse Has Evolved An Immunity to Toxic Scorpion Venom

The bark scorpion's sting can be deadly—but one of its predators, the grasshopper mouse, is impervious to both the pain and paralyzing effects of its venom

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