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The World’s Oldest Mattress
A 77,000-year-old grass mattress is the earliest bed in the archaeological record. What did earlier hominids sleep on?
December 14, 2011 |
By Erin Wayman
Hominid Gifts for the Holidays
A human evolution T-shirt, necktie, coloring book and board game are just a few of the hominid-themed gifts you can give your loved ones this holiday season
December 12, 2011 |
By Erin Wayman
The Secrets of a Shark Attack
In an attack against a Cape fur seal, a great white shark's advantage comes down to physics
December 12, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The City Bird and the Country Bird
As in Aesop's fable, there are advantages and disadvantages for birds living in the city
December 07, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Mystery of the Missing Hominid Fossils
Seventy years ago, an important collection of "Peking Man" fossils disappeared in China. They are still missing today
December 07, 2011 |
By Erin Wayman
Human Evolution’s Cookie Monster, Oreopithecus
For the past 60 years, scientists have argued over the enigmatic, human-like fossils of the nine-million-year-old Italian ape
December 05, 2011 |
By Erin Wayman
The Columbines and Their Pollinators: An Evolutionary Tale
New research provides insight into an evolutionary concept introduced by Charles Darwin
December 02, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
For Dolphins, Pregnancy Comes With a Price
A bigger body means increased drag, slower speeds and greater vulnerability to predators
December 01, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Sperm Whale's Deadly Call
Scientists have discovered that the massive mammal uses elaborate buzzes, clicks and squeaks that spell doom for the animal's prey
December 2011 |
By Eric Wagner
Strange Animal Models of Human Evolution
What do sea otters, wolves and capuchin monkeys reveal about our hominid ancestors?
November 30, 2011 |
By Erin Wayman
How A Pigeon Is Like A Helicopter
The bird changes direction with its whole body
November 29, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The First Americans
Archaeologists once thought the Clovis people were the first to live in the New World, but mounting evidence suggests humans arrived in the Americas thousands of years earlier
November 28, 2011 |
By Erin Wayman
Was Tyrannosaurus a Big Turkey?
Tyrannosaurus has an image as the apex of the apex predators, and maybe that's why people get upset when paleontologists suggest it was at least partly covered in a coat of feathers
November 23, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Were Neanderthals Victims of Their Own Success?
A new archaeological study shows how Neanderthals' ability to adapt to changing climates may have led to the species' eventual extinction
November 22, 2011 |
By Erin Wayman
The Fish That Hunt Like Lions
Yellow saddle goatfish collaborate when one finds prey to chase
November 21, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Disappearing Habitats of the Vaux’s Swifts
Chimneys may be obsolete in modern buildings, but they’re crucial habitat for the bird species on the West Coast
November 18, 2011 |
By Maria Dolan
What’s in a Name? Hominid Versus Hominin
You may have noticed that our ancestors are increasingly called hominins, which is the result of researchers revising how they classify primates
November 16, 2011 |
By Erin Wayman
Lying For Sex, Spider Style
Male nursery web spiders aren't necessarily punished for giving false gifts
November 16, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Taking a Southern Route Out of Africa
Mounting genetic, archaeological and geological evidence suggests humans may have migrated out of Africa along a southern route: across the Red Sea and into southern Arabia
November 14, 2011 |
By Erin Wayman
A Hominid Dictionary
Hominids have complicated names, but their scientific monikers are less mysterious when their Latin, Greek and African roots are decoded
November 09, 2011 |
By Erin Wayman
