Evolution | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/evolution/RSS feed for EvolutionenWed, 15 Jul 2026 20:02:54 +0000Scientists Ranked Hundreds of Spider Species by Running Speed. Australia's Huge, Hairy Brown Huntsman Came Out on Tophttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-ranked-hundreds-of-spider-species-by-running-speed-australias-huge-hairy-brown-huntsman-came-out-on-top-180989132/The brown huntsman can sprint at a maximum speed of eight miles per hour, although it can only maintain that pace for a fraction of a second. The research will lead to a better understanding of the evolution and biomechanics of arachnidsWed, 15 Jul 2026 20:02:54 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-ranked-hundreds-of-spider-species-by-running-speed-australias-huge-hairy-brown-huntsman-came-out-on-top-180989132/Meet the Earliest Known 'Right-Handed' Animal, a Worm-Like Creature That Lived About 550 Million Years Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-the-first-right-handed-animal-a-worm-like-creature-that-lived-about-550-million-years-ago-180989107/During the Ediacaran period, the critter wriggled around on the ocean floor of what’s now South Australia and preferred to turn right, a fossil analysis suggestsTue, 14 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-the-first-right-handed-animal-a-worm-like-creature-that-lived-about-550-million-years-ago-180989107/An Ancient Sea Once Split North America Down the Middle. The Beautiful Multicolored Ammonite Shells From Its Waters Are So Perfectly Preserved That They Still Shimmer Todayhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/an-ancient-sea-once-split-north-america-down-the-middle-the-beautiful-multicolored-ammonite-shells-from-its-waters-are-so-perfectly-preserved-that-they-still-shimmer-today-180989104/Spectacular marine fossils tell the story of the long-gone Western Interior Seaway and the planet’s past aquatic lifeFri, 10 Jul 2026 16:30:59 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/an-ancient-sea-once-split-north-america-down-the-middle-the-beautiful-multicolored-ammonite-shells-from-its-waters-are-so-perfectly-preserved-that-they-still-shimmer-today-180989104/In a Scientific First, Researchers Recovered Ancient DNA That Humans Left Behind on Rock Art and Cave Wallshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-scientific-first-researchers-recovered-ancient-dna-that-humans-left-behind-on-rock-art-and-cave-walls-180989038/DNA preservation on cave walls is highly variable, but scientists say their work is an important step on the path toward gaining a deeper understanding of our creative ancestorsMon, 29 Jun 2026 14:27:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-scientific-first-researchers-recovered-ancient-dna-that-humans-left-behind-on-rock-art-and-cave-walls-180989038/Early Humans May Have Used Fire 1.8 Million Years Ago, Nearly Doubling the Age of the Oldest Known Evidence for the Feathttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/early-humans-may-have-used-fire-1-8-million-years-ago-nearly-doubling-the-age-of-the-oldest-known-evidence-for-the-feat-180989015/In Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, burned bones were found in a dirt layer associated with Homo erectus. The inhabitants probably hadn't mastered fire-making, but researchers say they may have moved and maintained flames from a natural fireFri, 26 Jun 2026 16:59:18 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/early-humans-may-have-used-fire-1-8-million-years-ago-nearly-doubling-the-age-of-the-oldest-known-evidence-for-the-feat-180989015/This Strange, Feathered Dinosaur May Have Glided Between Trees Like a Flying Squirrel to Hunt Birds 120 Million Years Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-strange-featured-dinosaur-may-have-glided-between-trees-like-a-flying-squirrel-to-hunt-birds-120-million-years-ago-180989011/A fossil of the creature provides the first evidence that microraptors lived in what is now northwestern China. Its discovery might also solve an ancient murder mysteryThu, 25 Jun 2026 16:04:52 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-strange-featured-dinosaur-may-have-glided-between-trees-like-a-flying-squirrel-to-hunt-birds-120-million-years-ago-180989011/A Vietnam Veteran Collected Fossils for 66 Years. One, Mislabeled 'Baby Lamprey,' Made Paleontologists Reconsider How Vertebrates Moved From Water to Landhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-vietnam-veteran-collected-fossils-for-66-years-one-mislabeled-baby-lamprey-made-paleontologists-reconsider-how-vertebrates-moved-from-water-to-land-180988981/The fossil turned out to be a hatchling of a crocodile-like creature, and it suggests, according to a new study, that early animals did not use metamorphosis to evolve to dwell on landThu, 18 Jun 2026 18:15:32 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-vietnam-veteran-collected-fossils-for-66-years-one-mislabeled-baby-lamprey-made-paleontologists-reconsider-how-vertebrates-moved-from-water-to-land-180988981/People Across Cultures Find Women's Faces to Be More Attractive Than Men's, a New Study Suggestshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/people-across-cultures-find-womens-faces-to-be-more-attractive-than-mens-a-new-study-suggests-180988914/In many species of wild animals, males have flashier features than females to help them attract mates. But scientists have long noticed that humans seem to be an exception, with women often being considered the "fairer sex"Tue, 09 Jun 2026 19:14:27 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/people-across-cultures-find-womens-faces-to-be-more-attractive-than-mens-a-new-study-suggests-180988914/Did Human Ancestors Walk on Their Knuckles Like Today's Chimpanzees? New Research Adds More Evidence to the Debatehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-human-ancestors-walk-on-their-knuckles-like-todays-chimpanzees-new-research-adds-more-evidence-to-the-debate-180988876/After investigating thousands of wrist bones, scientists suspect the last common ancestor species of humans and chimpanzees may have navigated the world on its knucklesTue, 02 Jun 2026 15:36:17 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-human-ancestors-walk-on-their-knuckles-like-todays-chimpanzees-new-research-adds-more-evidence-to-the-debate-180988876/Tyrannosaurus Rex and Other Terrifying Predatory Dinosaurs Had Itty-Bitty Arms. Scientists May Have Finally Figured Out Whyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tyrannosaurus-rex-and-other-terrifying-predatory-dinosaurs-had-itty-bitty-arms-scientists-may-have-finally-figured-out-why-180988803/A new study suggests that certain theropods—two-legged, mostly meat-eating dinosaurs—had shrunken forelimbs as an evolutionary trade-off for their strong skullsFri, 29 May 2026 15:53:48 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tyrannosaurus-rex-and-other-terrifying-predatory-dinosaurs-had-itty-bitty-arms-scientists-may-have-finally-figured-out-why-180988803/Scientists Used A.I. to Redesign a Microbe's Machinery to Function Without a Key Ingredient of Lifehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-used-ai-to-redesign-a-microbes-machinery-to-function-without-a-key-ingredient-of-life-180988802/Although the researchers did not create an entire cell that could function without a crucial building block, the findings represent a big step in synthetic biology and provide a glimpse at how Earth’s earliest organisms may have livedWed, 27 May 2026 15:46:47 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-used-ai-to-redesign-a-microbes-machinery-to-function-without-a-key-ingredient-of-life-180988802/Why Is Nearly Every Person Right-Handed—but Not Every Ape and Monkey? New Research Explores the Evolutionary Origins of Human Handednesshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-is-nearly-every-person-right-handed-but-not-every-ape-and-monkey-new-research-explores-the-evolutionary-origins-of-human-handedness-180988776/Brain size and bipedalism are the most likely drivers of our species’ right-hand dominance, according to new researchThu, 21 May 2026 16:28:25 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-is-nearly-every-person-right-handed-but-not-every-ape-and-monkey-new-research-explores-the-evolutionary-origins-of-human-handedness-180988776/