Tech News

This Philosopher Is Challenging All of Evolutionary Psychology

It’s not often that a paper attempts to take down an entire field. Yet, this past January, that’s precisely what University of New Hampshire assistant philosophy professor Subrena Smith’s paper tried to do. “Is Evolutionary Psychology Possible?” describes a major issue with evolutionary psychology, called the matching problem. The field of evolutionary psychology is no stranger to … Continued

ScienceBiology

‘The Weirdest Fossil I’ve Ever Been Lucky Enough to Study’: Skull Found in Amber Reveals Tiny Toothed Bird

Update: The authors of this study later retracted it, as newly available research revealed that the creature was likely a lizard, not an avian dinosaur. The decision to retract a paper based on information that wasn’t available at the time of the original study is certainly unusual, and you can read about the controversy here. … Continued

ScienceBiology

Bizarre Discovery Reveals Chlamydia-Like Bacteria Beneath the Arctic Seafloor

A plethora of previously unknown bacterial strains related to chlamydia have been found in the unlikeliest of places: sediment under the Arctic seafloor. The discovery is posing new questions about this diverse and durable group of bacteria and how they came to infect humans and other animals. Chlamydia is the most commonly reported STD in … Continued

ScienceBiology

Prehistoric ‘Cat’ Skull Actually Belonged to an Ancestor of Modern Wolverines

A tiny skull mistakenly attributed to an ancient feline has been re-identified as belonging to an ancestor to modern weasels, wolverines, minks, and otters. Introducing Corumictis wolsani, the earliest known mustelid in North America, according to research published in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Mustelids are a diverse family of carnivorous animals including weasels, … Continued

ScienceBiology

Your Dog’s Ice-Cold Nose May Be a Sensor for Detecting Heat at Distance

The amazing canine nose is more impressive than we thought, demonstrating the ability to detect weak infrared radiation from a distance, according to new research. The rhinarium—the cold, wet, bare tip of a dog’s snout—is capable of sensing weak thermal radiation, according to new research published today in Scientific Reports. The canine nose, therefore, in … Continued

ScienceBiology

Red Pandas Might Actually Be Two Species

Scientists think they’ve helped settle a debate over one of the most endangered (and cutest) animals around: the red panda. New genetic evidence suggests there are really two different species of red panda, each with a unique evolutionary history. Red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) are the only mammals of their kind, though they are closely related … Continued

ScienceBiology

These Crows Evolved Into a New Species, Boned the Old Species Too Much, Now Back Where They Started

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, a glacier advanced upon the Pacific Northwest, its ice forming a natural barrier that fractured crows into two populations. These populations began to diverge into two separate species, which ornithologists decided were distinguishable by small differences in body measurements and the sounds they made. At least, that’s what they … Continued

ScienceBiology

‘Bizarre’ Land Turtle Somehow Survived Mass Extinction That Killed the Dinosaurs

Very few land turtles managed to survive the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs, but at least one species of primitive turtle managed to fend off extinction in the northern hemisphere, according to new fossils found in France. New research published in Scientific Reports describes Laurasichersis relicta, the only known primitive land turtle from the … Continued

ScienceBiology

Jaw of 330-Million-Year-Old Shark Found in Kentucky Cave

Sharks typically don’t come to mind when you think about landlocked Kentucky, but as fossil evidence from the state’s Mammoth Cave National Park shows, this place was once chock-full of the carnivorous fishes. Paleontologists working at the national park uncovered fossils from around 150 sharks representing as many as 20 distinct species, reports CNN. These … Continued

ScienceBiology

Carnivorous Dinosaur Discovered in Utah Was a True Jurassic Nightmare

One of the things that really bugs me about the Jurassic Park movies is the prominent role given to Tyrannosaurus rex—a dinosaur that didn’t appear until the ensuing Cretaceous period. I am therefore thrilled to learn about Allosaurus jimmadseni, a newly described apex predator that, unlike T. rex, actually lived during the Jurassic and was … Continued

ScienceBiology

‘Walking Sharks’ Confirmed as the Newest Addition to the Shark Family Tree

Sharks have been around for a long time, emerging over 400 million years ago. New research shows that tropical ‘walking sharks’ appeared just 9 million years ago, making them the most recently evolved shark on the planet. New research published in Marine and Freshwater Research describes nine species of walking shark, all of whom live … Continued

ScienceBiology

436-Million-Year-Old Scorpion Was Among the Planet’s First Air Breathers

A newly described scorpion dating back to the early Silurian period is answering important questions about the first arachnids and the adaptations that enabled some of the earliest animals on Earth to migrate from aquatic to terrestrial habitats. New research published in Scientific Reports describes Parioscorpio venator—now the oldest scorpion in the fossil record. Its … Continued

ScienceBiology

Newly Sequenced Giant Squid Genome Raises as Many Questions as It Answers

One the most intriguing and mysterious creatures on the planet—the giant squid—has finally had its genome fully sequenced. But while the genome is helping to explain many of its distinguishing features, including its large size and big brain, we still have much to learn about this near-mythical beast. “A genome is a first step for … Continued

ScienceBiology

Zoo Chimps Doing a ‘Conga Line’ Could Teach Us How Humans Evolved to Dance

A seemingly spontaneous conga line by a pair of captive chimpanzees might tell us something about how humans first learned to dance, scientists behind a new study say. For years, visitors to the Saint Louis Zoo occasionally spotted and filmed a perplexing display from two closely bonded female chimpanzees named Holly and Bahkahri: They would … Continued

ScienceBiology

Found Frozen and Almost Perfectly Preserved in Permafrost, this 18,000-Year-Old Puppy Could Be a Huge Deal

The DNA of an exquisitely preserved puppy found in Siberia doesn’t appear to fit the profile of a dog or a wolf, which means the specimen might be something in between. The frozen puppy, found near Yakutsk in eastern Siberia, was just two months old when it died, reports CNN. Scientists from the Centre for … Continued

ScienceBiology

This Newly Discovered Cretaceous Mammal Had Really Freaky Ears

Paleontologists in China have discovered the fossilized remains of a rodent-like creature that featured an auditory system unlike anything seen before. Introducing Jeholbaatar kielanae, a vole-like mammal that lived approximately 120 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. Its well-preserved fossil was pulled from the Jiufotang Formation in China’s Liaoning Province, and then analyzed by … Continued

ScienceBiology

Stunning Fossil Discovery Uncovers the Second-Most Primitive Flying Bird

Paleontologists in Japan have uncovered the fossilized remains of a 120-million-year-old flying dinosaur that’s seriously shaking up the bird family tree. Many of you have likely heard of Archaeopteryx—a winged, long-tailed dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period some 160 million to 140 million years ago. This creature, with its flight and tail feathers, … Continued

ScienceBiology

Ancient Apes May Have Learned to Walk Upright in the Trees

Scientists in Germany have discovered the fossilized remains of a previously unknown ancient ape with an unusual way of moving through the treetops. By standing upright on two feet and grasping branches with its long arms, this animal may have set an important evolutionary precedent for the bipedal primates that followed. The ability to stand … Continued

ScienceBiology

Incredible New Fossils Show How Quickly Mammals Took Over After Dinosaur Extinction

An absolute treasure trove of rare fossils has been uncovered in central Colorado. The collection reveals the stunning speed at which mammals emerged and diversified once the dinosaurs were gone. New research published today in Science describes thousands of new mammal, reptile, and plant fossils recovered from the Corral Bluffs site in Colorado’s Denver Basin. … Continued

ScienceBiology

Aye-Ayes Have Been Hiding a Secret Sixth Finger This Whole Time

Aye-ayes are among the strangest primates on Earth, with their oversized ears, spider-like hands, and—as new research shows—a previously undetected sixth finger. Five fingers per hand tends to be the norm in the animal kingdom, but scientists have documented several cases in which organisms feature a sixth finger, an anatomical quirk known as an “accessory … Continued