Evolution

Which Came First, A Brainless Head Or A Headless Brain?

In many animals, the brain is located in a specific structure like the head, along with sensory organs and often together with the mouth. However, there are distantly related animals which have a nervous system but no brain, like sea anemones and corals. ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 21 2013 - 12:32pm

Can Life Be Defined In One Word?

A year or so back Carl Zimmer asked the science world if life could be defined in three words. I don’t think he would have been too concerned if the answer was in four or five or six words, the point of his question, I believe, was that for a definition o ...

Blog Post - Steve Davis - Feb 23 2013 - 7:34pm

Prebiotic Molecules In Interstellar Space: Cosmic Origin For Amino Acids And DNA Ingredients?

Researchers usingt the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia say they have discovered an important pair of prebiotic molecules in interstellar space. The discoveries indicate that some basic chemicals that are key steps on the way to life may have f ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 28 2013 - 11:30am

Species Size Follows A Universal Distribution?

A new paper says that flocks of birds, schools of fish, and groups of any other living organisms might have a mathematical function in common- body sizes are distributed according to the same mathematical expression, where the only unknown is the average ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 4 2013 - 8:30pm

Human Y Chromosome Divergence Placed At Least 300,000 Years Ago

The  divergent lineage of the oldest known genetic branch of the human Y chromosome, the hereditary factor determining male sex, has been pushed back in time. The new divergent lineage, found in an individual who submitted his DNA to Family Tree DNA, a co ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 6 2013 - 2:53pm

Dollo's Law Gives Way To Reversible Evolution Data

Who says you can't go home again?  Not evolutionary biology. Well, sort of. There is a supposition with the proper name of "Dollo's law" which states that evolution is unidirectional and irreversible and once an organism has evolved sp ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 8 2013 - 12:04pm

Why Sea Snakes With Shrunken Heads Evolved

A team of scientists has uncovered how some sea snakes have developed 'shrunken heads'- literally smaller physical features than their related species. A large head would seem to be a welcome trait for sea snakes, which typically have to swallow ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 22 2013 - 11:00am

The Chicken And The Egg Problem- A View Of Evolution

At some point everyone has heard the question: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg.".  What is surprising about this question is that it can still produce any debate. It is surprisingly obvious yet one wonders what has contributed to its lo ...

Article - Gerhard Adam - Apr 7 2013 - 4:00am

'Living Fossil'? Scientists Argue Its Usefulness

The term 'living fossil' is a topic for argument among scientists because it appears to suggest that some organisms have stopped evolving. Like 'missing link' or 'God particle' the concern is the colloquial meaning has overta ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 2 2013 - 10:15am

Sexual Dimorphism And The Evolutionary Consequences Of Infidelity

Male and female blue tits look a lot alike to us but in the UV-range, visible to birds, the male is much more colorful. ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 3 2013 - 11:31am