Evolutionary

As It Happens6:32The mating dance of sea fireflies is ‘the coolest fireworks show that you've ever seen’: scientistNicholai Hensley has spent countless hours standing waist-deep in pitch-black waters off the coast of Panama, watching thousands of tiny sea creatures perform dazzling displays of bright blue light.The creatures — each the size of a sesame seed — belong to a recently discovered species of ostracod, also known as sea fireflies, whose males lure potential mates with a synchronized dance powered by iridescent…

Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide are killed annually by malaria and other diseases spread through the bite of mosquitoes, insects that date back to the age of dinosaurs. All of these bites are inflicted by females, which possess specialized mouth anatomy that their male counterparts lack.But it hasn't always been that way.Researchers said they have discovered the oldest-known fossils of mosquitoes — two males entombed in pieces of amber dating to 130 million years ago, during the Cretaceous Period, and found near…

Researchers at the University of York have mapped the evolutionary history of crocodiles, revealing the impact of climate change, competition, and ecological factors on their current limited diversity, providing vital insights for conservation efforts. Credit: Jagged Fang designs Researchers have mapped the family tree of crocodiles and their extinct relatives to shed new light on why there are so few species of the giant reptiles living today. The research team, led by scientists at the University of York, mapped the…

Evolution is unfolding all around us as species tussle to survive or find ways to coexist, but it's still a relatively rare privilege to stumble across examples of life in the wild adapting right before our eyes.So you can imagine researchers' surprise when they realized a genus of fungi appears to be straddling the biological boundaries ecologists have long used to describe them.Using genetic and chemical analyses, a Danish-led team of mycologists surveyed 10 plant species from five dispersed locations looking for…

A new study reveals that humanity is at risk of falling into 14 evolutionary dead ends, termed “evolutionary traps,” ranging from climate change to artificial intelligence. The research, focusing on the Anthropocene era, highlights the need for global cooperation and active societal transformation to avoid these traps.Misaligned AI is not the one you should worry most about (yet).For the first time, scientists have used the concept of evolutionary traps on human societies at large. They find that humankind risks getting…

(a) System dynamics associated with three major groups of Anthropocene traps, global traps, technology traps and structural traps (including temporal and connectivity traps). Two reinforcing feedback loops are indicated with R and interactions between dynamics across groups oftraps are indicated with colored superscript letters (color of causal node) and stippled lined arrows. Credit: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B…

A new study reveals that masturbation, particularly in males, has a long evolutionary history among primates and plays a crucial role in increasing reproductive success and reducing the risk of STIs. Data assembled from various sources suggests that this behavior, prevalent in both captive and wild-living primates of both sexes, could have been present in the common ancestor of all monkeys and apes, while its significance in females needs further research.Masturbation is a widespread phenomenon in the animal kingdom but…

Most snakes can only see the colors blue and green, along with ultraviolet light in some cases. New research, however, suggests that sea snakes have evolved to actually regain the wider-color vision of their earliest ancestors.Snakes evolved from lizards, which scientists believe could see in full color. Because those early snakes adopted a low-light burrowing lifestyle, however, they lost that ability over time. That said, they did develop a sensitivity to ultraviolet light, which helped them to see in the dark.When some…

Researchers from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History have discovered the earliest evidence of probable cannibalism amongst human ancestors, dating back to 1.45 million years ago. Paleoanthropologist Briana Pobiner and her team found nine cut marks, indicative of stone tools, on a fossil shin bone belonging to a hominin species found in northern Kenya. The location and orientation of these marks suggest they were likely made during butchery for meat consumption.Cut marks on a fossil leg bone belonging to a…

Deleted scene reveals The High Evolutionary survives Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 3(Photo Credit: Bang Showbiz) It seems the fan-favourite villain from Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 3, masterfully portrayed by Chukwudi Iwuji, may not have met his demise after all. After the final showdown with the entire Guardians team, it seems the High Evolutionary is left for dead, but a deleted scene reveals he may instead be locked up on Knowhere. It’s not clear if this deleted scene will remain canon in the MCU, but with how well…