17+ hour, 39+ min ago  (559+ words) 3D models of the jaw and associated middle ear bones of the Triassic mammal ancestor "Thrinaxodon" show that the switch to mammal-like hearing with an eardrum evolved much earlier than previously thought. (Credit: U. Chicago) A new study rewrites the timeline of…...

4+ day, 17+ hour ago  (655+ words) Fossilized elephant dentine (scale: 1.5 mm across), with rock seen in the lower right and dentine in the upper left. The white dentine is intact collagen. (Credit: Timothy Bromage and Bin Hu/NYU Dentistry) For the first time, scientists have analyzed…...

3+ week, 1+ day ago  (487+ words) Pterosaurs rapidly evolved flight, in contrast to modern birds, a new study suggests. The study of fossils suggests that a group of giant reptiles alive up to 220 million years ago may have acquired the ability to fly when the animal…...

1+ mon, 2+ week ago  (1032+ words) "We show how the actions of different glands collectively help to produce a complex bodily fluid'our saliva," says Marie Saitou. (Credit: Getty Images) A new study tracks evolution of human saliva back to primates. Saliva is a bodily fluid most…...

1+ mon, 3+ week ago  (403+ words) A pack of Nanotyrannus brazenly attacks a juvenile T. rex. (Credit: Anthony Hutchings) A complete tyrannosaur skeleton has just ended one of paleontology's longest-running debates'whether Nanotyrannus is a distinct species, or just a teenage version of Tyrannosaurus rex. The fossil, part…...

2+ mon, 4+ week ago  (487+ words) Inside the Deban Laboratory at the University of South Florida, biology and engineering are colliding to reveal how nature's designs could one day help solve challenges on Earth and beyond. Postdoctoral researcher Yu Zeng and integrative biology Professor Stephen Deban's…...

3+ mon, 1+ day ago  (797+ words) Young Zavacephale duel for territory along a lakeshore 108 million years ago. (Credit: Masato Hattori) A "teenaged" pachycephalosaur from Mongolia's Gobi Desert may provide answers to lingering questions around the dinosaur group, according to new research. The fossil represents a new…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago  (796+ words) New research shows how the death of dinosaurs reengineered Earth. Dinosaurs had such an immense impact on Earth that their sudden extinction led to wide scale changes in landscapes'including the shape of rivers'and these changes are reflected in the geologic…...

3+ mon, 3+ week ago  (833+ words) New research has identified an an uncommon feature in a common fish: Forehead teeth, used for mating. When it comes to teeth, vertebrates have a lot in common. No matter the shape, size, or sharpness, teeth share genetic origins, physical…...

4+ mon, 2+ day ago  (525+ words) In a new study, researchers show when cavefishes lost their eyes, which provides a method for dating cave systems. In an analysis of the genomes of all known amblyopsid species, the researchers found that the different species colonized caves systems…...