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Tag Archives: evolution

Perfect pacifier

By Stephen Ornes / May 1, 2013

A mother’s arms can calm a crying infant, say scientists. The tactic works for mice, too, only those mammals use their mouth to cradle their young. Credit: iStockphoto

In people and mice, carrying a baby calms it

Posted in Brain & Behavior | Tagged Adaptation, babies, behavior, calming, carrying, Eastern Virginia Medical School, evolution, getinvolved, Japan, John Harrington, Kumi Kuroda, mammals, mice, mothers, Norfolk, physiology, pups, Riken Brain Science Institute, topstories

No high notes for these blind fish

By Stephen Ornes / April 5, 2013

This southern cavefish is blind and, new research suggests, partially deaf. But don’t feel sorry for the little fish; it may just be adapting to a dark and noisy habitat. Credit: Matthew Niemiller

Cave dwellers that can’t see are also partially deaf

Posted in Animals | Tagged Adaptation, biology, blind fish, blindness, brains, cave fish, cavefish, caves, College Park, Daphne Soares, deaf, deaf fish, evolution, getinvolved, Kentucky, Martina Bradic, neurology, neuromast, New York University, pitch, sounds, Tennessee, topstories, University of Maryland, waves

Cool Jobs: Museum science

By Sharon Oosthoek / February 27, 2013

Royal Ontario Museum scientist Oliver Haddrath must wear protective clothing when working with ancient DNA. This ensures his DNA doesn’t get mixed up with the genetic material he is analyzing. Credit: Royal Ontario Museum

Samples collected long ago may hold answers to important questions in science and medicine today

Posted in Ancient Times, Animals, STEM Careers | Tagged Adaptation, ancient DNA, anthropology, antibody, arenavirus, British Museum, Charles Fulhorst, collections, computed tomography, cool jobs, crime scene, CSI, CT scan, Daniel Antoine, deer mouse, Egypt, evolution, feature, flightless birds, forensics, hantavirus, holdings, moa, mummy, Museums, Oliver Haddrath, outbreaks, pack rat, Robert Baker, Robert Bradley, rodents, Royal Ontario Museum, Texas Tech, tinamou, topstories, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, viral RNA, virus, X-ray

Getting a grip

By Stephen Ornes / January 18, 2013

Immerse your hands in water for a while, and wrinkles will form. Those wrinkles improve a person’s grip on wet, slippery objects, says a new study. Credit: Mitchio/Flickr

Wrinkled fingers seem to be an advantage in wet environments

Posted in Body & Health | Tagged 2AI Labs, Adaptation, England, evolution, getinvolved, Mark Changizi, nervous system, neurobiology, neurology, Newcastle University, skin, topstories

Four-winged dinosaur

By Stephen Ornes / November 12, 2012

Hind wings helped a small dino make tight turns in midair

Posted in Dinosaurs & Fossils | Tagged Adaptation, aerodynamics, biology, dinosaurs, drag, evolution, fossils, getinvolved, Justin Hall, Luis Chiappe, Michael Habib, Microraptor gui, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, physics, topstories, University of Southern California, wings

The teenage brain

By Amanda Leigh Mascarelli / October 17, 2012

The brain releases dopamine when something makes us feel good — like pulling off an exciting trick. The strength of this “feel good” response in teens helps explain why they sometimes chance real risks. Credit: iStockphoto

Adolescence triggers brain — and behavioral — changes that few kids or adults understand

Posted in Brain & Behavior | Tagged Adaptation, adolescence, Beatriz Luna, behavior, BJ Casey, brain, Brown University, Cornell University, decision making, Eveline Crone, evolution, feature, impulsiveness, incentives, learning, Leiden University, Michael Frank, nerve, neuron, prefrontal cortex, reward center, risk taking, synapses, synaptic pruning, teenager, temptations, topstories, University of Pittsburgh, ventral striatum

Bacteria learn new trick

By Stephen Ornes / October 12, 2012

A decades-long experiment growing E. coli bacteria showed the microbes evolved the ability to eat a new food. Flasks of the germs turned cloudy when the bacteria ate citrate. Credit: Brian Baer and Neerja Hajela

Scientists show evolution in action in decades-long E. coli study

Posted in Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged Adaptation, bacteria, biology, Bruce Levin, citric acid, E. coli, Emory University, evolution, evolutionary biology, evolve, genes, germs, getinvolved, Massey University, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Michigan State University, mutate, mutations, Paul Rainey, Richard Lenski, Zachary Blount

Bird malaria moves north

By Stephen Ornes / October 10, 2012

Black-capped chickadees, like the one shown here, stay in Fairbanks, Alaska, year-round. Scientists report that some of the birds have been found with avian malaria, suggesting that the germ that causes the disease has established itself in the far North. Credit: Mdf/wikipedia

Germs that cause a so-called tropical disease make themselves at home in frosty Alaska

Posted in Animals | Tagged Adaptation, avian malaria, birds, blood, climate change, disease, disease ecology, ecology, epidemiology, evolution, getinvolved, global warming, malaria, microbes, microbiology, mosquito, parasite, protozoa, Ravinder Sehgal, Robert Fleischer, San Francisco State University, Smithsonian Institution, tropical disease

Dino find ruffles feathers

By Stephen Ornes / July 27, 2012

The skeleton of Sciurumimus albersdoerferi, embedded in a limestone slab, suggests that feathers might have been the norm for dinosaurs. Credit: H. Tischlinger/Jura Museum Eichstatt

Nearly-perfect, newfound dinosaur fossil reveals more dinos were feathered than previously thought

Posted in Dinosaurs & Fossils | Tagged carnivore, coelurosaur, dinosaur, evolution, feathers, fossil, getinvolved, Luis Chiappe, Mark Norell, meat-eating, megalosaur, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, paleontologist, paleontology, protofeather, topstories

The oldest place on Earth

By Douglas Fox / June 13, 2012

Antarctica may seem like the dead continent, but it once bustled with life — a little of which still survives

Posted in Earth | Tagged Adam Lewis, Allan Ashworth, Antarctic Ice Sheet, Antarctica, continental drift, evolution, feature, fossils, Friis Hills, Glossopteris, Jr., Judd Case, Lystrosaurus, marsupial, Noel Potter, Peter Convey

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