Scientists have stumbled onto a strange quirk of evolution: tadpoles that lose their lungs through evolutionary time never regrow them, even when returning to environments where lungs would be useful. The finding challenges a core assumption about how evolution works, namely that traits with intact genetic blueprints can easily reemerge when conditions change. All adult … Read more
Your dog might be better suited to a carnivore’s diet than the kibble in their bowl suggests. A new study from Finland’s University of Helsinki reveals that canine metabolism responds more favorably to fat-rich foods than carbohydrate-heavy diets, challenging assumptions about what belongs in commercial dog food. Researchers from the DogRisk research group tracked 46 … Read more
Under the microscope, shark skin looks like a tiled road of tiny teeth. In a new study, Florida Atlantic University scientists used high-resolution imaging to show how those tooth-like tiles, called dermal denticles, shift shape and spacing as bonnethead sharks grow. The result is a clearer view of how evolution tunes a living armor for … Read more
A virus that kills young elephants in as little as 24 hours may have finally met its match. Scientists at Chester Zoo, the University of Surrey, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency have developed what they are calling the world’s first vaccine targeting elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus, a disease that has quietly devastated both captive … Read more
Doctors treating mamba snake bite victims have long puzzled over a disturbing pattern: patients who initially improve after receiving antivenom sometimes deteriorate again, their muscles seizing in painful, uncontrolled spasms. Now researchers at The University of Queensland have uncovered why this happens, revealing that three of the four mamba species deploy a two-pronged neurological attack … Read more
Marine researchers have captured the most comprehensive catalog ever assembled of how octopuses wield their eight arms in the wild, documenting nearly 4,000 arm movements from 25 creatures across six diverse underwater habitats spanning the Caribbean to Spain. The findings, published this week in Scientific Reports, reveal that octopus arms operate with a sophistication that … Read more
Our brains grew as our thumbs stretched. That is the striking conclusion of a new study in Communications Biology, which finds that primates with longer thumbs also tend to have larger brains. Using data from 95 living and fossil species, researchers at Durham University and the University of Reading report that the link holds across … Read more
In the complex world of ant colonies, who becomes a queen and who stays a worker isn’t just about size—it’s about what that size means, genetically. A new study from Rockefeller University, published in PNAS, reveals that while larger ants are more likely to develop queen-like traits, genes ultimately determine how body size maps to … Read more
The extreme appetite for ants and termites has independently emerged in mammals at least 12 separate times over the past 66 million years, according to new research that reveals one of evolution’s most unusual dietary obsessions. Scientists at New Jersey Institute of Technology traced this specialized feeding strategy across thousands of mammal species, discovering that … Read more
Giant tortoises can weigh hundreds of kilograms and live over 150 years—conditions that should make cancer inevitable. Yet new research reveals these ancient reptiles develop cancer at remarkably low rates, with only 1% of individuals affected compared to much higher rates in mammals and birds. The findings could unlock secrets for preventing cancer in humans. … Read more