Tag: evolution

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Why aren't animals as smart as humans?

ASK A RESEARCHER: "Fire may have made human brains larger," researcher says.

We can close our eyes and mouth. Why can’t we close our ears?

ASK A RESEARCHER: Wouldn't it be nice if you could close your ears underwater or when you’re in noisy surroundings?

Why does the avocado have such huge seeds?Meet the plants that have lost their enormous partners

What kind of animal is actually capable of spreading a huge avocado seed? And why does the tree Maclura pomifera make huge fruits that no one wants to eat? These are plants that are still waiting for ‘friends’ that will never return.

What happens to a species when it becomes more important to reproduce than to survive?

Researchers fiddled with how seed beetles were allowed to mate. The experiment showed that when the competition between the males becomes too strong, their offspring end up with more mutations.

Norwegian researcher takes Darwin's theory a step further

Do species evolve in fits and starts or gradually?

Suggesting answers to one of Darwin’s mysteries

Why do we see so little evolution in some fossils?

Goby behaviour says much about sexual selection

One fish off the coast of central Norway has set a record for the number of female mates it had. And that’s not all.

The Norwegian who inspired Darwin

A Norwegian who spent time on the Galápagos Islands may have changed the history of biology.

Mysterious bird was unique cross of two unrelated species

In 2013, volunteer bird banders captured a strange looking bird in Lista, on the southern tip of Norway. Now scientists have determined that the bird was a cross between two different genera – a first for this type of bird.

Honeybees appear to be Asian

The first global genetic analysis of honeybees reveals new insights into their history.

Missing link found on sharks

On any visit to a rocky seashore, you are likely to spot barnacles, unoffendingly stuck to hard surfaces. But barnacles in a fjord in Norway have become parasites that eat fish through feeding stems.

How important is the nose?

New experiments show how important the human nose is to our appearance.

The evolving life of East African beetles

They are distant cousins in more ways than one, the rove beetles of East Africa’s volcanic peaks. Separated by vast distances and confined to high altitudes, they have evolved into separate species.

Larger offspring when fish pick own mates

It might not be so advantageous for us to help endangered animal species by selecting what we consider suitable mates for them.

Falling lemming populations

Due to irregular winters, the lemming cycle has stopped. This might in time change the whole ecosystem in the Arctic.

Old spawners important for salmon rivers

Super-veterans among salmon are keys to the survival of river stocks in hard times.

Microbe masters

Viruses, bacteria and parasites make us sneeze, poop or scratch our behinds. Can they also be behind some of the world’s major cultural differences?

The giant that perished

The largest known razorbill, or auk, was a powerful swimmer that couldn’t fly. Our ancestors carved images of the Great Auk in caves 35,000 years ago. But in the 1800s we drove it to extinction.

The crucial choice to cultivate the land

Agriculture gave us cities and pyramids but it can also lead to poorer health. Why did humans choose to go down this road?

A toe’s tale of monkeys and lemurs

If a fossil has a special second toe, is it an ape or a lemur? A new study has raised doubts about the elongated “toilet claw”, and places Ida – thought to be the earliest and most complete fossil found in our primate group – among the lemurs.