For more than a century, scientists have sought to reconstruct human evolution using diverse lines of evidence, including ...

When Charles Darwin traveled to the Galapagos Islands almost 200 years ago as a gentleman naturalist, he used the power of observation to develop his theory that species evolve over time. Today, ...

Genetic diversity among great apes reflects a complex interplay of mutation, selection and demographic shifts that has shaped the evolutionary paths of orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos.

In the geological past, several groups of crocodiles evolved towards a morphology adapted to marine life. However, the extent of these adaptations and their evolutionary trajectories remained unknown.

Trichoptera, commonly known as caddisflies, constitute one of the most speciose and ecologically pivotal orders of freshwater insects, with over 16 000 described species distributed globally across ...

Humans evolved large brains and flat faces at a surprisingly rapid pace compared to other apes, likely reflecting the evolutionary advantages of these traits, finds a new analysis of ape skulls by UCL ...

When they first evolved from lizards more than 100 million years ago, snakes were ecological bit players slithering around the fringes of ecosystems dominated by dinosaurs. But today there are around ...

Deep oceans contain microbes with yet-to-be-discovered properties that could drive future innovations in biotechnology.

The way that Earth's first animals reproduced held back life's diversity for millions of years, until stress and competition led to the development of sexual reproduction, which in turn accelerated ...

Movement defines life across the animal kingdom. From a fish cutting through water to a bird taking flight, muscles power ...