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Out of Africa … And Back Again?

Out of Africa … And Back Again?
Every person on the planet can trace their genetic roots to Africa, the source of the great migration of humanity that began some 60,000 years ago. But it turns out that one group may have staged an epic return trek, erased by the sands of time and lost to human memory—until now. Scientists have uncovered…
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‘Steak-knife’ teeth reveal ecology of oldest land predators

‘Steak-knife’ teeth reveal ecology of oldest land predators
The first top predators to walk on land were not afraid to bite off more than they could chew, a University of Toronto Mississauga study has found. Graduate student and lead author Kirstin Brink along with Professor Robert Reisz from U of T Mississauga's Department of Biology suggest that Dimetrodon, a carnivore that walked on land…
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Novel genes determine division of labor in insect societies

Novel genes determine division of labor in insect societies
Novel or highly modified genes play a major role in the development of the different castes within ant colonies. Evolutionary biologists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) came to this conclusion in a recent gene expression study. Dr. Barbara Feldmeyer and her colleagues at the JGU Institute of Zoology studied the question how the different…
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From one cell to many: How did multicellularity evolve?

From one cell to many: How did multicellularity evolve?
In the beginning there were single cells. Today, many millions of years later, most plants, animals, fungi, and algae are composed of multiple cells that work collaboratively as a single being. Despite the various ways these organisms achieved multicellularity, their conglomeration of cells operate cooperatively to consume energy, survive, and reproduce. But how did multicellularity…
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Can Moths Explain Why Sloths Poo On the Ground?

Can Moths Explain Why Sloths Poo On the Ground?
Here’s a memorable encounter between David Attenborough and a three-toed sloth, as shown in Life of Mammals. Sloths normally spend their lives hanging from high branches, but this one ambles down to the ground at the 1:10 mark. “It wants to defecate,” says Attenborough, “and the only place it’s happy doing that, oddly enough, is down on…
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Biologists testing for virus in dead pilot whales

Biologists testing for virus in dead pilot whales
Biologists and researchers spent the entire day Friday trying to figure out what caused 25 pilot whales to beach themselves and die. We tracked down the two boaters who first spotted the whales along Kice Island. It was an unforgettable scene. "I had a hard time going to sleep last night. It was going through my mind,"…
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How the Genetic Blueprints for Limbs Came from Fish

How the Genetic Blueprints for Limbs Came from Fish
The transition from water to land is one of the most fascinating enigmas of evolution. In particular, the evolution of limbs from ancestral fish fins remains a mystery. Both fish and land animals possess clusters of Hoxa and Hoxd genes, which are necessary for both fin and limb formation during embryonic development. Denis Duboule's team,…
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Giant leaps of evolution make cancer cells deadly

Giant leaps of evolution make cancer cells deadly
HOW does cancer do it? How does one little cell transform itself into an invader that rages out of control? Surprisingly abruptly, according to new results that are pointing the way to Darwinian-inspired treatments. When a cancer evolves the ability to metastasise, or invade multiple tissues in the body, it has to pull off several remarkable…
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