Tagged: evolution

Resolving a genetic mash-up: reconstructing an accurate evolutionary history of kākāriki - Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives

Nic Rawlence • Sep 10, 2021 •

• conservation,
• evolution,
• Kakariki,
• New Zealand,
• Parakeet,
• taxonomy

Prioritising species conservation and over-stretched government funding is built upon an accurate understanding of evolutionary relationships and taxonomy. But what if that evolutionary history is wrong? More importantly, what are the consequences for endangered biodiversity as conservation funding and resources are re-assigned? Numerous examples have come to light in recent years where genetic techniques have shown previously recognised endangered or … Read More

New research reveals animals are changing their body shapes to cope with climate change - The Changing Climate

Guest Author • Sep 08, 2021 •

• climate change,
• conservation,
• evolution

Sara Ryding, Deakin University and Matthew Symonds, Deakin University   Global warming is a big challenge for warm-blooded animals, which must maintain a constant internal body temperature. As anyone who’s experienced heatstroke can tell you, our bodies become severely stressed when we overheat. Animals are dealing with global warming in various ways. Some move to cooler areas, such as … Read More

trends in human evolution – the shoulder - BioBlog

Alison Campbell • Sep 07, 2021 •

• evolution,
• human evolution,
• New Zealand stories

Humans are the only living hominid that can throw objects accurately & at speed – while some of the other great apes can throw objects, their speed & accuracy is not the best. (In his musing on human evolution, Darwin noted that adaptations allowing this would be at a selective advantage as they would increase hunting effectiveness.) I found … Read More

Fossil tooth fractures and microscopic detail of enamel offer new clues about human diet and evolution - Hot off the press

Guest Author • Jul 27, 2021 •

• evolution,
• fossils,
• New Zealand stories,
• teeth

Ian Towle; Carolina Loch, and Thomas Loho, University of Auckland   Teeth can tell us a lot about the evolution of prehistoric humans, and our latest study of one of our species’ close relatives may finally resolve a long-standing mystery. The genus Paranthropus is closely related to ours, Homo, and lived about one to three … Read More

Land of the chonky birds: How and why did New Zealand have so many feathered giants? - Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives

Nic Rawlence • May 31, 2021 •

• Adzebill,
• birds,
• evolution,
• Eyles' Harrier,
• gigantism,
• Goose,
• haasts' eagle,
• kakapo,
• moa,
• New Zealand,
• takahē

The eastern moa is stuck fast in the swamp, its thick legs having punched through the peat into the liquid blue clay beneath. Death is inevitable, whether from starvation or from above. Unable to move, the moa can only eat what it can reach around it, if anything. The forests that covered this area during warmer times are … Read More

SARS-CoV-2 – a natural event or a lab escape? - Ariadne

Robert Hickson • May 16, 2021 •

• conspiracy theory,
• COVID-19,
• epidemiology,
• evidence-based,
• evolution,
• Pandemic,
• research

In books and movies it is often a good plot point for a disease (or monster) to escape, accidentally or with assistance, from a government lab. There are also real cases of pathogens getting out of labs (but quickly being controlled). That’s also a discussion going on now about Covid-19. Natural evolution or human agency? Spillover or … Read More

How snake fangs evolved to perfectly fit their food - Hot off the press

Guest Author • May 14, 2021 •

• evolution,
• snakes

Silke Cleuren, Monash University; Alistair Evans, Monash University, and David Hocking, Monash University   Few structures in nature inspire more fear and fascination than the fangs of venomous snakes. These needle-like teeth are used by snakes to pierce their prey and inject deadly venom. With more than 3000 species of snake inhabiting our world, we wondered: are all their fangs … Read More

The virus that stole Christmas - Ariadne

Robert Hickson • Dec 20, 2020 •

• coronavirus,
• COVID-19,
• epidemiology,
• evolution,
• natural selection,
• Pandemic,
• virus

Mutant and virus are two words that rarely go well together. Reports from the UK that a  variant of SARS-CoV-2 has emerged (called lineage B.1.1.7), and may be more readily transmissible, aren’t what we want to hear just before Christmas, or any time. However, it isn’t necessarily a nightmare scenario. Coronaviruses have relatively low levels of mutation, … Read More

Book Review: The Power of Chance in Shaping Life and Evolution - Scibooks

Guest Author • Dec 15, 2020 •

• Chance,
• Darwinism,
• evolution,
• Probabilities

Dan Falk Prince Hamlet spent a lot of time pondering the nature of chance and probability in William Shakespeare’s tragedy. In the famous “To be or not to be” speech, he notes that we helplessly face “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” — though a little earlier in the play he declares that “there’s a special providence … Read More

Mammoth bones – and … potatoes??? - BioBlog

Alison Campbell • Dec 11, 2020 •

• archaeology,
• ecology,
• evolution,
• plant structure

Today I came across an interesting share in a science group that I follow – an article about a “huge 25,000-yr-old hut” made of mammoth bones. Having really enjoyed Jean Auel’s “Earth’s Children” series, of course, I was going to read on. But alas, the article was disappointing: the headline image didn’t match the story; the apparent construction … Read More