Probably Evolved

The Plants that Eat Animals

2009-11-14T08:54:00.001-08:00

The Plants that Eat Animals
Santa Barbara Independent - Santa Barbara,CA,USA
Plant carnivory is such a successful strategy that it probably evolved about six times, creating widespread genera and families by the beginning of the ...

Unraveling Numerical Ability in Humans: From Infancy to Adulthood

2009-10-13T05:17:00.001-07:00

Unraveling Numerical Ability in Humans: From Infancy to Adulthood
AScribe (press release) - USA
Though research indicates that we are born with this sense (scientists contend that it probably evolved very early, to help animals and our human ancestors...

Eyespan size matters

2009-10-13T05:16:00.001-07:00

Eyespan size matters
Planet Earth - Swindon,Wiltshire,UK
In stalk-eyed flies the order may be the reverse: 'our findings indicate that large eyespan probably evolved as a response to female preference and then ...

Constant complaining sends out all the wrong signals

2009-10-13T05:15:00.001-07:00

Constant complaining sends out all the wrong signals
The Nationalist - Carlow,Ireland
The first being that some boffins claim that the human desire to complain probably evolved when our ancestors cried out a warning when something threatened ...

How to Build Intimacy in Your Relationship

2009-10-13T05:12:00.001-07:00

How to Build Intimacy in Your Relationship
Oprah.com - Chicago,IL,USA
To women, intimacy is talking face-to-face—a behavior that probably evolved millions of years ago when ancestral females spent their days holding their

Evolution of the parasitic wasp

2009-04-06T07:29:00.001-07:00

Evolution of the parasitic wasp subfamily Rogadinae (Braconidae ...

7thSpace Interactive (press release) - New York,NY,USA

Within the Rogadinae, variation in the site of emergence from the mummified host probably evolved as a consequence of the mummy's site and mode of formation ...

Early Dinosaurs Had Feathers, New Fossil Suggests

2009-03-23T00:01:00.001-07:00

Early Dinosaurs Had Feathers, New Fossil Suggests

National Geographic - Washington,DC,USA

As dinosaurs in the two groups diversified, feathers probably evolved to serve different purposes, from display to insulation to flight...

Female Seed Beetles Are Thirsty for Love

2009-02-19T03:15:00.001-08:00

Female Seed Beetles Are Thirsty for Love
National Geographic - Washington,DC,USA
The beetles probably evolved this bizarre tactic because the species lives in a dry environment, the researchers think. "It is kind of like a bribe for .

The first living things: how chemicals began to replicate into ...

2009-02-08T22:36:00.001-08:00

The first living things: how chemicals began to replicate into ...

Independent - London,England,UK

The other type of single-celled life-form probably evolved from a copying error when food was scarce. It adapted to live off a completely new energy source ...

Jealous dogs don't play ball

2009-01-28T04:21:00.000-08:00

Jealous dogs don't play ball

New Scientist (subscription) - UK

Range agrees that the dogs' sense of fairness probably evolved long before domestication. "We are now testing for envy in wolves, and I would be surprised ...

Invention: Odourless fly-trap perfume

2009-01-27T22:52:00.001-08:00

Invention: Odourless fly-trap perfume

New Scientist - UK
The house fly (Musca domestica) probably evolved alongside humans and is found buzzing around faeces and food on every continent except Antarctica. ...

World's oldest spider web found on English beach

2009-01-19T07:49:00.001-08:00

World's oldest spider web found on English beach

Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom

"Spider silk probably evolved back in the Devonian period and it has probably been used to build webs for some 200 million years. ...

Bizarre teeth of male whales help females choose their mates

2009-01-19T07:48:00.001-08:00

Bizarre teeth of male whales help females choose their mates

Entertainment and Showbiz! - Baroda,India

Now, according to a report by BBC News, scientists have used DNA analysis to show the teeth probably evolved as secondary sexual traits to help females ...

Taking Wing: Uncovering the Evolutionary Origins of Bats

2008-10-29T01:12:00.001-07:00

Scientific American
Taking Wing: Uncovering the Evolutionary Origins of Bats
Scientific American - USA
And in fact, experts generally agree that bats probably evolved from an arboreal, gliding ancestor. But among mammals, bats alone are capable of powered ...

Pathogens & People: Pathogens, as with people, come in all shapes ...

2008-10-10T03:50:00.001-07:00

Pathogens & People: Pathogens, as with people, come in all shapes ...
Annapolis Capital - Annapolis,MD,USA
Some of these organelles, such as the energy-producing mitochondria or plant chloroplasts responsible for photosynthesis, probably evolved from primitive ...

New Ant Species Discovered In The Amazon Likely Represents Oldest ...

2008-09-23T04:53:00.001-07:00

New Ant Species Discovered In The Amazon Likely Represents Oldest ...
Science Daily (press release) - USA
They probably evolved quickly into many different lineages, with ants specializing to lives in the soil, leaf-litter or trees, or becoming generalists. ...

In the fly, delayed reproduction also delays aging

2008-09-23T04:51:00.001-07:00

In the fly, delayed reproduction also delays aging
Methuselah Foundation - Washington,DC,USA
Hence whales live long enough to help out their grandchildren, and the long lifespans of certain sessile species probably evolved because young organisms ...

Hot chillis evolved to kill fungi

2008-09-23T04:49:00.001-07:00

Hot chillis evolved to kill fungi

Chemistry World - London,UK
They're just one example of the various pungent, bitter, or even toxic chemicals found in many types of fruits - probably evolved by plants to ward off ...

'Green' potato has toxin, can be cut out

2008-08-06T12:50:00.001-07:00

'Green' potato has toxin, can be cut out
United Press International - USA
Glycoalkaloids are a naturally occurring toxic substance in potatoes that have anti-microbial, insecticidal and fungicidal properties which probably evolved ...

Fang/venom gland

2008-08-06T12:48:00.001-07:00

Fang/venom gland
ScienceBlogs - USA
The fang/venom gland complex probably evolved once in the common ancestor of these groups, but the elapids and vipers independently stumbled on a secondary ...

Evolution, Life Sciences, Science Education, Human Evolution, and ...

2008-08-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

Evolution, Life Sciences, Science Education, Human Evolution, and ...
ScienceBlogs - USA
Frog The Major Histocampatibility Complex (MHC) is an adaptive feature of the immune system that probably evolved in basal tetrapods. ...

Armor tips from a scaly era

2008-08-06T12:44:00.001-07:00

Armor tips from a scaly era
Boston Globe - United States
The team discovered that the armored fish scales were lightweight and flexible, composed of four layers of different materials, and probably evolved to ...

Evolution, Life Sciences, Science Education, Human Evolution, and ...

2008-07-24T08:06:00.001-07:00

Evolution, Life Sciences, Science Education, Human Evolution, and ...
ScienceBlogs - USA
"Imprinting" can happen through more than one mechanism, and as far as I know, at least one of these mechanisms has other functions and probably evolved ...

Grunting, humming fish joins ancient chorus

2008-07-19T07:17:00.001-07:00

Grunting, humming fish joins ancient chorus
Scientific American - USA
Of course, the instruments being played by these brain cells—swim bladders in fish; the larynx in mammals—probably evolved independently. ...

Humans wore shoes 40000 years ago, fossil suggests

2008-07-05T06:51:00.001-07:00

Humans wore shoes 40000 years ago, fossil suggests

Kazinform - Astana,Kazakhstan
The first forms of protective footwear probably evolved from simple wrappings used to insulate the feet from snow and freezing temperatures, experts say. ...

Facial Expressions Provide an Evolutionary Boost

2008-07-05T06:50:00.001-07:00

Facial Expressions Provide an Evolutionary Boost

Discover Magazine - New York,NY,USA
... that even though facial expressions are useful socially, they probably evolved first as a way to improve sensory perceptions at a time of crisis. ...

Fossil helps document shift from sea to land

2008-07-05T06:49:00.001-07:00

Fossil helps document shift from sea to land

Science News - USA
The earliest tetrapods probably evolved between 5 million and 7 million years before Tiktaalik, he notes, and the new fossils will help researchers predict ...

Acceleration leads to dragon lizards’ bipedalism, research suggests

2008-07-05T06:46:00.001-07:00

Acceleration leads to dragon lizards' bipedalism, research suggests

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Milwaukee,WI,USA
"It's likely that dinosaurs probably evolved bipedalism in the same way as these lizards," Clemente said, "and if you're not using your front legs anymore, ...

Bellbirds strike an optimistic note with adaptive behaviour

2008-07-05T06:44:00.001-07:00

Bellbirds strike an optimistic note with adaptive behaviour

TV3 News - Auckland,New Zealand

... relevant time-scale of years and not centuries." The behavioural shift had probably evolved within the past 700 years, after the first rats arrived.

Did upright walking start in trees?

2007-06-01T00:48:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON - Maybe walking upright on two legs isn't such a defining human feature after all. Scientists who spent a year photographing orangutans in the rain forest say the trait probably evolved in ancient apes navigating the treetops long before ancestors of humans climbed to the ground - a hypothesis that contradicts science museums the world over.

Guesser: Robin Crompton of the University of Liverpool

The Panda’s Thumb has Evolved … Twice!

2007-05-19T04:09:00.000-07:00

"It seems that, whereas the false thumb of the giant panda probably evolved for manipulating bamboo, the false thumbs of the red panda and of S. batalleri more likely evolved as an aid for arboreal locomotion, with the red panda secondarily developing its ability for item manipulation and thus producing one of the most dramatic cases of convergence among vertebrates."

Guesser: Manuel J. Salesa, Departamento de Paleobiología

Fossils prove that birds evolved from dinosaurs

2007-05-19T03:59:00.000-07:00

The fossils, which were unearthed in the Liaoning province in China, date back more than 120 million years and offer, according to Currie, conclusive proof that birds evolved from dinosaurs, a theory that has been hotly contested for more than 20 years. He said the feathers on the dinosaurs probably evolved for warmth, suggesting that some of the animals may have been warm-blooded.

Guesser: Phillip Currie, Royal Tyrrell Museum, Paleontology, Canada

Whales boast the brain cells that 'make us human'

2007-05-19T03:51:00.000-07:00

Now it has been discovered that some whales also have spindle neurons – specialised brain cells that are involved in processing emotions and helping us interact socially. Hof and van der Gucht suggest that whales probably evolved the spindle cells completely independently of humans and apes – a process called convergent evolution. Moreover, they probably evolved them as long as 30 million years ago, twice as long ago as humans and apes.

Guessers: Patrick Hof of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York

Human Gland Probably Evolved From Gills

2007-05-19T03:42:00.000-07:00

The human parathyroid gland, which regulates the level of calcium in the blood, probably evolved from the gills of fish, according to researchers from King's College London. Professor Anthony Graham and Dr Masataka Okabe suggest that the gills of ancestral marine creatures, which were used to regulate calcium levels, were internalised rather than lost when land-living, four-limbed animals the tetrapods evolved.

Guesser: Professor Anthony Graham and Dr Masataka Okabe, King's College London

Gene clue to how eating a lot less could extend life

2007-05-19T01:21:00.000-07:00

Pha-4 is the first gene to be exclusively linked to extending lifespan in response to calorie restriction in animals. Prof Dillin speculated that pha-4, which has an analogue in mice and humans with the Foxa family of genes, probably evolved to protect animals when food was scarce.

Guesser: Andrew Dillin, of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California