Scientists track the brain-skull transition from dinosaurs to birds
The dramatic, dinosaur-to-bird transition that occurred in reptiles millions of years ago was accompanied by profound changes in the skull roof of those animals.
This...
Half-a-billion-year-old fossils shed light animal evolution on earth
Scientists have discovered traces of life more than half-a-billion years old that could change the way we think about how all animals evolved on...
Why our ancestors would have aced the long jump
A 52-million-year-old ankle fossil suggests our prehuman ancestors were high-flying acrobats.
These first primates spent most of their time in the trees rather than on...
Volcanic eruptions triggered dawn of the dinosaurs
Huge pulses of volcanic activity are likely to have played a key role in triggering the end-Triassic mass extinction, which set the scene for...
Why are fossilized hairs so rare?
When most people hear the word fossil, they probably think of gigantic leg bones or sharp teeth.
But, given the right conditions, after an animal...
Extreme heat could cause animals to shrink (again)
More than 50 million years ago, when Earth experienced a series of extreme global warming events, early mammals responded by shrinking in size.
While this...
Fossil footprints challenge established theories of human evolution
Newly discovered human-like footprints from Crete may put the established narrative of early human evolution to the test.
The footprints are approximately 5.7 million years...
Tyrannosaurus Rex bone proves Jurassic Park will never exist
Paleontologists at the University of Manchester have definitively proven there will never be a Jurassic Park after re-analyzing collagen from a Tyrannosaurus rex bone discovered more...
Farming, cheese, chewing changed human skull shape
The advent of farming, especially dairy products, had a small but significant effect on the shape of human skulls, according to a recently published...
The dinosaur museum that visits you
The vast expanses of the Gobi Desert are a prime destination for paleontologists.
Since the 1920s, expeditions to the Gobi have unearthed thousands of dinosaur...