Paleo in the News

With a bit of training, macaques can make rhythmic movements in time with music, an ability only shown before by a handful of animals

New research shows human activity is significantly altering the ways in which marine organisms are preserved, with lasting effects that can both improve and impair the fossil record.

New research shows human activity is significantly altering the ways in which marine organisms are preserved, with lasting effects that can both improve and impair the fossil record.

Researchers are aiming to make the northern quoll resistant to the toxic cane toads wiping it out in Australia, but little progress has been made

Birman and Burmese cats typically live for more than 14 years while sphynxes live less than half as long on average, finds a study of pet cats in the UK

Analysis of thousands of exchanges between the intelligent cetaceans suggests they combine short click patterns – similar to letters of the alphabet - into longer sequences

Head-bobbing seems to be a way for zebras to invite others to groom, graze or move together, suggesting sophisticated social and cognitive capabilities

A surprise discovery has revealed that female stink bugs have a small indent on their hind legs that they use for cultivating fungi before spreading it on their eggs

From Jurassic Park to The Martian, botanist James Wong explores the major science fiction films that get botany spectacularly wrong

Researchers uncovered compelling evidence that Earth's magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period -- 635 to 541 million years ago -- diversified and thrived. Their study raises the question of whether these fluctuations in Earth's ancient magnetic field led to shifts in oxygen levels that may have been crucial to the proliferation of life forms millions of years ago.

DNA analysis of remains found at medieval sites has identified closely related strains of leprosy-causing bacteria in the bones of humans and a red squirrel

Simulations of the crust of early Earth show that cycles of pressure caused by geysers or tidal forces could have generated cell-like structures and even very simple proteins

Migrating flies can carry pollen hundreds or thousands of kilometres, and this could help plants adapt to climate change

Plants are often celebrated for the parts that are easy to see – flower, leaves, fruit – but scientists are uncovering the secrets of their more mysterious underground networks

Climate change could be fueling bumblebee population loss by making hives too hot to handle

A male Sumatran orangutan chewed the leaves of a plant used in Indonesian traditional medicine and placed them on a wound on his face

Digging sand or grit into clay soils is a drainage fix that has been around for years, but James Wong turns to nature to find a less backbreaking solution

From an orchid bee to a violet carpenter bee, these images show the insects in amazing detail

A research team has found that ancient rocks and fossils from long-extinct marine reptiles in Angola clearly show a key part of Earth's past -- the splitting of South America and Africa and the subsequent formation of the South Atlantic Ocean.

A research team has found that ancient rocks and fossils from long-extinct marine reptiles in Angola clearly show a key part of Earth's past -- the splitting of South America and Africa and the subsequent formation of the South Atlantic Ocean.