Paleo in the News

It is widely believed that Earth's atmosphere has been rich in oxygen for about 2.5 billion years due to a relatively rapid increase in microorganisms capable of performing photosynthesis. Researchers provide a mechanism to explain precursor oxygenation events, or 'whiffs,' which may have opened the door for this to occur. Their findings suggest volcanic activity altered conditions enough to accelerate oxygenation, and the whiffs are an indication of this taking place.

Some male octopuses tend to get eaten by their sexual partners, but male blue-lined octopuses avoid this fate with help from one of nature’s most potent venoms

An international team of scientists has synchronized key climate records from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to unravel the sequence of events during the last million years before the extinction of the dinosaurs at the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary. New high resolution geochemical records for the first time reveal when and how two major eruption phases of gigantic flood basalt volcanism had an impact on climate and biota in the late Maastrichtian era 66 to 67 million years ago.

How sexual reproduction came about has long been a mystery, but an evolutionary model suggests it could have started with cells fusing to increase their food reserves

Researchers have discovered the world's oldest known meteorite impact crater, which could significantly redefine our understanding of the origins of life and how our planet was shaped. The team found evidence of a major meteorite impact 3.5 billion years ago.

Scientists have uncovered how plants responded to catastrophic climate changes 250 million years ago. Their findings reveal the long, drawn-out process of ecosystem recovery following one of the most extreme periods of warming in Earth's history: the 'End-Permian Event'.

Scientists have uncovered how plants responded to catastrophic climate changes 250 million years ago. Their findings reveal the long, drawn-out process of ecosystem recovery following one of the most extreme periods of warming in Earth's history: the 'End-Permian Event'.

Scientists have uncovered how plants responded to catastrophic climate changes 250 million years ago. Their findings reveal the long, drawn-out process of ecosystem recovery following one of the most extreme periods of warming in Earth's history: the 'End-Permian Event'.

Coots' nests in Amsterdam are built using discarded plastic, providing a time capsule into the material's use over the past few decades

The oldest collection of mass-produced prehistoric bone tools reveal that human ancestors were likely capable of more advanced abstract reasoning one million years earlier than thought, finds a new study.

The oldest collection of mass-produced prehistoric bone tools reveal that human ancestors were likely capable of more advanced abstract reasoning one million years earlier than thought, finds a new study.

The oldest collection of mass-produced prehistoric bone tools reveal that human ancestors were likely capable of more advanced abstract reasoning one million years earlier than thought, finds a new study.

When competition for food is high, both chimps and bonobos sometimes rub their genitals together to cope

We are starting to understand how Greenland sharks can live for centuries without commonly developing tumours

Colossal Biosciences has altered several genes in mice to make them look more mammoth-like, but the company is far from its goal of fully resurrecting woolly mammoths by 2028

Golden-bellied capuchins are usually found in humid forests, but some populations appear to have adapted to life in drier habitats with the help of stone tools

Researchers examined dozens of bird species in museum collections looking for differences in the feathers and bodies between birds that can fly and birds that can't. They found that when birds evolve from a flying ancestor to a new flightless form, the birds' bodies, including the ratio of their wings and tails, change before the feathers do. Insights from this research could help scientists trying to determine whether a fossil bird, or a feathered dinosaur that isn't part of the bird family, was able to fly.

Researchers examined dozens of bird species in museum collections looking for differences in the feathers and bodies between birds that can fly and birds that can't. They found that when birds evolve from a flying ancestor to a new flightless form, the birds' bodies, including the ratio of their wings and tails, change before the feathers do. Insights from this research could help scientists trying to determine whether a fossil bird, or a feathered dinosaur that isn't part of the bird family, was able to fly.

A “smiling” damselfly and shimmering beetle captivated judges in the Royal Entomological Society’s 2024 Photography Competition

Palaeontologist Riley Black is back with a thrilling guide to how animals and plants co-evolved over millennia