Paleo in the News

Microwaves in homes, offices and laboratories have been found to host diverse microbiomes, highlighting the importance of regular cleaning

Mammoths, the massive pre-historic ice age cousins of the modern-day elephant, have always been understood to have inhabited parts of British Columbia, but the question of when has always been a bit woolly. Now, a new study has given scientists the clearest picture yet when the giant mammals roamed Vancouver Island.

Blackworms are ultra-fast swimmers, and they tangle up into worm balls to protect themselves from predators – but leeches have an ingenious method of catching them called “spiral entombment”

An estimate of annual bird fatalities due to building collisions in the US brings the figure to more than 1 billion – it is the first to include deaths from injuries after the strike

Lush and vibrant cinematography plus a "cast" of real animals make Heart of an Oak an enthralling celebration of the natural world

Forget videos by gamers or influencers. For a real online thrill, watch the world's biggest flower emerging in a former web designer's greenhouse, says Annalee Newitz

After the release of a shocking video showing Olympic rider Charlotte Dujardin whipping a horse, it is time for equestrians to educate themselves on the science of horse training, says Christa Lesté-Lasserre

Horses that are bred to race seem to perform better on the course if they had a diverse gut microbiome as foals

Eight Australian sea lions were fitted with cameras and trackers to capture unprecedented insights into their behaviour and the marine habitats where they hunt

Markings on a stone pillar at a 12,000 year-old archaeological site in Turkey likely represent the world's oldest solar calendar, created as a memorial to a devastating comet strike, experts suggest.

A new study reports the discovery of extremely rare early human fossils from the Indonesian island of Flores, including an astonishingly small adult limb bone. Dated to about 700,000 years old, the new findings shed light on the evolution of Homo floresiensis, the so-called 'Hobbits' of Flores whose remains were uncovered in 2003 at Liang Bua cave in the island's west.

A new study reports the discovery of extremely rare early human fossils from the Indonesian island of Flores, including an astonishingly small adult limb bone. Dated to about 700,000 years old, the new findings shed light on the evolution of Homo floresiensis, the so-called 'Hobbits' of Flores whose remains were uncovered in 2003 at Liang Bua cave in the island's west.

Seeds, twigs, and insect parts found under two miles of ice confirm Greenland's ice sheet melted in the recent past, the first direct evidence that the center -- not just the edges -- of the two-mile-deep ice melted away in the recent geological past. The new research indicates that the giant ice sheet is more fragile than scientists had realized until the last few years -- and reveals increased risk of sea-level catastrophe in a warmer future.

Horses experience hyperflexion when their necks bend far towards their chests – forcing this position can hurt a horse but when it happens naturally it can be harmless

Turning around and backing up out of pools found in tree hollows may help mating Charles Darwin’s frogs find a safe place to lay their eggs while fending off competitive males

A tiny fossil penguin plays a huge role in the evolutionary history of the bird, an international study shows.

A tiny fossil penguin plays a huge role in the evolutionary history of the bird, an international study shows.

Shifts in the Earth's continental plates that drove long-term changes in sea level set the stage for the evolution of the earliest animals on Earth, a study suggests.

Shifts in the Earth's continental plates that drove long-term changes in sea level set the stage for the evolution of the earliest animals on Earth, a study suggests.

Exceptional fossils with preserved soft parts reveal that the earliest mollusks were flat, armored slugs without shells. The new species, Shishania aculeata, was covered with hollow, organic, cone-shaped spines. The fossils preserve exceptionally rare detailed features which reveal that these spines were produced using a sophisticated secretion system that is shared with annelids (earthworms and relatives).