Paleo in the News

The oriental hornet shows no ill effects – or behavioural changes – when it spends a week drinking an 80 per cent alcohol solution

Not all winged dinosaurs were necessarily capable of full flight, but this anatomical feature may have enabled them to travel further by flapping or gliding

Scientists have discovered the earliest evidence of animal butchery by humans in India.

Scientists have discovered the earliest evidence of animal butchery by humans in India.

New research has revealed a connection between ancient viral DNA embedded in the human genome and the genetic risk for two major diseases that affect the central nervous system.

A mouse's tumours, scales from a butterfly's wings and a smiling cross-section of a bracken fern are some of the incredible images from the Nikon Small World photography competition

The natural motors that power tail-like appendages in bacteria seem to have a single evolutionary origin, allowing parts from different species to be combined to create a tiny new engine

Colossal, a US firm that is aiming to revive lost species such as the woolly mammoth, says it now has a near-complete genome of the extinct thylacine

Dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico have tiny bits of plastic in their breath, and this is probably a worldwide problem

Britain should be too cold for the invasive Aesculapian snake to survive, but it is thriving by exploiting the warmth of attics, wall cavities and compost heaps

During a fight between two male mice, one will often run to a female mouse to distract their aggressor, a bait-and-switch strategy that could help abate social conflicts

Puppies that are raised in someone's home seem to benefit from that extra human interaction, by asking for help at a younger age than those brought up in kennels

A group of frogs from Madagascar have mating calls that sound like Star Trek sound effects – now their species names honour captains from the series

Evolutionary molecular biologist Beth Shapiro on the hunt for ancient DNA and her groundbreaking de-extinction and environmental mission  

Nearly 6000 species and subspecies of earthworms have been identified by scientists – but the true number could top 30,000

Ancient volcanic rock from South Africa has been found to harbour primitive bacteria, which may shed light on some of the earliest forms of life on Earth

Studying microscopic layers of dirt dug from the Tam Pa Ling cave site in northeastern Laos has provided a team of archaeologists further insights into some of the earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in mainland Southeast Asia. The site, which has been studied for the past 14 years, has produced some of the earliest fossil evidence of our direct ancestors in Southeast Asia but now a new study has reconstructed the ground conditions in the cave between 52,000 and 10,000 years ago.

Studying microscopic layers of dirt dug from the Tam Pa Ling cave site in northeastern Laos has provided a team of archaeologists further insights into some of the earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in mainland Southeast Asia. The site, which has been studied for the past 14 years, has produced some of the earliest fossil evidence of our direct ancestors in Southeast Asia but now a new study has reconstructed the ground conditions in the cave between 52,000 and 10,000 years ago.

Newly discovered birds from Late Cretaceous North America were hawk-sized and had powerful raptor-like feet, according to a new study.

Newly discovered birds from Late Cretaceous North America were hawk-sized and had powerful raptor-like feet, according to a new study.