ecology-evolution-behavior-and-systematics

Almost all animal species -- including humans -- have blood cells, but between different species our blood tells different stories.

As bees and hummingbirds move from flower to flower collecting nectar and pollinating plants, they may also be consuming small amounts of alcohol. In the first large-scale study examining alcohol in floral nectar, biologists at the University of California, Berkeley detected ethanol in at least one flower sample from 26 of the 29 plant species [...]

Between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago, many of the world’s largest mammals disappeared. Picture creatures like saber-toothed cats with 7-inch fangs and elephant-sized sloths. Woolly mammoths whose curved tusks grew longer than 12 feet. Even a 3-ton wombat the size of a car. After roaming the Earth for millions of years, most large-bodied mammals — … The post Giants that vanished 10,000 years ago tr…

A team of South Korean scientists has uncovered new evidence that could help explain how Earth’s atmosphere became rich in oxygen, one of the most transformative events in the planet’s history. Researchers from the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) report the finding of stromatolites, layered structures formed by microbial communities, within the Hapcheon impact crater o…

From mid-February to early May, tiny silvery Pacific herring gather along the shallow coastlines of Vancouver Island off British Columbia, Canada. In these sheltered waters, they spawn; female fish produce sticky eggs and males flood the area with milt, which turns the water a milky turquoise or green. The colors can be so vivid that […]

Scientists have peered inside the skull of a 380-million-year-old Antarctic fish that was closely related to the first animals to walk on land, revealing surprising clues about how life began its move out of the water. Using advanced neutron imaging, researchers discovered that Koharalepis jarviki had features suited for living near the water’s surface, including openings in its skull that may ha…

Deep inside 100-million-year-old amber from Myanmar, scientists uncovered a bizarre ancient bug with clawed front legs that look more like a crab’s pincers than anything seen in modern insects. The discovery is so unusual that researchers say these crab-like “chelae” evolved independently in this lineage, making it only the fourth known example of such structures appearing in insects at all.

Nature Communications, Published online: 25 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73573-4 Anaerobic methanotrophic (ANME) archaea are abundant in marine cold seeps. Here, the authors reconstruct high-quality circular metagenomic-assembled genomes and identify variable genomic hotspots associated with phylogenomic diversity at the species and strain levels.

A new genealogical study shows how genetic analyses threading together DNA across centuries can save...

Ancient asteroid craters may have been safe havens for Earth’s earliest oxygen-producing life. Scientists in South Korea have uncovered evidence suggesting that asteroid impact craters may have played an important role in the rise of oxygen-producing life on early Earth. A research team from the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) discovered stromatolites [...]

Increasing human activity and climate change in Antarctica may increase the rates of non-native species introduction and establishment, resulting in potentially irreversible changes in marine and terrestrial ecological communities. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty prohibits the introduction of non-native species without a permit and mandates their removal if introd…

A fumigation experiment in the Florida Keys explains more about marketplace dynamics than most business books. Originally published at vibeagentmaking.com The Empty Island Problem In 1966, Harvard graduate student Daniel Simberloff conducted a pivotal experiment in the Florida Keys. He fumigated six tiny mangrove islands to eliminate all arthropods, then observed what happened as species naturall…

A new review highlights how human evolution has shaped the presence of pathogenic variations in DNA damage repair (DDR) genes, offering a new perspective on why modern populations face increased cancer susceptibility.

Scientists explore how beneficial fungi could make Martian regolith fertile enough to grow crops, opening doors for future space settlements.

This paper develops a new metaphysics of interiority by grounding the ente—the living center of experience—in three mutually reinforcing structures: gradient, biological time, and symbolic reciprocity. I argue that a gradient is the minimal physical‑informational condition that allows an organism to generate a holographic interior, and that biological time emerges as the ente’s ongoing attempt to…

Somehow, on this beautiful blue marble we call Earth, the astonishing phenomenon we call life...

The Tyrannosaurus rex is famous for many things—its enormous size, terrifying bite, and surprisingly tiny arms. For years, scientists have wondered why such a powerful predator evolved such small forelimbs. Now, a new study suggests the answer may lie in the dinosaur’s massive head. Researchers from University College London and University of Cambridge studied 82 […] The post Why T. rex Ended Up …