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evolution library
Evolution, as it relates to biology, is the changes seen in the inherited traits of a population from one generation to the next. Evolution is one of the great mysteries of biology, since it is a slow process and difficult to study.
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Are we all descended from a common female ancestor?
According to DNA research, we may all have a common ancestor, an African woman who lived thousands of years ago. How did scientists reach this conclusion? Is it even possible?
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Can scientists make moths gay?
Scientists tricked male brown-tailed moths into trying to mate with one another instead of the females. But are sexuality and gender actually fluid concepts in the animal world? Explore animal sexuality, from intersexual clams to homosexual giraffes.
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Fact or Fiction: Evolution Quiz
Evolution! Since its inception, the theory has spread both controversy and a new way of viewing our role on the planet. Where do the facts end and the fictions begin?
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How are Fibonacci numbers expressed in nature?
Is there a magic equation to the universe? Probably not. But thanks to one man's obsession with rabbits, we have a sequence of numbers that reflect various patterns found in nature.
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How Biomimicry Works
If you swim like a fish or run like a cheetah, you may understand biomimicry better than you realize. The practice involves imitating models in nature to improve technology and design.
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How can two seemingly unrelated species that live in isolation from each other evolve into identical forms?
When Australia became separated from the other continents, its species evolved in isolation. And yet, some of the Australian animals evolved in exactly the same way as the other animals in the world. How?
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How Evolution Works
Evolution is fascinating because it attempts to answer one of the most basic human questions: Where did life, and human beings, come from? The theory of evolution proposes that life and humans arose through a natural process.
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How Extinction Works
Whether they're big or small, extinctions change the world. And while extinctions themselves are all about change, the study of extinction is all about uncertainty. Anything that lives can become extinct, but how do scientists know when it happens?
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How Human Migration Works
Where did humanity begin, and how did we get to where we are now? Did we really all begin in Africa? What made us leave?
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How Natural Selection Works
If nature is red in tooth and claw, then "survival of the fittest" sounds like a fight to the death. Natural selection is what drives evolution. Is it true that only the strong survive?
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How Symbiosis Works
One kind of flatworm doesn't have a working mouth, because the algae that lives inside of it makes food for the worm. Symbiosis is crucial to the survival of many species. In fact, you're a symbiote yourself.
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How the Galapagos Islands Work
The Galapagos Islands may have played a grand role in Darwin's theory of evolution, but they're notable for more than their finches. What strange species populate these remote islands?
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Is Africa the cradle of humanity?
Everything has to start somewhere, including us humans. But where? Was it Africa, or were there multiple ground zeros for humanity's explosive growth and eventual world domination?
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Is the Ida fossil the missing link?
On May 19, 2009, researchers unveiled a fossil called Ida. Within hours, headlines were abuzz with news of the missing link. But a day later, many scientists weren't so sure.
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Is there such a thing as a truly unselfish act?
Have you ever done something for someone else just because it was a nice thing to do? Do people perform unselfish acts because it feels good or is it just something society wants us to do?
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Top 10 Early Hominid Finds and Their Locations
The ascension of man is a tale told in bones, but of course, some bones are more important than others are. Just how old are some of these fossilized evolutionary signposts, and where do they turn up?
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What happens when animals evolve in isolation?
Polar bears evolved to blend in with the terrain so they could hunt better. What causes one group of animals to split off from the rest of the species and develop new genetic traits?
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What is a fossil?
We can see dinosaur and plant fossils at just about any natural museum. What exactly are fossils, though, and how do they form? Find out the answers to these questions in this article from HowStuffWorks.
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What is the last common ancestor?
What do we have in common with these guys? A lot. At some point in our shared past, paleoanthropologists think we both sprang from the same forefather. What was that long-gone relative like?
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What separates humans from chimps and other apes?
A gulf of difference may separate our human world of empires, science and spirituality from the animal wilds of the other great apes. But the genetic differences are pretty meager.
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