Evolution

Every species on Earth, from the majestic humpback whale to the bacteria happily living in your gut, has a special role to play within a defined ecosystem. Can organisms ever trade their existing niches for new ones?

By William Harris

Evolution is a never-ending process, but some scientists believe it might be speeding up as human activity impacts the environment.

By Bambi Turner

We're used to taking the phrase "survival of the fittest" to mean it's an "every man for himself" world. But some animals (like worker bees) sacrifice themselves to ensure their species lives on. Why would they do this?

By Dave Roos

If dinosaurs hadn't gone extinct, you wouldn't exist. Extinction may seem inherently bad, but sometimes the death of a species encourages new life.

By Karen Kirkpatrick

Where did humans come from? How did they migrate throughout the globe? Thanks to a longstanding anthropological concept and an unexpected discovery, conventional wisdom on human migration may be irrevocably shattered.

By Josh Clark

Batesian mimicry is an evolutionary strategy used by vulnerable species to look like a dangerous species so predators will leave them alone. But it only works under the right circumstances.

By Jesslyn Shields

We make a big deal about modern humans being smarter than Neanderthals, but, really, are we?

By Jesslyn Shields

Organisms not related to each other can develop similar physical attributes without even exchanging notes.

By Jesslyn Shields

Do we owe the emergence of language and self-reflection to the ancient and sustained consumption of psilocybin mushrooms?

By Robert Lamb & Austin Henderson

The question of exactly what is human consciousness and how it came to be in the human mind has raged forever between philosophers, religious scholars and scientists, but does the theory of the bicameral mind explain it?

By Robert Lamb

In Charles Darwin's book On the Origin of Species, he referred to a number of "vestiges" in human anatomy that he posited are remnants left over from the course of our species' development over time. Darwin suggested that these vestigial organs are evidence of evolution and represent functions that were once necessary for our survival, but [...] The post 10 Physical Human Traits That Evolution Has Made Obsolete appeared first on Goliath.

By Wes Walcott

The more we research our closest extinct human ancestor, the more we realize how similar we were. But could we have shared a joke?

By Jesslyn Shields

Natural selection is the idea that organisms that are best suited to survive pass their traits down. Is it true that only the strong survive?

By Ed Grabianowski

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?

By Ed Grabianowski

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?

By Josh Clark

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.

By Robert Lamb

Humans can certainly claim some of these, but sloths, giraffes and pandas wanted a piece of the action, too. The hyena adaptation, however, may just blow your mind.

By Kate Kershner

Long before sonnets, sestinas and short stories were historical accounts of kings carved onto clay tablets. Who were the first writers and what did they scribble?

By Charles W. Bryant

Since Charles Darwin published the theory of evolution by means of natural selection, myths and misinterpretations have eroded public understanding of his ideas. Ready to take another look at one of the related questions that just won't die?

By William Harris & Sascha Bos

Were hobbits and giants real? And are they distant relatives of humans?

By Diana Brown

You'd think being able to smell drinkable water would be an evolutionary advantage. But we can only smell things that suggest potable water. Why is that?

By Jesslyn Shields

Neanderthals may be long gone, but their genetic footprint lives on - in us.

By Robert Lamb

The newly developed family tree of Earth's 2.3 million species is a first draft of the 3.5-billion-year history of evolution.

By Patrick J. Kiger

New research shows that homo sapiens weren't the first folks to decorate their caves with artwork. Neanderthals actually did it thousands of years earlier.

By Alia Hoyt

How did life on Earth begin? Theories abound, but one popular one posits that it started spontaneously from primordial ooze on our planet, while another holds that it literally came from outer space. Who's right?

By Josh Clark