Gene transfer enhances insect survival, says study
Gene transfer might have helped in the development of better traits in mating, nutrition, growth and adaptation
Fossil teeth reveal new facts about a mass extinction 260 million years ago
Did a change in climate caused or contributed to a mass extinction around 260 million years ago?
Fossil footprints give glimpse of how ancient climate change drove the rise of reptiles
A set of fossils that lay forgotten in a museum are revealing new secrets about Britain's prehistoric wildlife
A sniff to save
It can detect a person buried under six metres of snow. Pervez Cama, who travelled to the Swiss Alps, traces the history of St Bernard, a dog …
Coastal Management
Uneasy non-evolution: India has amended its coastal regulations 25 times over the past 19 years. Here are some samples. Scroll over the bubbles …
Evolution: why it seems to have a direction and what to expect next
A dominant, intelligent species like humans will always be bad news for many of the other species on the planets where they evolve
Ancient humans may have first walked upright on trees, not land
Researchers look at chimpazees to understand bipedalism; New study contradicts earlier theories
Scientists find a whole new world below ground
New research says that there is an entire subterranean biosphere teeming with 15-23 billion tonnes of micro-organisms
Axolotls can regenerate their brains — these adorable salamanders are helping unlock mysteries of brain evolution, regeneration
Identifying all the cell types in the axolotl brain also helps pave the way for innovative research in regenerative medicine
A geological account on how to interpret time
Bjornerud rationalises global problems we are facing today and says that the reason for this evidently self-harming behaviour is because of the …
How fish evolved to walk — and in one case, turned into humans
Some fish species pull themselves forward using well developed fore-fins, while others “walk” along the ocean floor.
We sequenced the oldest ever DNA, from million-year-old mammoths
About a million years ago, there was a known species of mammoth inhabiting Siberia. This was thought to be the ancestor of later species, but was it?
What if the Lazarus returns
We may never be able to bring extinct species back to life. Yet, scientists are drawing up secret plans for their resurrection
What elephants teach us about cancer prevention
Elephants naturally avoid cancer after 55 million years of evolution. Scientists are studying if they can extract lessons that could help people
Have human-made changes heralded a new epoch?
Experts have proposed that the new epoch—Anthropocene—began around 1950, when human-induced changes started affecting earth's geology
Extinction is a natural process, but it's happening at 1,000 times the normal speed
The Earth is losing more and more biodiversity every day, and we should all be worried
Chimpanzees evolved to behave more flexibly. It can help them weather climate change
Chimpanzees are capable of remarkable behavioural variability, and this may have allowed them to range in harsher and drier habitats
How culture shaped evolution
A new book argues that cultural evolution helped in the accumulation of locally adaptive knowledge much faster than genetic evolution
Our expertise and observations complemented those from Europe: Gopakumar Achamveedu
Down To Earth speaks to Gopakumar Achamveedu from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, who is part of the international team of …
Food supply, protection determine denning habits of striped hyenas
Denning behaviour in a species helps to maximise its overall survival fitness in its habitat by securing a foothold place against adverse …
The forgotten tigons and litigons of Alipore Zoo and other hybrids: Part 2
‘Species’ is a concept invented by human beings. And that concept is not clear-cut
Humanity’s birthplace: why everyone alive today can call northern Botswana home
Earliest population of modern humans arose 200,000 years ago in an area that covers parts of modern-day Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe
How to use evolution to fight malaria
Scientists have proposed a new strategy to select mosquitoes which can be checked by repellents, thereby less likely to transmit malaria
Humans now drive evolution on Earth, both creating and destroying species
Human activity doesn't just reduce biodiversity – new research explores how we are continually creating newspecies and ecos
Elephant teeth: How they evolved to cope with climate change-driven dietary shifts
20 million years ago, proboscidean teeth looked completely different