evolution Archives

The Tiniest Fossils of All

May 6, 2015May 3, 2021 Science Connectedevolution, fossils, shelf life

This episode of the Shelf Life video series explores the fossils of tiny marine organisms known as foraminifera. That name is a mouthful, so even scientists often shorten it to forams. These single-cell organisms still live in Earth’s oceans today. The fossilized shells left behind by their foram forefathers serve as tiny time capsules for climate data from bygone eras. Finding Clues in Fossils Ammonite fossils also contain clues to past climates. Ammonites are a group of ancient mollusks related to modern animals like nautiluses, which most closely resemble squid and…

This figure shows how a gorilla and a human to grip and move an object. The dots indicate positions in which the object can be gripped. (Yale University)

Biology Engineering

Better Understanding the Human Grip

April 21, 2015September 2, 2015 Science Connectedanthropology, biology, biomechanics, engineering, evolution, robotics

The human hand is an evolutionary wonder: 26 percent of the bones in our bodies are in our hands. Now, scientists are coming to better understand the grip and special grasping ability of humans and other primates. In a new study, a research team found that even the oldest known human ancestors may have had precision gripping skills comparable to modern humans. This includes Australopithecus afarensis, a creature that predates the first known stone tools by about a million years. Manual dexterity is traditionally viewed as a key adaptation that…

Biology Science Videos Zoology

Skull of the Olinguito: Shelf Life Episode 4

April 15, 2015April 15, 2015 Science Connectedbiology, evolution, fossils, mammals, nature, shelf life, species

The Skull of the Olinguito This video, fourth in the Shelf Life series, reveals how scientists in the field found the skull of a new species and identified it as the elusive olinguito. Thousands of new animal species are discovered every year, some living and some extinct. Researchers regularly make expeditions to the far-flung corners of the globe in search of new species, ranging from the single-celled organisms found in pools of volcanic sulfur (or even in your own stomach), to deep-sea organisms and larger animals like monkeys and birds.…

Coelacanth, Shelf Life Episode 3, American Museum of Natural History Video

Biology Science Videos Zoology

Fishing for Facts: Studying the Rare Coelacanth

April 8, 2015April 4, 2021 Science Connectedevolution, fish, marine biology, ocean, shelf life, taxonomy

Find out how coelacanth bodies are preserved so you can view them in natural history museums. Video, Shelf Life Episode Three. Meet the Coelacanth Coelacanths (see-la-kanths) are large, ancient fish with arm-like fins and armor-like scales. They can be found in the fossil record through the time of the dinosaurs, but disappear about 70 million years ago. Everyone thought the creature was extinct. Then, in 1938, the coelacanth splashed into the modern world when one was caught in a fishing net off the coast of South Africa. The prehistoric specimen…

Biology Paleontology Science Videos Zoology

Shelf Life Episode 1: 33 Million Things

March 25, 2015September 4, 2015 Science Connectedbiodiversity, biology, evolution, paleontology

About Shelf Life Episode 1: 33 Million Things Can’t get to New York to visit the American Museum of Natural History? No problem! EH Science invites you to take a virtual trip behind the scenes. In this the first episode of the museum’s brand new original series, Shelf Life, you can walk in the shoes of a research scientist and explore the enormous collection of specimens, many of which aren’t on public display. Shelf Life is a video series for curious minds—opening doors, pulling out drawers, and taking the lids off some…

Prehistoric stone tools: An elephant rib bearing marks from flint tools at the Revadim site. (American Friends of Tel Aviv University)

Archaeology

Prehistoric Stone Tools with Animal Residue

March 24, 2015April 1, 2021 Science Connectedarchaeology, evolution, human evolution

About 2.8 million years ago, early humans probably survived on a diet of plants. As the human brain expanded, however, it craved richer nourishment, namely animal fat and meat. Lacking claws and sharp teeth, early humans developed the skills and prehistoric stone tools necessary to hunt large animals and cut the fat and meat from the carcasses. Recently, this rare fossil shed new light on early human evolution. Long before that, our oldest known primate ancestors lived in trees and may have looked like this. Also, prehistoric human settlements have…

3D reconstruction of the tetrapod skull. Top image: Right facial skeleton and skull roof shown in "exploded" view to show how the bones fit together. Center image: Left side of the cranium (braincase omitted) is shown in internal view. Bottom image: Right lower jaw in "exploded" view to illustrate sutural morphology. Individual bones shown in various colors. (Porro et al.)

Biology Paleontology

Early Tetrapod Skull Looks like Crocodile

March 12, 2015September 4, 2015 Science Connectedarchaeology, biology, ecology, evolution, paleontology

Our 360 million-year-old tetrapod ancestors may have been more like modern crocodiles than previously thought, according to a new 3D skull reconstruction from the University of Bristol, UK. Acanthostega gunnari was a “four-footed” vertebrate, also known as a tetrapod, that invaded land during one of the great evolutionary transitions in Earth’s history, 380-360 million years ago. Tetrapods evolved from lobe-finned fish and display a number of adaptations that helped them survive on land. “These new analyses provide fresh clues about the evolution of the jaws and feeding system as the…

Male panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) photographed in Madagascar (© Michel Milinkovitch)

Biology Zoology

Chameleons’ Color Change Secret Revealed

March 11, 2015September 4, 2015 Science Connectedbiology, biomechanics, biophysics, evolution, Madagascar, zoology

Chameleons are known for the remarkable ability to perform complex and rapid color changes during social interactions. Now, a team of scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, has unveiled exactly how chameleons change their colors. According to the research team’s findings, chameleons can adjust a system of nanocrystals in their skin cells, called iridophores. Better yet, chameleons have two layers of these iridophores, and the second layer reflects infrared light. These two layers can be controlled independently of each other, enabling chameleons to put on their colorful displays.…

Human evolution: The fossil mandible near where it was found (Brian Villmoare)

Archaeology Biology Paleontology

Fossil Sheds Light on Early Human Evolution

March 5, 2015October 4, 2023 Science Connectedanthropology, biology, earth science, evolution, fossils, human evolution, paleontology

The discovery of a fossilized lower jaw bone in Ethiopia has pushed back evidence of the human genus — Homo — to 2.8 million years ago. The find predates all previously unearthed fossils of the Homo lineage by approximately 400,000 years. For decades, scientists have been searching in Africa for fossils documenting the earliest phases of the Homo lineage. However, specimens recovered from between 3 and 2.5 million years ago have been frustratingly few and often in poor condition. As a result, there has been little agreement on when the…

Signs of life on Earth: The oldest rock samples, from 3.2 billion years ago, were collected at this site in the desert in northwestern Australia. (R. Buick / University of Washington)

Biology Paleontology

Life on Earth May Be Older than We Thought

February 17, 2015September 4, 2015 Science Connectedbiodiversity, biology, earth science, evolution, geology, origins of life, paleontology

Life on our planet could be at least one billion years older than previously thought, according to new geological research from the University of Washington. Nitrogen is a chemical element that is essential for building genes. Without plenty of nitrogen, life on the early Earth would have been scarce. Researchers looking at some of the planet’s oldest rocks have found evidence that organisms were already pulling nitrogen out of the air 3.2 billion years ago, and converting it in ways that could support larger communities of lifeforms. Finding Ancient Life…