evolutionary biology
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Only 1,280 Reproductive Ancestors of Humans Once Roamed Earth, Gene Study Suggests
Humankind struggled to survive during a 100,000 year period during the early Pleistocene, according to researchers who used a computer model to discover a severe population bottleneck in our species’ ancient past. The bottleneck occurred between 813,000 years ago and 930,000 years ago, and reduced an ancestral human species to less than 1,300 breeding individuals.…
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Scientists Figured Out How All-Female Termite Colonies Came to Exist
An international team of scientists says all-female termite colonies from Japan are the result of accidental hybridisation, and that their highly robust nature makes them an ecological threat.
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Which Animal Species Get Along the Best?
We have all come across or actively sought out videos of unlikely animals putting aside their differences to nuzzle one another or engage in similar cute behaviour, like when a larger animal gives a smaller animal a piggyback ride. There is of course an entire television show devoted to this phenomenon, plus thousands of viral…
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7 Epic Epochs of Earth, Ranked
Life on Earth is a lot like that song by Chumbawamba. It gets knocked down, but it gets up again, often in a very different way. Through time, species have figured out how to get on land from the water, how to fly, how to give birth to live young, and, most importantly, how to…