Evolution

A fossil skull from a bird that lived in the time of dinosaurs sheds light on how the ancestors of modern birds escaped extinction.

New research uncovers the cellular basis of fractal patterns in Romanesco and cauliflower.

The ancient dinosaur ancestor likely ate the newly described species by accident.

The skull was found in China, and it belonged to a man who lived at the same time as Neanderthals and ancient Homo sapiens.

Brood X is emerging across 15 states. Here's how to decode all that buzzing from the trees.

For the first time, researchers have obtained the nuclear DNA of archaic humans from cave sediments.

New research supports the idea that pulses of nutrients flushed from Devonian forests fueled ocean algae blooms that suffocated marine life.

The new species unearthed in Patagonia belongs to a group called abelisaurids, which resembled tyrannosaurs with short, bumpy faces.

Artificial "protocells" suggest the complex biochemical mechanisms used by living cells could have originated in simple bubbles.

New discovery of ancient phosphorus-bearing minerals challenges assumptions about the way early life evolved.

Bacterial allies may help insects win the evolutionary arms race against disease-causing microorganisms.

Ancient sediments reveal that shortly after emerging from the sea, microbial life may have adapted to survive in acidic lakes.