A cancer afflicting mussels originated off the Pacific coast of Canada, but then crossed into other species in Europe and South America.
Author: CARL ZIMMER
Birds Are Vanishing From North America
The number of birds in the United States and Canada has declined by 3 billion, or 29 percent, over the past half-century, scientists find.
In the Ethiopian Mountains, Ancient Humans Were Living the High Life
Humans may have inhabited sites at high elevations far earlier than once believed, a new study suggests.
A Skull Bone Discovered in Greece May Alter the Story of Human Prehistory
The bone, found in a cave, is the oldest modern human fossil ever discovered in Europe. It hints that humans began leaving Africa far earlier than once thought.
Wired Bacteria Form Nature’s Power Grid: ‘We Have an Electric Planet’
Electroactive bacteria were running current through “wires” long before humans learned the trick.
Who Were the Ancestors of Native Americans? A Lost People in Siberia, Scientists Say
Genetic analysis of ancient teeth and bones suggests Native Americans largely descend from a vanished group called the Ancient Paleo-Siberians.
Matter: Denisovan Jawbone Discovered in a Cave in Tibet
Until now, fossils of the ancient human species had been found in just one Siberian cave. The discovery suggests that Denisovans roamed over much of Asia.
Matter: An Ancient Human Species Is Discovered in a Philippine Cave
Archaeologists in Luzon Island have turned up the bones of a distantly related species, Homo luzonensis, further expanding the human family tree.
Matter: The Plague Killing Frogs Everywhere Is Far Worse Than Scientists Thought
As a threat to wildlife, an amphibian fungus has become “the most deadly pathogen known to science.”
Matter: Narrower Skulls, Oblong Brains: How Neanderthal DNA Still Shapes Us
Two genes inherited from our evolutionary cousins may affect skull shape and brain size even today. What that means for human behavior is a mystery.