Our ancestors mated with the mystery ‘Denisovan’ people – twice
The genes of extinct hominins called Denisovans live on in people from China and Papua New Guinea, suggesting two instances of cross-species breeding
Dinobird Archaeopteryx only flew in short bursts like a pheasant
The bird-like dinosaur Archaeopteryx could flap its wings to fly, but only for short bursts – like a modern pheasant flapping to escape danger
Surprise! Having a big brain really does mean having less muscle
It’s an evolutionary mystery how humans and other primates found the energy to support their large brains, but now it seems sacrificing some muscle might have helped
Bats spread Ebola because they’ve evolved not to fight viruses
Bats can carry viruses like Ebola and Marburg that are lethal for humans. This may be because, in order to fly, their bodies have given up on fighting such viruses
We thought gorillas only walked on their knuckles. We were wrong
Modern gorillas can walk in a variety of styles, not just the famous “knuckle-walking”, suggesting our common ancestor was similarly resourceful
Early Briton from 10,000 years ago had dark skin and blue eyes
A genetic analysis of Cheddar Man, one of the first people to settle in Britain after the last ice age, suggests that his skin was dark
Young ‘dinosauromorphs’ may have begged for food like baby birds
Tens of millions of years before dinosaurs evolved into birds, a proto-dinosaur had surprising features that suggest its young needed parental care after hatching
Our lust for tastier chocolate has transformed the cocoa tree
Ever since we domesticated the cocoa tree over 3000 years ago, we have been breeding them to make tastier chocolate – but in the process we have made them vulnerable
Odd fossils hint first complex life hung on long after its time
The strange Ediacarans were some of the earliest complex organisms on Earth. They are thought to have died out 540 million years ago but eight odd fossils suggest they survived far longer
Great tits avoid bad food after seeing grossed-out friends
If a great tit eats something nasty, it will disgustedly wipe its beak on a branch – and other great tits watch and learn