Panda jaw evolved for bamboo, according reports in ScienceDaily and University of Turku (UTU) Press Release 9 July 2021 and Scientific Reports, 9 July 2021, doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-93808-2. When pandas eat bamboo stems they first use their premolar teeth to peel off the outer layer which contains harmful chemicals and abrasive crystals. Then they grind up […]
Snakes adapted fangs to food, according to articles in The Conversation 13 May 2021 and Monash University Lens 21 May 2021 and Evolution 27 April 2021 doi: 10.1111/evo.14239. Scientists at Monash University, Australia, have studied the fangs of 81 species of snakes, comparing tooth structure, strength and sharpness with the type of prey each snake […]
Flowers bounce back after injury, according to ScienceDaily 7 April 2020 and BBC News 8 April 2020, and New Phytologist 6 April 2020, doi: 10.1111/nph.16482. Several years ago Scott Armbruster, now a Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Portsmouth UK, was in Australia where he noticed a trigger plant that had been […]
Bare feet stay sensitive, according to reports in Nature News and Views and Scientific American 26 June 2019 and Nature doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1345-6, published online 26 June 2019. People who habitually walk with bare feet, build up hard calluses on their soles that protect feet from skin damage and make walking on hard surfaces less painful. […]
Fish evolve in a 100 years, claims an article in Science News 1 June 2018, with the headline: “This saltwater trout evolved to live in freshwater—in just 100 years,” referring to a study also reported in ScienceDaily 31 May 2018, and Molecular Ecology, 26 May 2018; doi: 10.1111/mec.14726. Steelhead trout live in the ocean off […]
Rapid evolution of finches observed, claims evolutionary biologist David Reznick of the University of California, Riverside, commenting on a study of finch adaptation reported in Science, vol. 295, p25, 11 Jan 2002. Ecologists at Auburn University Alabama, studied two populations of house finches that had recently moved into new habitats. One group of birds moved […]
Giants found on New Zealand islands, according to New Zealand Herald, 31 January 2005. A group of geologists and biologists who are studying the Chatham Islands, 850 km west of New Zealand have found a giant forget-me-not and the biggest sow thistle in the world. Apart from their size, the plants are similar to plants […]
Adaptable orchids use epigenetics, according to ScienceDaily, 10 Aug 2010 and Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2010; DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msq150. Scientists at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew’s Jodrell Laboratory are studying the effects of epigenetics in orchids to see how they may adapt to environmental changes. Epigenetics refers to changes in the way genes are expressed. These changes […]
Adaptable birds catch caterpillars, as described in Science, vol 310, p304 and ScienceNOW 14 Oct 2005. Great tits are small European birds that breed each Spring and feed on caterpillars. As they need the most food when they are raising their young, it is useful for the birds they lay their eggs in time to […]