evolution

“A laboratory table with a microscope, test tubes, and a computer; in a notebook, illustrations illustrating the steps of the scientific method from hypothesis to experiment, data, and criticism.”

This is how the scientific method works: evidence, predictions, and refutation tests

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Science does not rely on stories or authority but on reproducible observations and experiments, and on rules that reduce bias and allow for the correction of errors over time.
Balanophora species are parasitic plants that live underground and emerge above ground only during the flowering season—and some even reproduce only asexually. The collage shows species that have been studied to find out how they are related to each other, how they have modified their plastids, and how their reproduction fits into their ecology. Credit: University of Cuba

Parasitic plants that live underground: This is how Balanophora thrives without photosynthesis and without sexual reproduction

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Anchiornis simulation using artificial intelligence

The dinosaurs that forgot how to fly: 160 million-year-old fossils suggest they lost flight

160-million-year-old dinosaur fossils reveal surprising turn in flight evolution
Ancient DNA from Denisovans left humans with a significant genetic advantage — a gene variant that could have helped early Americans survive new pathogens, and may still affect our health today. It allowed the Sherpa tribe of Nepal to live easily in the Himalayan highlands. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The hidden Denisovan gene that helped humans conquer the Americas

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Traces of long-buried Denisovan DNA are resurfacing in the genomes of modern humans—and they may still be working in our favor today
Mollusks at the beginning of the dinosaur era. The oldest known oceanic tetrapod system, from about 249 million years ago. A school of small-bodied ichthyopterygians of the genus Grippia longirostris hunts squid-like ammonites (center). In the distance, schools of graminear fish Boreosomus and Saurichthys feed. Credit: Robert Back

249-million-year-old fossil shakes up evolutionary timeline

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Reanalyzed Arctic fossils show marine ecosystems recovered with astonishing speed after the 'Great Dying'
The sounds they make can be heard from hundreds of meters away. Photo: Prof. Amiel Ilani

Rock Rabbit – The Social Singer of the Desert and Construction Sites

He can sing, he's sociable, he lives in Israel and despite his size he's actually a relative of the elephant. Who are you, a rock rabbit? The hottest questions about the most interesting animals
Turkey ear fungus. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Fungi dominated the Earth hundreds of millions of years before plants.

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New research reveals that fungi created ancient soils and prepared the continents for the arrival of plants, through early collaboration with algae
How does the variation in flower colors occur, and why does the same species appear in different colors?. Anemones. Image courtesy of Prof. Yuval Sapir

Why are flowers colorful? Hint: It's not always natural selection

Evolutionary studies reveal: Sometimes flower colors result from precise ecological adaptations to pollinators and the environment, and sometimes it is a random variation that is preserved simply because it has no clear advantage.

Crowded conditions cloud toads' mate choice

An international study led by the University of Tennessee and in collaboration with Tel Aviv University finds that noise and selection pressure make it difficult for female toads to choose mates – a phenomenon that may slow the pace of evolution.
Artist illustration by Z. Rinpoche. Credit: Masato Hattori

The oldest dome-shaped dinosaur – Zavacephale rinpoche – was discovered from the Gobi Desert

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A nearly complete 108-million-year-old fossil pushes back the appearance of pachycephalosaurs by about 15 million years, illuminating the role of the dome as part of social behavior
The laws of physics are changing, and with them the familiar rules of flight. The breeding of tiny flying insects. Photo: Amir Sarig

Israeli study reveals: This is how tiny insects fly against the wind

They weigh less than a speck of dust and seem hopeless against the wind. New research reveals the flight secrets of some of nature's tiniest flying creatures, which could improve their effectiveness as pest control agents.
A fossil of a trilobite, one of the first animals to appear during the Cambrian period, when there was an explosion of complex life. Illustration: depositphotos.com

545-million-year-old footprints may rewrite the story of the origin of complex life

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Collagen stability is made possible by a chemical reaction that prevents water from attacking the chemical bonds that hold the collagen fibers together. The chemical reaction against a dinosaur background | From the article Yang et al. 2024

Collagen in fossils: proteins as a biological archive of the past

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Unlike DNA, proteins like collagen can sometimes survive for millions of years in fossils. Scientists use this ability to learn a lot about the biology of ancient creatures.
US President Donald Trump as a judge in the Apes trial (Scopes trial), as he continues to oppose science as represented by Harvard University. Illustration by Avi Blizovsky via ideogram.ai

A century after the Apes trial: America is once again persecuting science

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In 1925, a teacher who taught evolution was put on trial in an event known as the “Monkey Trial”; in 2025, the Trump administration is once again harassing universities, firing scientists, and bringing religion back into public schools. History repeats itself – in a bigoted version
One possibility is that the chin was intended as a decoration in the style of peacock feathers, especially when accompanied by a beard in men. Roni Cuban. Photo: Israel Broadcasting Corporation

The mystery of the human chin: a unique feature of Homo sapiens that challenges the laws of evolution

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While many features of our bodies are explained by biological comparisons between different species, the chin remains an isolated case – with no parallel, no converging observations, and no definitive answer.
Arid desert landscape in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Illustration: depositphotos.com

New study refutes the theory that human evolution in Africa was caused by climatic drying

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Brown University researchers have discovered that North Africa remained relatively wet even during a period of global climate change – a finding that challenges the link between drying and the paving of humanity.
A giant sloth at the entrance to a cave it dug. Illustration: Avi Blizovsky, via DALEE

They were three-and-a-half-ton sloths with claws and armor – and then humans arrived

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New research reveals how ancient giant sloths dug caves, thrived in the oceans and moved between diverse environments – until climate change and the arrival of humans led to their extinction
Animals that have adapted to living in cold environments. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Research reveals critical evolutionary stages of animals during the Ice Age

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New research provides new insights into how animals like the woolly mammoth, musk ox and Arctic fox evolved to survive the cold during the Ice Age.
A new Archaeopteryx fossil has soft tissues and delicate skeletal structures not seen in previous Archaeopteryx fossils, revealing the evolutionary path from dinosaurs to birds. Photo: Prof. Yosef Khiat

Breakthrough in the study of the evolutionary transition between dinosaurs and modern birds

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Among the notable findings: unique feathers known as tertiary feathers, which help close the gap between the wing members and the bird's body, thus enabling flight support - until now, these feathers have not been documented in dinosaurs related to birds.
Genetic study of all known bird species. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Researchers have mapped the evolution of all known bird species

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Researchers combined genetic data from 9,239 bird species and 1,000 other controlled records to build a complete, shared evolutionary tree
Tupac, a young male bonobo scratching his head. Credit: Lucas Bierhoff, Bonobo Research Project at Kokulofori.

Bonobo speaks in sentences: New study challenges the uniqueness of human language

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Joint research from the University of Zurich and Harvard reveals that bonobos use meaningful vocal combinations, suggesting deep evolutionary roots for language
On the right - the desert Arabian Peninsula as it appears today. On the left - green, as it appeared 8 million years ago. Illustration: Avi Blizovsky via DALEE. This illustration should not be considered a scientific image.

8 million years ago, the Arabian Peninsula was green: Fossils and caves change the history of human migration

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8 million years ago, the Arabian Peninsula was green: Fossils and caves change the history of human migration
Figure: Morphological variation in the semicircular canals of the ear in Neanderthals. Credit: Alessandro Urciuoli, Institut Català de Paleop

Neanderthals experienced a catastrophic population collapse 110,000 years ago

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New study reveals sharp decline in Neanderthal genetic and morphological diversity in evolutionary bottleneck
Two ancient human skulls. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The genetic secret revealed: Humans evolved from two separate ancient species

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New research at the University of Cambridge reveals that the modern human genome was created as a result of a merger between two ancient populations, which separated about 1.5 million years ago and reunited about 300 years ago.
California two-spot octopus. Credit: Aquarium of the Pacific/Robin Riggs

Octopuses have a secret sex chromosome – and it's older than dinosaurs

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Jamaican fruit bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) – This bat has a short jaw, like many fruit-eating night bats. Credit: Alexa Sadier

Jaw Wars: How Bats Developed a Diverse Dental Arsenal for Survival

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Image: Selenibacter rover cells (in green) under a microscope. Other colors represent different organisms in the salt. (Credit: Tomeu Viver)

The secret 'sex life' of bacteria: Study challenges old ideas about how species are formed

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Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have found that bacteria not only create species, but also maintain them in a unique process reminiscent of sexual reproduction.
An artistic illustration of the brain's "speed limit" – we think, process, and decide at a slow rate of 10 bits per second. Credit: J. Zheng

The surprising limit to human thinking speed – only 10 bits per second

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The paradox is that sensory input processing is done at a speed 100 million times faster than the speed of thought * Principal Investigator: "At any given moment, we extract only 10 bits out of a trillion that our senses perceive and use."
The discovery of the 555-million-year-old fossil *Uncus dzaugisi* in South Australia confirms their origins in the Precambrian period of the ecdysozoans, and bridges an important evolutionary gap. Photo courtesy of Harvard University

A 555-million-year-old fossil sheds light on one of the great mysteries of evolution

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The discovery of the oldest fossil from the Ecdysozoa family (Uncus dzaugisi), a group of animals characterized by shedding their skin and including insects, crustaceans and nematodes, sheds light on the early evolution of animals

Ants vs. Humans: The Maze Challenge

Group decision making makes ants smarter. With humans, on the other hand, sometimes it is better to be alone
Evolution of man: display of skulls of our ancestors. Illustration: depositphotos.com

New research may explain why the human brain is so large and developed

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A new study conducted at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem presents an innovative method for inferring DNA methylation patterns in tissues that did not come from ancient skeletons, and provides a deeper understanding of the evolutionary processes that shaped the human brain and its functions
The desert locust (Schistocerca Gregaria). Illustration: depositphotos.com

The 'good enough' principle in nature: how evolution saved resources in the digging paws of the female locust

The female locust can dig 4-3 holes to lay eggs and then her organs that are intended for this wear out
The Arizona mountain kingsnake, which is non-venomous but similar to a venomous coral snake, enjoys a survival advantage by deterring potential predators that avoid colorful coral-type snakes. Photo: University of Arizona

The Big Evolutionary Bang of Threat, Camouflage and Courtship Colors in Animals

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Evolution, color signals, animals, courtship, warning, peacock, poisonous frogs, communication between animals, signals in plants, evolutionary biology
A female chimpanzee with her baby. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Sad chimpanzees give birth: childbirth is also a challenge for great apes

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Researchers simulated childbirth in chimpanzees and humans and measured the distance between the bony birth canal and the fetal head. The study shows that narrow birth canals relative to the size of the baby's head are not unique to humans
A graphic illustration of the S2 meteorite impact and its immediate effects. Credit: Nadia Drabon

The asteroid the size of four Everests that changed the course of life on Earth

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It turns out that these giant meteorites actually had a positive effect on life compared to the later extinction-causing meteorites
The study presents the drawing of the meclist owl from the Hawaiian island of Kauai, in which three species are shown that have become extinct at the hands of man (the meclist owl, the grousebeak's wahi, and the Kauai ʻōʻō). Credit to avian paleontologist Julian P. day.

Due to the extinction of many bird species, the variety of roles they played in the ecosystem was eliminated

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Colonies of ants began growing mushrooms when an asteroid hit Earth 66 million years ago. This damage caused mass extinction but also created ideal conditions for fungi to flourish. This is how an evolutionary partnership was created that became even closer 27 million years ago and continues to this day. Credit: Don Parsons

Ant farming began 66 million years ago following the asteroid that doomed the dinosaurs

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Smithsonian Institution scientists compiled and analyzed an extensive genetic database, and found that some mushroom crops became completely dependent on ants 27 million years ago, a process created 65 million years ago by an event
The cover of the book - ants, neurons of consciousness.

Book: ants, neurons, consciousness

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The book presents an interdisciplinary overview of the evolution of consciousness in man by Uzi Ben Zvi, Philosophy and Science series, Attic Books and Yediot Books
Photo 4: The life cycle of the blooming sea lily Edwardsiella carnea. a. Mature male and female polyps release gametes into the water column. b. Free-swimming planula formed after fertilization. c. The planula infects the comb host Mnemiopsis leidyi and develops into a worm-like parasitic stage. d. Planula after the parasite stage exits the comb host to the water column (e), where it can either settle on the sea floor (f) and develop into a polyp (a) or infect another comb host or a scyphozoan host such as Rhopilema nomadica or Rhizostoma pulmo (hypothetical parasite spillover) (gh) . A planula after the parasite stage may leave the scyphozoic host and move through the water column (i), where it may settle on the sea floor (f) and develop into a polyp. The dashed line represents an alternative route.

Jellyfish under attack: Researchers have found parasitic sea lilies in jellyfish for the first time

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Researchers have discovered for the first time the existence of parasitic planoles (sort of larvae) of the sea lily that grows in jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea that allow the sea lily to spread beyond the immediate environment, a finding that may affect ecosystems
15 different fly species collected in Britain in 2023. Credit: Darren J. Aubard (CC-BY 4.0).

Decoding Evolution: Breakthroughs in Fruit Fly Genomic Sequencing

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In the photo, from right to left: Dr. Tanya Dubovic, Prof. Shai Shen-Or, Dr. Alina Strusvetsky and Dr. Martin Lukachishin

Research sheds light on the constant evolution of the immune system

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The researchers of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion show in their article in Nature how the immune system has developed a "developmental space" that allows it to quickly adapt to changes in the environment
A green city, for mental health. Credit: The Science website. The image was produced using DALEE for illustrative purposes and is not a scientific image

Human culture is changing at a rate too high for evolution to catch up - so it could affect each of us

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Some problematic trends can be understood from a mismatched evolutionary fit. For example, competition and anxiety about social status have been linked to obsessions with studies, competing for prestigious positions and materialism. There is a growing trend of "being poor longer".
Red worms dig in the compost. Even the worms that exist today mix substances. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Worms - uncredited heroes of evolution

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The researchers examined the relationship between sediment mixing caused, in part, by burrowing worms with a mineral called pyrite, which plays a key role in oxygen accumulation. As more pyrite is formed and buried under the mud, sand or
Artist's rendering of a group of G. blacki within a forest in southern China. Credit: Garcia/Juan-Boyo (Southern Cross University)

3 meter tall apes in East Asia became extinct because they were overspecialized

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In the spectacular karst landscapes of southern China, giant apes, known as Gigantopithecus blacki, once roamed. They were three meters tall and weighed about 250 kilograms. They became extinct about 300 thousand years ago. The reasons for the extinction of
Mouse, rabbit and human embryos (right to left) in the same developmental stage - gastrulation (days 8-7.5 of pregnancy in rabbits and mice and around day 18 of development in humans). At this stage the human, rabbit and other vertebrate embryos are almost flat disc-shaped, while the mouse embryo is elongated cylinder-shaped. The images of the mouse and rabbit embryos were created as part of the current study, the image of the human embryo is taken from a study published in 2021 (Richard CV Tyser et al. Single-cell transcriptomic characterization of a gastrulating human embryo. Nature 600: 285-289)

In the rabbit hole

The institute's scientists developed a method that allows real-time monitoring of the development of embryos at the beginning of their journey and applied it for the first time to rabbits. The comparison they made between embryonic development in rabbits and mice gave rise to answers to fascinating questions about
The evolution of horses. Image: Mcy jerry w CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=98977446

A new evolutionary theory explains why animals shrink over time

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Research: A New Understanding of Animal Size Changes Over Time: Competition, Ecological Pressures, and Cope's Law
The pituitary gland of the zebrafish. The variety of cell types are marked in different colors: in purple - phytocytes, in red and green - two types of hormone-producing cells

Where does the fish secrete from: back to the origins of the pituitary gland

Weizmann Institute scientists are challenging a 200-year-old doctrine about the formation of the gland from the secretion of hormones. Their findings may lead to new approaches in the treatment of various medical problems
Oats and grains of wheat. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Local heroes

The growth of wheat has become an Israeli symbol of hope and renewal after a disaster. So are Prof. Avraham Levy's field experiments in the Gaza Envelope, which continue a glorious Israeli legacy of studying the evolution and genetics of the grain
The Homo erectus tribe participates in the hunt. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Continuing the Tracing of Human Descent: The Impact of Climate on Out-of-Africa Migration

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Sediment studies in the Mediterranean reveal the existence of a green corridor in the Sahara desert that emerged at the exact time when our ancestors migrated from Africa about 2.1 million years ago
Horror Movie. Illustration: depositphotos.com

How morbid curiosity can lead people to conspiracy theories

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Morbid hypocrisy is not inherently bad, but an increased interest in learning about the dangers presented in conspiracy theories can reinforce beliefs that the world is a much more dangerous place than it actually is.
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