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evolution

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 these apes remained a mystery for years
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 formation of humans
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 researching the evolution and genetics of the world-famous 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.
Reconstruction of a Neanderthal family in the Neanderthal Museum in Croatia. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The encounter between Neanderthals and modern man as told by their genomes

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The gorilla Leah. Photo: Tivor Yeager, courtesy of the Safari

The evolution of facial expressions

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The primitive facial architecture of the gorilla as a key to understanding human facial expressions
Sniper fish. Photo: Dr. Orit Nafha, University of Haifa

Prosocial behavior in fish

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A new study conducted at the University of Haifa found that even the sniper fish, which lack the "higher" areas of the cerebral cortex, which are seen as being responsible for social behavior, act in a pro-social way towards their friends, until they feel "cheated"
Bacterial cells before phage infection (left) and after (right). The virus replicates itself inside them and leads to the explosion of the cells and the spilling of their contents (in red - the bacterial DNA spilled from the cell)

Survive with 0% battery: an immune system that drains the cell of energy has been discovered

The new system was discovered in bacteria - but is also used in corals, bees and others

חולטה-השולל בהישולל בהישורים, the true reason for ליירירי הדיור ושיטה הגאוניט ההופקת את מעציעה השולל לעבדים מודריםים

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Chapter nine from the book: "The Free Man - Evolutionary Psychology, Brain Research and Understanding the Mind"
Using meticulous and detailed collection methods, a research team led by the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities was able to place the remains of fossilized apes, such as Morotopithecus, within detailed reconstructions of habitats. Credit: Corbin Rainbolt

Rewriting human evolution: Great apes lived in open habitats 10 million years earlier than expected

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Using rigorous and detailed collection methods, the researchers were able to place the remains of fossilized apes, such as Morotopithecus, in detailed reconstructions of habitats. Credit: Corbin Rainbolt
Although the attacking ants far outnumber the attackers, they are not able to defend themselves against them - nor do they try. A polyergus ant surrounded by enslaved formica anthills, photo: Adrian A. Smith, CC BY 2.5

We were slaves to the ant and the butterfly

Special for Passover: It turns out that slavery is not limited to humans, and various insects survive and multiply in nature thanks to the "slavery" of other species. So what do an army of small ants and Sparta have in common? What were the ladybugs telling their psychologist? And who survives thanks to an army of drugged security guards?
A rock rabbit in the Ein Gedi reserve. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The social network of the rock bunnies

Tracking social mammals has allowed scientists to understand how they choose a way of behavior that promotes their ability to reproduce
Solutions have been found in nature to prevent "consanguineous marriages". Illustration: depositphotos.com

Things that Yoram knows" Do only humans avoid incest?

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Korbus asks: In human culture there is a taboo on sexual relations between family members, but not in animals. For example, it is not uncommon for a cat to fertilize its biological mother. Does incest really lead to the birth of "defective" offspring?
Return to normal after the corona virus (has not yet fully occurred as of the day of writing the news) Photo: depositphotos.com

Back to normal?

Is the routine good for us or maybe we are better off without it? And could it be that a new one that we haven't met yet is about to devour all the cards?
Ants build a bridge by working together. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Is the Earth on its way to becoming an intelligent organism?

At the beginning of the year 2022, three astrobiologists ran a fascinating thought experiment: they claimed that the entire Earth was about to become an intelligent organism. The meaning, as you can understand, is not that there is a mind at the core of the planet that makes decisions for the creatures living on it. Exactly the opposite: in the future they describe, all living beings on earth will participate together in a process that amounts to the creation of one collective intelligence
chin. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Things Yorami know: What is the function of the chin?

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David shares the question and the idea: Homo sapiens is the only species that has a chin and science has no explanation as to what the evolutionary advantage of such a "facility" is and how it works.
Prof. Oded Ravavi. Photo: Tel Aviv University spokesperson

Can high temperature accelerate the rate of evolution?

Researchers from Tel Aviv University demonstrated with the help of worms that epigenetic inheritance of sexual attraction can influence the process of evolution
tickling. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Things that people know: why is tickling funny and why can't a person tickle himself?

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Dana asks: Why does tickling make us laugh and why can't we tickle ourselves? Evolution gives an answer to this question as well
The evolutionary tree of life. shutterstock

Are we closer evolutionarily to starfish or insects? New research challenges 100 years of consensus

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Epetz: A benign growth on an oak tree branch. Source: Franco Folini, Wikimedia

Things that growers know: why plants don't get cancer

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Prof. Yoel Rak. Courtesy of the Israeli National Academy of Sciences

"The diversity of human races also stems from aesthetic preferences"

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Says Prof. Yoel Rak, a member of the Academy of Sciences and one of the lecturers at the online conference "Origin of Homo Sapiens" that will be held on Darwin Day - 11/2 at Zoom. According to him, there are endless races without a clear border between them, but the changes that exist make it possible to reconstruct the human journey. Prof. Arala Khobars and Dr. Assaf Marom will also participate in the conference
Thanks to the parasite project, it will be possible to reach a situation where half of the world's parasites will be known already in the next decade. water teddy bear Photo: pixabay

The Big Book of Parasites

In an article recently published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, scientists working in the field call for the establishment of an "international parasite project", which will include a concerted effort to discover, sample, document and research the world's parasites. According to the authors of the article, thanks to such a project it will be possible to reach a situation where half of the world's parasites will be known already in the next decade - instead of it taking decades or even hundreds of years.
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