Tag - evolution

 
 

EVOLUTION

JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Oct 27, 2017
Research into reverse-sex genitalia deserved award
In caves in Brazil there lives a tiny insect with the most extraordinary story. It feeds on bat droppings and chews on the dead carcasses of fallen bats. When it copulates, it does so slowly — a single sexual act takes up to 70 hours, or three full days. But that's not even the oddest thing about it....
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 27, 2017
Fossil footprints reveal existence of large dinosaur predator in early Jurassic Period
A trail of fossilized three-toed footprints that measure nearly 2 feet (57 cm) long shows that a huge meat-eating dinosaur stalked southern Africa 200 million years ago at a time when most carnivorous dinosaurs were modest-sized beasts.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 13, 2017
'Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution 1': Nostalgic flashbacks get a bit confusing
It's an anime industry tradition that stretches back to the original "Mobile Suit Gundam": re-editing and adding new animation to popular television series in order to transform them into feature films.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 10, 2017
How the first airborne mammals took off, 100 million years before bats
In dense Chinese forests populated by dinosaurs 160 million years ago, two furry critters resembling flying squirrels glided from tree to tree, showing that even in such a perilous neighborhood early mammals had succeeded in going airborne.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 8, 2017
Moroccan fossils shake up understanding of human origins
The understanding of human origins was turned on its head on Wednesday with the announcement of the discovery of fossils unearthed on a Moroccan hillside that are about 100,000 years older than any other known remains of our species, Homo sapiens.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 7, 2017
Scientists hope to show humankind originated in Mediterranean
A team of excavators in Bulgaria has resumed a search for fossils of an ape-like creature that may be the oldest-known direct ancestor of man and whose discovery has challenged the central hypothesis that humankind originated in Africa.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 6, 2017
Unique reef fish 'kisses' take sting out of coral diet
Featuring slime and suction, a kiss from a tubelip wrasse — a colorful reef fish — is no one's idea of romance. But it is perfectly suited for eating a hazardous diet using one of the animal kingdom's most unique feeding strategies.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 13, 2017
All in the family: Dinosaur cousin's look is quite a surprise for researchers
Scientists have identified the oldest-known forerunner of the dinosaurs and are expressing surprise at how little it resembled one.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 18, 2017
Darwin specimens showcase evolution for first time in Tokyo exhibition
Charles Darwin certainly did not consider it a sin to kill a mockingbird. The 19th-century English biologist killed many of the birds whilst on board the HMS Beagle survey ship as he traveled around the world. The specimens are more important than you might think and you can see a number of them at "Treasures...
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 16, 2017
Fossils show quick rebound of life after ancient mass extinction
Fossils including sharks, sea reptiles and squid-like creatures dug up in Idaho reveal a marine ecosystem thriving relatively soon after Earth's worst mass extinction, contradicting the long-held notion life was slow to recover from the calamity.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 15, 2016
Undersea mystery: Genetic secrets of the seahorse unveiled
Scientists have unlocked some of the genetic secrets of the weird and wondrous seahorse, including its exotic eccentricity of male pregnancy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 9, 2016
Remarkable feathered dinosaur tail found encased in amber
Some 99 million years ago, a juvenile dinosaur got its feathery tail stuck in tree resin, a death trap for the small creature. But its misfortune is now giving scientists unique insight into feathered dinosaurs that prospered during the Cretaceous Period.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 21, 2016
Smart mouth: Chinese fish fossil sheds light on jaw evolution
A bottom-dwelling, mud-grubbing, armored fish that swam in tropical seas 423 million years ago is fundamentally changing the understanding of the evolution of an indisputably indispensable anatomical feature: the jaw.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 15, 2016
Endangered Hawaiian crow shows a knack for tool use
An endangered crow species from Hawaii that already is extinct in the wild displays remarkable proficiency in using small sticks and other objects to wrangle a meal, joining a small but elite group of animals that use tools.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2016
Inventions changed our genetic code
When humans invent technology, we also reinvent ourselves.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 7, 2016
Exquisite dolphin fossils provide insight into evolution of ultrasonic hearing, echolocation
Fossils unearthed in a South Carolina drainage ditch are providing insight into the development of ultrasonic hearing in prehistoric whales, a trait closely linked to their uncanny ability to hunt and navigate using sound waves and echoes.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 3, 2016
How dogs became man's best friend — twice over
Ancient humans made dogs their best friend not once but twice, by domesticating two separate populations of wolves far apart in Europe and Asia.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 12, 2016
Lava bubbles show primordial Earth had thin air that still supported life
Tiny bubbles that formed inside volcanic rock 2.7 billion years ago are providing big insights into the conditions on primordial Earth.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 7, 2016
Weird ancient hammerhead creature ate algae
It was a creature so outlandish that scientists say it reminds them of the fanciful beasts conjured up by Dr. Seuss. But would the famous children's book author have thought up a marine reptile with a hammerhead snout it used to snack on algae?
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 6, 2016
Primate fate: Chinese fossils illuminate key evolutionary period
A treasure trove of fossils of six furry critters that inhabited the trees of southern China 34 million years ago is providing a deeper understanding of a pivotal moment in the evolution of primates, the group that eventually gave rise to people.

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Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan