The earliest turtles known to live in water have been discovered on a Scottish island. The 164 million-year-old reptile fossils were found on a beach in southern Skye, off the UK's west coast. The new species forms a missing link between ancient terrestrial turtles and their modern, aquatic descendants. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Pre-human fossils should not be presented by the National Museum as fact of evolution, says Kenya's Pentecostal community. picked by hypnotode 3 years ago

A 2,000-year-old mine has been discovered high in mountains in Peru. The find offers proof that an ancient people in the Andes mined hematite iron ore centuries before the Inca Empire, archaeologists say. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Archaeologists have said they have discovered a sunken vessel packed with ancient pottery, in an exploration prompted by an octopus which attached its suckers to a plate. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

A fossil of a new crab species reveals the itsy-bitsy crustaceans inhabited towering sponge reefs during the Jurassic Period, where they made tasty snacks for ichthyosaurs and other ancient reptiles. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Howard Falcon-Lang discovered this fossil near Dorchester Cape last August. Lang believes the fossil is the oldest known reptile evidence in the world. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Researchers have thawed ice estimated to be at least a million years old from above Lake Vostok, an ancient lake that lies hidden more than two miles beneath the frozen surface of Antarctica. The scientists will now examine the eons-old water for microorganisms, and then through novel genomic techniques, try to figure out how these tiny, living “time capsules” survived the ages in tota... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

In a groundbreaking study, two Harvard scientists have for the first time extracted human DNA from ancient artifacts. The work potentially opens up a new universe of sources for ancient genetic material, which is used to map human migrations in prehistoric times. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Researchers working in Ethiopia have unearthed the fossils of a 10-million-year-old ape, a discovery they say suggests that humans and African great apes may have split much earlier than thought. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

The analysis of a termite entombed for 100 million years in an ancient piece of amber has revealed the oldest example of "mutualism" ever discovered between an animal and microorganism, and also shows the unusual biology that helped make this one of the most successful, although frequently despised insect groups in the world. picked by AutumnLotus 7 months ago

The Human Genome Project revealed that only a small fraction of the 3 billion “letter” DNA code actually instructs cells to manufacture proteins, the workhorses of most life processes. This has raised the question of what the remaining part of the human genome does. How much of the rest performs other biological functions, and how much is merely residue of prior genetic events? Evolut... read full post picked by Blankspace73 2 years ago

Culture and antiquities officials say an excavation team found five golden earrings and two rings in the tomb of the state treasurer who served during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut. picked by AutumnLotus 9 months ago

French fossil hunters have pinned down the age of Toumai, which they contend is the remains of the earliest human ever found, at between 6.8 and 7.2 million years old. The fossil was discovered in the Chadian desert in 2001 and an intense debate ensued over whether the nearly complete cranium, pieces of jawbone and teeth belonged to one of our earliest ancestors. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

A team of Chinese and American scientists has discovered a new mammal from the 165 million-year-old lakebeds of the Jurassic Period in Northern China. It sheds light on the earliest mammalian evolution, especially the convergent evolution of teeth among early mammals, and leads scientists to think that mammals were far more diverse in the age of dinosaurs than previously thought. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

New exquisitely preserved fossils from Latvia cast light on a key event in our own evolutionary history, when our ancestors left the water and ventured onto land. Swedish researcher Per Ahlberg from Uppsala University and colleagues have reconstructed parts of the animal and explain the transformation. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

The description of an ancient amphibian that millions of years ago swam in quiet pools and caught mayflies on the surrounding land in Texas has set to rest one of the greatest current controversies in vertebrate evolution. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Surprising research based on two African fossils suggests our family tree is more like a wayward bush with stubby branches, challenging what had been common thinking on how early humans evolved. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

A brilliant green tree frog with huge black eyes, jumping spiders and a striped gecko are among more than 50 new animal species scientists have discovered in a remote, mountainous region of Papua New Guinea. picked by AutumnLotus 8 months ago

Fossil microbes found along an iron-rich river in Spain reveal how signs of life could be preserved in minerals found on Mars. The discovery may help to equip the next generation Mars rover with the tools it would need to find evidence of past life on the planet. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

The partial remains of an ancient toothed whale species that roamed the ocean 5 million years ago have been discovered on a California beach. picked by AutumnLotus 3 months ago