Evolution

The latest science on how life has adapted and changed over generations—and how new species come to be.

Latest in Evolution

Tim Enthoven illustration
Science

Why do cats purr?

By Marion Renault

infected human cell
Health

How the COVID-19 pandemic might end

By Wendy Orent/Undark

A reconstruction of Ambopteryx in a glide.
Science

Dinosaurs may have evolved into birds, but early flights didn’t go so well

By Kate Baggaley

A yellow fever mosquito discretely sinks its labrum into its prey
Science

Evolution made mosquitos into stealthy, sensitive vampires

By Erica McAlister

A green frog from Madascagar sits on a leaf.
Science

What hundreds of pickled frog carcasses can tell us about their enormous eyes

By María Paula Rubiano A.

Myobatrachus gouldii live, in situ, Kalbarri National Park, WA.
Science

These buff frogs never skip arm day

By Sara Kiley Watson

Highland wild dog.
Science

New Guinea singing dogs still roam the wilderness

By Sara Kiley Watson

Friends.
Science

Humans owe our evolutionary success to friendship

By Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods

Sled pulled by dogs.
Science

Humans have partnered with sled dogs for 9,500 years

By Sara Kiley Watson

Big Q body parts
Science

Why your body looks so weird

By Ellen Airhart

An inch-long bogong moth covers hundreds of miles of Australian terrain to return to its birthplace.
Science

Animals have mysterious ways of finding their way back home

By Purbita Saha

Renaud Vigourt illustration
Science

No one knows what a perfect night’s sleep actually looks like

By Claire Maldarelli

Adalatherium hui
Science

This ‘crazy beast’ is unlike any mammal we’ve ever seen

By Sara Kiley Watson

people's faces
Health

Why we evolved to feel empathy during pandemics and other disasters

By Peter Sterling/MIT Press Reader

Pale blue blip
Science

This timeline shows just how insignificant humans are

By Nicole Wetsman

Rhinos with oxpeckers on their back.
Environment

Rhinos pay a painful price for oxpecker protection

By Sara Kiley Watson

Close-up of modern flax cordage showing twisted fibre construction
Science

An ancient bit of yarn suggests Neanderthals were super crafty

By Sara Kiley Watson

A mandrill baboon in a zoo
Health

Social distancing works—just ask lobsters, ants, and vampire bats

By Hawley & Buck/The Conversation

Anotheca spinosa skull
Science

These spiky frog skulls look more like dinosaur fossils

By Sara Kiley Watson

Yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse.
Science

Meet the highest mouse on Earth

By Sara Kiley Watson

Hippo in water
Science

Pablo Escobar’s invasive hippos could actually be good for the environment

By Sara Kiley Watson

Blessing of narwhals
Science

The narwhal’s giant unicorn horn might help them find mates

By Sara Kiley Watson

A bioluminescent ponyfish with a light-generating organ in its esophagus.
Science

Fish gave us legs—and four other finny facts

By Molly Glick

A tadpole of a gray tree frog sucks in a bubble full of oxygen.
Science

Watch tiny tadpoles breathe by ‘bubble sucking’

By Purbita Saha

young women kissing
Science

We might have started kissing to share chewed up food (and other delicious facts about smooching)

By Erin Blakemore

two fish side by side with one poking a bone into the other, but in a sexy way
Science

This ancient bony fish was a sexual pioneer

By Rachel Feltman

Azawakh dog in the forest.
Science

Meet the Azawakh, the latest breed to enter the Westminster Dog Show

By Sara Kiley Watson

White dog on blue background
Science

Did humans truly domesticate dogs? Canine history is more of a mystery than you think.

By Kat McGowan

A graceful orange cat with a long tail walking on green grass
Science

Most humans don’t have tails. So why do we have the bones for it?

By Molly Glick

Natalie Andrewson illustration
Science

If monkeys could speak, they’d probably be trolls

By Jessica Boddy

African grey parrot.
Science

For some African grey parrots, sharing is caring

By Sara Kiley Watson

Homo erectus skull
Science

The ‘granddaddy’ of all early hominins walked on Earth a lot longer than we thought

By Sara Kiley Watson

Baboon making sounds
Science

Monkey mouth sounds could push the evolution of speech back by 27 million years

By Thomas R. Sawallis & Louis-Jean Boë/The Conversation

Why do some animals engage in same-sex sexual behavior? The better question is… why not?
Science

Why do some animals engage in same-sex sexual behavior? The better question is… why not?

By Grace Wade

A controversial new study claims Botswana may be the origin of modern humanity
Science

A controversial new study claims Botswana may be the origin of modern humanity

By Kat Eschner

We may finally know why we can’t regrow limbs like newts and toads do
Science

We may finally know why we can’t regrow limbs like newts and toads do

By Kat Eschner

The weirdest things we learned this week: moving corpses, birth control placebos, and the story behind the hymen
Science

The weirdest things we learned this week: moving corpses, birth control placebos, and the story behind the hymen

By Popular Science Team

The asteroid collision that changed life on Earth forever—without killing the dinosaurs
Science

The asteroid collision that changed life on Earth forever—without killing the dinosaurs

By Birger Schmitz/The Conversation

Panic might be triggered by signals from your bones
Science

Panic might be triggered by signals from your bones

By Kat Eschner

Motion sickness is proof that your body is functioning as evolution intended
Science

Motion sickness is proof that your body is functioning as evolution intended

By Spencer Salter/The Conversation

Evolution doesn’t work the way you think it does
Science

Evolution doesn’t work the way you think it does

By Quentin Wheeler, Antonio G. Valdecasas & Cristina Cánovas/The Conversation

This three-foot-tall parrot proves New Zealand is the mecca of giant weird birds
Science

This three-foot-tall parrot proves New Zealand is the mecca of giant weird birds

By Sara Chodosh

This ancient predator had claws like rakes and a body like a spaceship
Science

This ancient predator had claws like rakes and a body like a spaceship

By Kat Eschner

Everything you need to know about shark bites
Environment

Everything you need to know about shark bites

By Gavin Naylor/The Conversation

Gorillas can be cliquey, too. Here’s what that says about our own social lives.
Science

Gorillas can be cliquey, too. Here’s what that says about our own social lives.

By Marion Renault

Natural selection can’t explain this bug’s bizarre horn
Science

Natural selection can’t explain this bug’s bizarre horn

By Daniel Milo

Scientists are still straightening out the history of zebra stripes
Science

Scientists are still straightening out the history of zebra stripes

By Donavyn Coffey

highveld mole rat droptail ant
Science

The naked mole rat’s furry cousin also feels no pain

By Sara Chodosh

Europeans looked down on Neanderthals—until they realized they shared their DNA
Science

Europeans looked down on Neanderthals—until they realized they shared their DNA

By Angela Saini

Ancient fungi may have laid the groundwork for complex life
Science

Ancient fungi may have laid the groundwork for complex life

By Katie Field/The Conversation

Scientists caught chimps smashing tortoises like walnuts for future snacking
Science

Scientists caught chimps smashing tortoises like walnuts for future snacking

By Lydia Luncz, Alexander Piel, and Fiona Stewart/The Conversation

This ancient sea creature had 45 tubular tentacles and will haunt your dreams
Science

This ancient sea creature had 45 tubular tentacles and will haunt your dreams

By Kaitlin Sullivan

Four-legged whales once straddled land and sea
Science

Four-legged whales once straddled land and sea

By Jan Hoole/The Conversation

These Chinese fossil deposits shed light on an explosive period in evolution
Science

These Chinese fossil deposits shed light on an explosive period in evolution

By Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams/The Conversation

Warblers live longer with a little child-rearing help from their friends
Science

Warblers live longer with a little child-rearing help from their friends

By Eleanor Cummins

Human animal humanimal hand swan feeding
Science

Rethinking what sets humans apart starts with asking if we’re special at all

By Adam Rutherford

Clearwing butterfly toxin species photograph award winning
Science

Megapixels: This butterfly’s wings are transparently toxic

By Eleanor Cummins

close-up of a zebra
Science

How a zebra’s stripes put bloodthirsty flies into a tailspin

By Jessica Boddy

Charles Darwin wrote enough one-liners to fill a burn book
Science

Charles Darwin wrote enough one-liners to fill a burn book

By Eleanor Cummins

A macaroni penguin takes a little snooze on a rock.
Science

Penguins may have islands to thank for their diverse looks

By Jessica Boddy

fluorescent flying squirrel
Science

MEGAPIXELS: These flying squirrels fluoresce hot pink, and no one knows exactly why

By Rob Verger

squirrel in the snow
Science

Do wild animals hate being cold in winter?

By Bridget B. Baker/The Conversation

Veoneer driving facial recognition mood
Technology

Artificial intelligence thinks your face is full of data. Could it actually unmask you?

By Eleanor Cummins

Face to face with the sloth
Science

Sloths aren’t the picky eaters we thought they were

By Jan Hoole/The Conversation