Long-term changes in Earth’s climate affected the dispersal of human ancestors and their adaptation to diverse habitats, a new study finds.
fossils & paleontology
Posted inNews
Marine Life May Be Headed to Higher Latitudes
Researchers tracked plankton through a changing climate over 8 million years. Now, that knowledge is helping scientists understand the coming effects of warming oceans.
Posted inNews
UV Radiation Contributed to Earth’s Biggest Mass Extinction
To find the first direct evidence of heightened UV radiation during the end-Permian mass extinction, researchers turned to chemical evidence preserved in pollen grains.
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Small Shrubs May Have Played a Large Role in Decarbonizing the Ancient Atmosphere
Vascular plants may have contributed to shaping Earth’s atmosphere long before trees evolved.
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How Animals May Have Conquered Snowball Earth
We know there were animals during Earth’s chilliest era. The question is, What did they look like?
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Fluid Dynamics of Tiny, Ancient Marine Animals
Water flow simulations using 3D models of fossils yield new clues to the evolution of organisms known as medusozoans.
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A Mysterious Dome Reveals Clues to Australia’s Miocene History
The Nullarbor Plain has been relatively untouched by geological forces, leaving traces of the continent’s deep past.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Magnetofossils Unveil Paleoredox Conditions in Extreme Climate
The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, a thermal pulse about 56 million years ago, is an analog for future global warming. A new magnetofossil study shows progressive ocean deoxygenation.
Posted inNews
A Spike in Wildfires Contributed to the End-Permian Extinction
An upward trend in fossilized charcoal indicates that wildfires may have contributed to extinctions during the Great Dying.
Posted inNews
Cretaceous Charcoal Gives a Glimpse of Plant Evolution
New data from vegetal charcoal in northwest India supports the theory of paleowildfires as a global phenomenon and an evolutionary force for biodiversity.