Biology & Evolution News

MRI scans of the brains of 130 mammals, including humans, indicate equal connectivity

Researchers at Tel Aviv University, led by Prof. Yaniv Assaf of the School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics and the Sagol School of Neuroscience and Prof. Yossi Yovel of the School of Zoology, the Sagol School of Neuroscience, and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, conducted a first-of-its-kind study designed to investigate brain connectivity in… Read More

Human activity threatens 50 billion years of vertebrate evolutionary history

A new study maps for the first time the evolutionary history of the world’s terrestrial vertebrates: amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles. It explores how areas with large concentrations of evolutionarily distinct species are being impacted by our ever-increasing “human footprint.” Research for the study was led by Dr. Rikki Gumbs of the EDGE of Existence… Read More

TAU researchers discover unique non-oxygen breathing animal

Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) have discovered a non-oxygen breathing animal. The unexpected finding changes one of science’s assumptions about the animal world. A study on the finding was published on February 25 in PNAS by TAU researchers led by Prof. Dorothee Huchon of the School of Zoology at TAU’s Faculty of Life Sciences and Steinhardt Museum of Natural History. The tiny, less than 10-celled… Read More

Disease found in fossilized dinosaur tail afflicts humans to this day

The fossilized tail of a young dinosaur that lived on a prairie in southern Alberta, Canada, is home to the remains of a 60-million-year-old tumor. Researchers at Tel Aviv University, led by Dr. Hila May of the Department of Anatomy and Anthropology at TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Dan David Center for Human Evolution… Read More

Tiny insects become “visible” to bats when they swarm

Bats use echolocation to hunt insects, many of which fly in swarms. In this process, bats emit a sound signal that bounces off the target object, revealing its location. Smaller insects like mosquitos are individually hard to detect through echolocation, but a new Tel Aviv University study reveals that they become perceptible when they gather… Read More

First proof-of-concept demonstrates genetic sex selection in mammals

Certain plants, insects, crustaceans and fish possess the uncanny ability to change the sex of their offspring before they are born. Mammals have never before demonstrated this genetic skill, until now. A new Tel Aviv University study reveals a genetic system in mammals that enables two animals to mate and produce only females. A similar… Read More