Aquatic microorganisms offer important window on the history of life
The air, earth and water of our planet are pulsating with living things. Yet, a vast and diverse web of life exists, about which almost
Category : Natural History
HeritageDaily – Natural history news and press releases from across the globe
Scientists find a place on Earth where there is no life
Living beings, especially microorganisms, have a surprising ability to adapt to the most extreme environments on our planet, but there are still places where they
Only eat oysters in months with an ‘r’? Rule of thumb is at least 4,000 years old
Foodie tradition dictates only eating wild oysters in months with the letter "r" - from September to April - to avoid watery shellfish, or worse,
Alongside Ötzi the Iceman: a bounty of ancient mosses and liverworts
Buried alongside the famous Ötzi the Iceman are at least 75 species of bryophytes - mosses and liverworts - which hold clues to Ötzi's surroundings,
The last mammoths died on a remote island
The last woolly mammoths lived on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean; they died out 4,000 years ago within a very short time.
Ancient pigs endured a complete genomic turnover after they arrived in Europe
New research led by Oxford University and Queen Mary University of London has resolved a pig paradox.
When the dinosaurs died, lichens thrived
When an asteroid smacked into the Earth 66 million years ago, it triggered mass extinctions all over the planet.
The evolution of puppy dog eyes
Dogs have evolved new muscles around the eyes to better communicate with humans.
Fossil teeth reveal ancient hyenas in the Arctic
Modern hyenas are known as hunters and scavengers in Asian and African ecosystems such as the savanna.
Lynx in Turkey: Non-invasive sample collection provides insights into genetic diversity and behaviour
Little is known about the biology and the genetic status of the Caucasian Lynx (Lynx lynx dinniki), a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx distributed across
Dramatic change in ancient nomad diets coincides with expansion of networks across Eurasia
A meta-analysis of dietary information recorded in the bones of ancient animals and humans recovered from sites scattered across the Eurasian steppe, from the Caucasus
Ancient DNA from Roman and medieval grape seeds reveal ancestry of wine making
A grape variety still used in wine production in France today can be traced back 900 years to just one ancestral plant, scientists have discovered.
Exploring the origins of the apple
Recent archaeological finds of ancient preserved apple seeds across Europe and West Asia combined with historical, paleontological, and recently published genetic data are presenting a
Bedbugs evolved more than 100 million years ago – and walked the earth with T. rex
Bedbugs - some of the most unwanted human bed-mates - have been parasitic companions with other species aside from humans for more than 100 million
Archaeological discovery upends a piece of Barbados history
Which came first, the pigs or the pioneers? In Barbados, that has been a historical mystery ever since the first English colonists arrived on the
Chernobyl has become a refuge for wildlife 33 years after the nuclear accident
Reactor number four of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant suffered an explosion during a technical test on April 26, 1986.
Narwhals have endured a million years with low genetic diversity, and they’re thriving
Danish researchers have sequenced the genome of a narwhal, the Arctic whale famous for the horn-like tusk protruding from its forehead.
Holy Pleistocene Batman, the answer’s in the cave
Let's say you wanted to solve a 20,000-year-old mystery, where would you start? Perhaps archaeology and geology come to mind. Or, you could sift through
Sea otters’ tool use leaves behind distinctive archaeological evidence
An international team of researchers has analyzed the use by sea otters of large, shoreline rocks as "anvils" to break open shells, as well as
Changes in rat size reveal habitat of ‘Hobbit’ hominin
A study of rat body sizes shifting over time gives a glimpse into the habitat of the mysterious hominin Homo floresiensis -- nicknamed the "Hobbit" due to
New chimpanzee culture discovered
Chimpanzees have a more elaborate and diversified material culture than any other nonhuman primate. Their behavior varies across tropical Africa in a way that does
Foxes were domesticated by humans in the Bronze Age
In the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, between the third and second millennium BC, a widespread funeral practice consisted in burying humans with animals.