Evolution

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

Latest in Evolution

small kitten sitting on a golden retriever's head.

Why some cats love dogs—despite the risk

By Clarissa Brincat

a chicken with brown and white stripes and large orange sacks on the sides of its head

A rare prairie chicken shakes his butt all day to attract ladies

By Laura Baisas

Rough thicktail scorpion (Parabuthus raudus). Paratuthus scorpions' venom is quick-acting, so they do not need to rely as much on their pincers to capture prey.

Metal-reinforced scorpions evolved to kill

an illustration of a woolly mammoth with brown fur and two large tusks and a trunk walking around a snow landscape

We’re still recovering from losing the woolly mammoth

By Laura Baisas

two sea otters in the ocean with one with its paw up

Why playing is no laughing matter for otters

By Heide Island

a sea turtle on a vet's table

Meet Earl Grey, the sea turtle with a wild family tree

By Margherita Bassi

Illustration of giant, ancient finned octopus

65-foot-long octopuses ruled ancient oceans

a penguin with black and white feathers and long yellow feathers on top of its eyes

Macaroni penguins are surprisingly buff

By Laura Baisas

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this selfie at a location nicknamed "Mary Anning" after a 19th century English paleontologist. This was the site of the chemical experiment uncovering diverse organic molecules on Mars, in the Glen Torridon region, which scientists believe was a site where ancient conditions would have been favorable to supporting life, if it ever was present.

Curiosity finds molecules needed for ancient life on Mars

Illustration of ancient tubular polyps on the ocean floor

450-million year old jellyfish ancestor looks like a flailing carwash tubeman

an illustration of an extinct hedgehog like animal

New megafauna looked like spiky, 30-pound hamster

By Margherita Bassi

a naked mole rat. it is a small, pinkish colored and hairless rodent with large front teeth

Not all naked mole-rat queens go out in a blaze of bloody violence

By Laura Baisas

a small spider attacking a cockroach

New spider named for Pink Floyd devours bugs 6x its size

By Laura Baisas

A portrait-style photograph shows a life-like reconstruction of an early human ancestor, Australopithecus afarensis, against a dark, blurred background. The figure is shown from the chest up, with its head turned to look over its shoulder toward the camera. It has prominent brow ridges, a flat nose, and large, dark, expressive eyes. Its skin is a dark tan, and its head and body are covered in short, reddish-brown hair.

Why humans don’t have tails

By Sara Kiley Watson

Lystrosaurus embryo within its partially preserved shell , reconstruction of the animal. Credit: Professor Julien Benoit and Sophie Vrard

Proto-mammals laid eggs, paleontologists finally confirm

Close up of braces on Hispanic boy's teeth. He's wearing a blue collared shirt and there's light streaming in behind him. All we see is the bottom of his nose and chin.

Ancient humans didn’t need braces. So why do we?

By Popular Science Team

Fish climbing upstream against rock wall

These tiny fish climb waterfall cliffs for 10 hours

an illustration of a prehistoric spider relative

500-million-year-old spider relative has claws where it shouldn’t

By Laura Baisas

Illustration of Neanderthal tribe butchering large elephant near lake

Neanderthals hunted giant elephants in Europe

An artist’s interpretation of mammals that lived during the last Ice Age. Fossils from similar species of an armadillo-like pampathere (bottom left) and giant ground sloth (background) were among those found in a recent study of a Texas water cave. Credit: Adapted from artwork by Jaime Chirinos

Giant armadillo, mastodon, and sloth fossils found in flooded Texas cave