Hacker News with Generative AI: Evolution

Bird Went Extinct and Then Evolved into Existence Again (vice.com)
The Aldabra white-throated rail, a flightless bird that lives on its namesake atoll in the Indian Ocean, doesn’t look like anything special at first glance. But the small bird has big bragging rights, because it has effectively evolved into existence twice after first going extinct some 136,000 years ago.

Evolution, Biology, Extinction, Birds

10 points by MrBuddyCasino 4 days ago | 3 comments

Chicken-or-egg evolutionary problem solved by missing link molecule (cosmosmagazine.com)
An accidental discovery could provide clues to a chicken-or-egg question which has puzzled scientists for decades: what came first – oxygen production by photosynthesis or oxygen consumption by aerobic metabolism?

Science, Biology, Evolution, Photosynthesis, Aerobic Metabolism

5 points by geox 7 days ago | 0 comments

Molecular clock: bacteria used oxygen long before widespread photosynthesis (phys.org)
Molecular clock analysis shows bacteria used oxygen long before widespread photosynthesis

Biology, Evolution, Science, Microbiology

13 points by PaulHoule 10 days ago | 3 comments

Why Everything in the Universe Turns More Complex (quantamagazine.org)
A new suggestion that complexity increases over time, not just in living organisms but in the nonliving world, promises to rewrite notions of time and evolution.

Physics, Cosmology, Entropy, Complexity, Evolution

149 points by konradx 12 days ago | 98 comments

In the evolution of life, did metabolism come first? (knowablemagazine.org)
Four billion years ago, our planet was water and barren rock. Out of this, some mighty complicated chemistry bubbled up, perhaps in a pond or a deep ocean vent. Eventually, that chemistry got wrapped in membranes, a primitive cell developed and life emerged from the ooze.

Evolution, Biology

5 points by rbanffy 14 days ago | 0 comments

A recent study suggests that insects branched out from crustaceans (smithsonianmag.com)
Shrimp look an awful lot like bugs. The exoskeletons, jointed legs and compound eyes of both groups of living things give them more than a passing resemblance to each other, so no wonder some people call shrimp-like crawfish “mudbugs,” and a tattoo reading “shrimps is bugs” became a viral meme for underscoring the resemblance. But the tattoo got the reality backwards. Shrimp are not bugs. Bugs—or, more properly, insects—are technically a form of crustacean.

Evolution, Biology, Entomology, Crustaceans, Insects

96 points by Carrok 14 days ago | 90 comments

Mammoth genetic diversity throughout the last million years (sciencedaily.com)
A new genomic study has uncovered long-lost genetic diversity in mammoth lineages spanning over a million years, providing new insights into the evolutionary history of these animals.

Genetics, Paleontology, Evolution, Genomics, Animals

23 points by docmechanic 16 days ago | 2 comments

Dire Wolves Were Not Wolves, New Genetic Clues Reveal (2021) (scientificamerican.com)

Genetics, Paleontology, Animals, Evolution, Science

9 points by stared 17 days ago | 1 comments

Intelligence Evolved at Least Twice in Vertebrate Animals (quantamagazine.org)
Humans tend to put our own intelligence on a pedestal. Our brains can do math, employ logic, explore abstractions and think critically. But we can’t claim a monopoly on thought. Among a variety of nonhuman species known to display intelligent behavior, birds have been shown time and again to have advanced cognitive abilities.

Intelligence, Evolution, Animals, Cognition, Birds

247 points by rbanffy 18 days ago | 184 comments

Bonobos use a kind of syntax once thought to be unique to humans (newscientist.com)
Bonobos combine their calls in a complex way that forms distinct phrases, a sign that this type of syntax is more evolutionarily ancient than previously thought.

Primates, Animal Behavior, Linguistics, Science, Evolution

192 points by docmechanic 19 days ago | 125 comments

Scientists uncover key mechanism in evolution: Whole-genome duplication drives (sciencedaily.com)
Sometimes, the most significant scientific discoveries happen by accident.

Evolution, Genetics, Biology, Scientific Discovery

79 points by docmechanic 28 days ago | 24 comments

Deadly bacteria have developed the ability to wipe out competitors (phys.org)
A drug-resistant type of bacteria that has adapted to health care settings evolved in the past several years to weaponize an antimicrobial genetic tool, eliminating its cousins and replacing them as the dominant strain.

Antibiotics, Bacteria, Science, Health Care, Evolution

5 points by zfg 34 days ago | 0 comments

When the Animals Went Electric (nautil.us)
What a superpower sense tells us about evolutionary creativity

Evolution, Animal Behavior, Neuroscience, Superpowers

10 points by dnetesn 39 days ago | 0 comments

Thrive is a free, open-source game about the evolution of life (github.com/Revolutionary-Games)
This is the code repository for Thrive. For more information, visit Revolutionary Games' Website.

Open Source, Games, Evolution, Biology

3 points by BSDobelix 40 days ago | 0 comments

Genomic study: our capacity for language emerged at least 135k years ago (phys.org)
It is a deep question, from deep in our history: when did human language as we know it emerge? A new survey of genomic evidence suggests our unique language capacity was present at least 135,000 years ago. Subsequently, language might have entered social use 100,000 years ago.

Genomics, Language, Evolution, History, Science

113 points by wglb 40 days ago | 90 comments

Tiny changes in gene expression make big difference in eye size of fruit flies (phys.org)
An international team of scientists has discovered that tiny changes in the timing of the expression of a single gene can lead to big differences in eye size.

Genetics, Biology, Fruit Flies, Evolution

57 points by PaulHoule 43 days ago | 16 comments

The Prehistoric Psychopath (worksinprogress.co)
Life in the state of nature was pleasant, cooperative and longer than you might think. Most of our ancestors avoided conflict. But this made them vulnerable to a few psychopaths.

Human History, Psychology, Evolution

8 points by satvikpendem 43 days ago | 0 comments

A 62M-year-old skeleton sheds light on an enigmatic mammal (sciencedaily.com)
For more than 140 years, Mixodectes pungens, a species of small mammal that inhabited western North America in the early Paleocene, was a mystery.

Paleontology, Mammals, Science, Extinct Animals, Evolution

29 points by docmechanic 44 days ago | 9 comments

A longer, sleeker super predator: Megalodon's true form (news.ucr.edu)
The megalodon has long been imagined as an enormous great white shark, but new research suggests that perception is all wrong.

Paleontology, Sharks, Science, Evolution

4 points by gnabgib 45 days ago | 0 comments

Chimeric particles expand species boundaries in chromosomal island mobilization (biorxiv.org)
Some mobile genetic elements spread among unrelated bacterial species through unknown mechanisms.

Genetics, Microbiology, Evolution, Biology, Research

4 points by lawrenceyan 56 days ago | 0 comments

What if Eye...? (eyes.mit.edu)
We created a virtual petri dish where digital creatures evolve eyes from scratch, replaying millions of years of evolution.

Evolution, Artificial Intelligence, Biology, Computer Science

414 points by smusamashah 71 days ago | 91 comments

Birds have developed complex brains independently from mammals (phys.org)
Two studies published in the latest issue of Science have revealed that birds, reptiles, and mammals have developed complex brain circuits independently, despite sharing a common ancestor.

Evolution, Neuroscience, Biology, Birds, Mammals

32 points by ftrobro 71 days ago | 6 comments

Ear muscle we thought humans didn't use activates when people listen hard (frontiersin.org)
If you can wiggle your ears, you can use muscles that helped our distant ancestors listen closely.

Human Biology, Evolution, Science, Hearing

247 points by geox 85 days ago | 197 comments

Tiny algae shaped the evolution of giant clams (colorado.edu)
Giant clams, some of the largest mollusks on Earth, have long fascinated scientists. These impressive creatures can grow up to 4.5 feet in length and weigh over 700 pounds, making them icons of tropical coral reefs.

Biology, Evolution, Marine Biology, Giant Clams

9 points by gmays 85 days ago | 0 comments

Giant, Mysterious Spires Ruled the Earth Long Before Trees Did (smithsonianmag.com)
When land plants were still the relatively new kids on the evolutionary block and the world’s tallest trees reached only a few feet in height, giant spires of life poked from the Earth.

Paleontology, Earth Science, Ancient Life, Evolution

20 points by Brajeshwar 93 days ago | 4 comments

Why did a frozen Earth coincide with an evolutionary spurt? (colorado.edu)
CU Boulder geologists Lizzy Trower and Carl Simpson win $1 million in support from W.M. Keck Foundation to try to solve an evolutionary puzzle and to extend Earth’s temperature record by 2 billion years

Earth Science, Evolution, Geology, Research Funding

4 points by isaacfrond 103 days ago | 3 comments

The Great Filter Comes for Us All (codinghorror.com)
With a 13 billion year head start on evolution, why haven't any other forms of life in the universe contacted us by now?

Space Exploration, Evolution

12 points by mooreds 109 days ago | 5 comments

Stone selection by wild chimpanzees shares patterns with Oldowan hominins (sciencedirect.com)
The use of broad tool repertoires to increase dietary flexibility through extractive foraging behaviors is shared by humans and their closest living relatives (chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes).

Chimpanzees, Archaeology, Tool Use, Animal Behavior, Evolution

36 points by benbreen 109 days ago | 4 comments

Software creators are the new content creators (workingtheorys.com)
No, this isn’t the end of software, but it is the beginning of a new software era. And I like the media industry analogy, but it’s an evolution, not a death.

Software Development, Content Creation, Media Industry, Evolution

10 points by antelopetracks 110 days ago | 3 comments

70 Years of Height Evolution in the NBA (runrepeat.com)
“You can’t teach height” - Red Auerbach

Sports, Basketball, NBA, History, Evolution

13 points by belter 112 days ago | 0 comments