Animals
Let’s learn about dinosaurs’ fearsome neighbors
Dinosaurs may get much of our attention, but there were plenty of other interesting critters during the Age of Reptiles, including our mammal ancestors.
HS-LS4-1
Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.
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GeneticsEurope’s ancient humans often hooked up with Neandertals
DNA from ancient bones shows humans and Neandertals were regularly mixing genes by about 45,000 years ago.
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FossilsRhinos, camels and bone-crushing dogs once roamed Nebraska
Scientists digging into the remnants of an ancient watering hole in Nebraska discovered evidence of an Africa-like savanna, complete with rhinos.
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LifeScientists Say: Genus
A genus is a group of closely related species. It’s the first part of the two-part system called binomial nomenclature, used to name living things.
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FossilsScientists Say: Dinosaur
Dinosaurs emerged between 243 and 233 million years ago. While some died out 66 million years ago, others are still with us — birds.
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LifeScientists Say: Hominid
Scientists are still working out what counts as a hominid. Some say it’s just people and our extinct ancestors. Others say add more apes.
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HumansBy not including everyone, genome science has blind spots
Little diversity in genetic databases makes precision medicine hard for many. One historian proposes a solution, but some scientists doubt it’ll work.
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AgricultureSoil (and its inhabitants) by the numbers
Teeming with life, soils have more going on than most of us realize.
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AnimalsGiant worms may have hidden beneath the ancient seafloor to ambush prey
Twenty-million-year-old tunnels unearthed in Taiwan may have been home to creatures similar to today’s monstrous bobbit worms.
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ArchaeologyHarsh Ice Age winters may have helped turn wolves into dogs
In the Ice Age, Arctic hunters may have turned to some game for their fatty bones. Much of those animals’ meat might have been left to domesticate dogs.