2025 HALDANE PRIZE SHORTLIST: Nicole Walasek discusses her paper “The evolution of sensitive periods beyond early ontogeny: Bridging theory and data“, which has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology’s 2025 Haldane Prize…
Tag: Evolution
Clearwing butterflies are cool! Impact of wing transparency on heating capacities along altitudinal gradients in tropical butterflies – Functional Ecologists
In this week’s blog post we’re getting transparent about temperature regulatory processes in clear wing butterflies! Violine Ossola and team explore the sensitivities around thermal regulation in the neotropical tribe…
Evolution of Human Brain May Explain High Autism Rates
Summary: A new study suggests that autism may be linked to the rapid evolution of brain cell types unique to humans. Researchers found that outer-layer neurons in the human brain…
Tiny Gene Fragment Key to Memory Revealed
Summary: Researchers have discovered that a nine–amino acid microexon spliced into the DAAM1 gene is critical for memory formation, functioning exclusively in neurons. Deleting this microexon in mice resulted in…
Human Remains Reveal Violence and Cannibalism in Bronze Age Britain
Summary: Archaeologists studying the Charterhouse Warren site in England found evidence of a massacre, where at least 37 individuals were butchered, likely partly consumed, and dehumanized by their enemies. Analysis…
Do Animals Really Understand Fairness?
Summary: New research challenges the idea that animals share humans’ sense of fairness, suggesting their reactions to unequal rewards stem from unmet expectations rather than inequity aversion. In the largest…
How Hunter-Gatherer Kids Learn Lifelong Skills by Age Six
Summary: Hunter-gatherer children in the Congo Basin learn critical skills like hunting, gathering, and childcare by age six or seven, thanks to a unique social learning environment. Unlike Western societies,…
