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Category: Evolution and Climate
Ancient DNA reveals a hidden history of human adaptation
Humans may be just as vulnerable to environmental change as other animals, according to our new research analysing genetic data from more than a thousand people who lived across Europe and Asia over the past 45,000 years. We found traces of more than 50 “hard sweeps” in which a rare genetic variant rapidly swept through […]
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On a tiny Australian island, snakes feasting on seabirds evolved huge jaws in a surprisingly short time
A study by researchers from the University of Adelaide and other institutions has found that in a population of island tiger snakes the bones in their jaws increase in length after feeding on large prey, while their mainland counterparts show no change. The new study presents the first detailed examination of the effects that diet […]
TREENET National Street Tree Symposium success
Over 330 delegates attended the recent TREENET 23rd National Street Tree Symposium, held in Adelaide in September, making it the most successful ever! The Environment Institute’s Professor Robert Hill delivered the Bob Such Keynote Address at the Symposium. Professor Hill is an expert on how Australian flora has changed in response to the changing climate […]
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We helped fill a major climate change knowledge gap, thanks to 130,000-year-old sediment in Sydney lakes
Plants capture around half the carbon we emit by burning fossil fuels, making them a crucial part of mitigating climate change. But carbon is often released back into the atmosphere when plants die, decompose and eventually turn into dirt. Carbon is only permanently removed from the atmosphere if it’s stored in sediments that accumulate at the bottom […]
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History of modern human arrival in Europe rewritten, as new fossil discovered
An international research team including scientists from the University of Adelaide has found evidence of human occupation in Europe almost 10,000 years earlier than previously documented, a discovery that stands to rewrite modern human and Neanderthal histories on the continent. In a study published in Science Advances and led by Toulouse University, France, the authors dated distinctive stone tools and […]
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Ancient DNA helps solve mystery disappearance of lions and bears
An international team of researchers led by the University of Adelaide, suggest a change in climate is the likely cause of the mysterious disappearance of ancient lions and bears from parts of North America for a thousand years or more prior to the last Ice Age. In a study in Molecular Ecology, the researchers sequenced DNA […]
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Humans hastened the extinction of the woolly mammoth
New research shows that humans had a significant role in the extinction of woolly mammoths in Eurasia, occurring thousands of years later than previously thought. An international team of scientists led by researchers from the University of Adelaide and University of Copenhagen, has revealed a 20,000-year pathway to extinction for the woolly mammoth. “Our research […]
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Researchers respond to the IPCC’s report that human activity is undeniably heating the planet.
The world’s leading climate scientists at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – IPCC, have warned that the prospect of limiting global warming to 1.5C will be out of reach within 12 years at current rates of greenhouse gas emissions. The latest 2021 report has indisputably confirmed that human activity is heating the planet, causing […]
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Scientists reveal Earth’s secrets in Flinders Ranges rocks
The first virtual plate reconstruction of the Earth’s last billion years of geological history is providing deeper insight into what formed our planet and made it into how it is today. Professor Alan Collins from the University of Adelaide’s Earth Sciences Department in School of Physical Sciences and Environment Institute member, is part of an […]
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Disappointing season for beekeepers in South Australia
La Niña’s cool, but dry weather conditions provided less pollen and nectar for bees. University of Adelaide and Environment Institute member, researcher Dr Katja Hogendoorn said dry periods were having a “major impact” on feed availability for native and honey bees. “The very hot summers and heatwaves during spring cause the flowers to dissipate very […]
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