Despite plants and vegetation being key to the Earth's ecosystem, little is known about the origin of their roots. However in new research, scientists describe a transitional root fossils from the earliest land ecosystem that sheds light on how roots have evolved.

There are a couple of key features that make a turtle a turtle: its shell, for one, but also its toothless beak. A newly-discovered fossil turtle that lived 228 million years ago is shedding light on how modern turtles developed these traits. It had a beak, but while its body was Frisbee-shaped, its wide ribs hadn't grown to form a shell like we see in turtles today.

A new study in ants demonstrates that living in groups leads to improved fitness. The researchers show that, in larger groups, ants take on specialized roles and colony stability increases.

Up until 40,000 years ago, at least two groups of hominins inhabited Eurasia — Neanderthals in the west and Denisovans in the east. Now, researchers have sequenced the genome of an ancient hominin individual from Siberia, and discovered that she had a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father.

Scientists have identified the sensor protein responsible for hearing and balance. The findings put an end to a 40-year quest for the protein that converts sound and head movement into electrical signals that travel to the brain.

Scientists have unraveled how changes in nutrition in the early development of honeybees can result in vastly different adult characteristics.

Researchers wanted to get a better idea why 18- to 24-year-olds, especially college students, have a higher tendency to waste food, and how their residence type — on or off campus — plays a role. Findings show that during the transitionary time of young adulthood, many of the food management behaviors that might prevent food waste haven't been learned yet or haven't been necessary.

Scientists reviewed the mechanisms responsible for vascular damage from air pollution.

The financial fallout from breast cancer can last years after diagnosis, particularly for those with lymphedema, a common side effect from treatment, causing cumulative and cascading economic consequences for survivors, their families, and society, a new study suggests.

A student spotted what looked like a 'smudge' last summer on deep sky images. Astronomers have now announced that it was very likely a new galaxy about 37 million lightyears away — a part of the Leo I galaxy group that is 'lowest surface brightness object ever detected via integrated light.'