Ancient proteomes from tiny shell ornaments were successfully characterised for the first time, showing the unexpected use of mother-of-pearl from local riverine molluscs in both coastal and inland prehistoric sites.

The eggshells of palaeognath birds (e.g. ostrich, moa, kiwi, emu) have diverse homology and convergent features, and are useful modern analogues for the evolution of non-avian dinosaur eggshells.

Hypothetical battles between animals can be used to interest the general public in biology.

Bipedal footprints made 3.66 million years ago provide the clearest available evidence to date of the occurrence of marked body size variation in Australopithecus afarensis..

Ostrich eggshell from the Liushu Formation in northwestern China push ancient protein preservation into the Miocene.

Following the last deglaciation in the North Atlantic, DNA evidence shows Betulaceae colonization was consistently delayed compared to Salicaceae, which may serve as an analog for modern global warming.

A late Middle Pleistocene age for Homo naledi demonstrates a diversity of hominin species in Africa at this critical time in the archaeological record.

Analysis of specimens preserved in amber from the Cretaceous period suggests that nematodes changed their host preference towards insects with a complete metamorphosis more recently.

The cessation of major anthropogenic disturbances since European colonization in the forests of central Africa leads to a canopy closing, and to the disappearance of certain light-demanding tree species.