Science Helpdesk

Fossils.Very simple animation showing how a fish can turn into a fossil.

How the discovery of geologic time changed our view of the world.We now know that the Earth is some 4.5 by old. But what did they think in the past?

How do scientists determine the age of dinosaur bones?Learn about the techniques of radiometric dating.

International Stratigraphic Chart 2008.The state of the art in geochronology. Latest version is always available at the International Commission on Stratigraphy website.

Global paleogeographic view.Google Earth file showing continental drift in the last 600 million years.

Wikipedia: History of the Earth.Wikipedia's article on the History of the Earth.

History of the Earth in 60 seconds.An amazing video experiment in scale, condensing 4.6 billion years of History into a minute.

Tree of Life.Simple video that shows how Life, branching off of simple unicellular bacteria, evolved up to current forms of Life.

7 major "missing links".Seven of the most important fossils that show evolution in action.

Paleontology's most famous missing links.Again, a close look at some famous transition fossils, from Archaeopteryx to Ida.

Mass extinctions.Wonderful interactive lesson to teach you about the major mass extinctions in Earth's history, from the "Oxygen holocaust" to the one that almost killed off Mankind 73,000 years ago.

Extinction.Encyclopaedia Britannica online article on biological extinctions.

Toxic gases caused world's worst extinction.Learn how a supervolcano that rained Hell on Earth 250 million years ago, could have killed 90 percent of all life and be responsible of the Permian mass extinction.

Fossil fragments reveal 500-million-year-old monster predator.Learn how new studies on old fossils have turned Hurdia victoria into a possible ancestor of all arthropods.

Giant sauropod dinosaur found in Spain.News of the 2006 discovery of the huge Turiasaurus riodevensis in Teruel, Spain.

What is the last common ancestor?If you suddenly find yourself in the company of paleoanthropologists or swamped by news of the latest hominid fossil find, there's a good chance you'll hear the phrase last common ancestor. But what is this enigmatic person or thing?

How did humans develop?A great brief review of the History of Paleoanthropology.

Puzzling together human origins.The History of Paleoanthropology in photos, starting with the discovery of the first Neanderthal fossils, back in 1856.

Early human phylogeny.Easy-to-read guide to many of our biped ancestors.

Cavemen facts.BBC's fact pages about hominids.

Fossil finds extend human story.The assessment of the 4.4-million-year-old animal called Ardipithecus ramidus, that may be a direct ancestor to our species, has been reported by researchers.

Wikipedia: Timeline of Human Evolution.From primates (and beyond) to Homo sapiens sapiens.

What separates humans from chimps and other apes?When we stare at gorillas and chimpanzees, we see aspects of ourselves: the bestial, the innocent, the savage and the adorable. And the truth is that we actually have a great deal in common with apes. Learn how much and what makes us different.

Top 10 signs of evolution in modern man.Through history, as natural selection played its part in the development of modern man, many of the useful functions and parts of the human body become unnecessary. What is most fascinating is that many of these parts of the body still remain in some form so we can see the progress of evolution. This list covers the ten most significant evolutionary changes that have taken place, leaving signs behind them.

Are humans still evolving?Modern Homo sapiens is still evolving. Despite the long-held view that natural selection has ceased to affect humans because almost everybody now lives long enough to have children, a new study of a contemporary Massachusetts population offers evidence of evolution still in action.

7 evolutionary leftovers in the human body.Vestigial organs and structures, once useful in an ancestor and now diminished in size, complexity, and/or utility, carry important information and give us clues to our evolutionary past.

Why we are as we are.Can Darwin's insights explain human behaviour and be used profitably by policy makers?

The human animal.A brilliant BBC mini-series documentary by zoologist Desmond Morris that takes an extended look at the curious creatures known as Homo sapiens. The link takes you to the first episode, but you can also watch the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth parts. Beautiful and fascinating.