Evolution

How did penguins go from flying in the air, to 'flying' underwater? Claire Concannon speaks to a palaeontologist to learn about penguin evolution across 62 million years and the extinct giant penguin… Audio

By Kate Evans: With each generation, predators and prey refine their aggressive weapons and defensive armour. Audio

They can hunt, they can fish, they build little nurseries for their babies. Oh and some of them also engage in a bit of sexual cannibalism. Claire Concannon goes on a nighttime stroll in Kirikiriroa… Audio

Claire Concannon joins researchers from the University of Waikato to learn about the spiders they are studying, and about just how weird spider reproduction can get. Audio

What are we going to look like in the future? Humans are already living longer and it's likely - we'll be taller, more lightly built and less aggressive. But how well are we adapting to this modern… Audio

It can drive parents mad, but psychologist Dr Rachael Sharman of the University of the Sunshine Coast says sibling rivalry is a perfectly normal - and in fact, even necessary part of the developmental… Audio

Cardiologist and evolutionary biologist Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz describes herself as an innovator for human health. She is a professor at Harvard University's department of human evolutionary… Audio

The most extreme places in Antarctica give rise to the toughest and weirdest types of life. From creatures living a very different chemical life to ours at underwater methane seeps to the secret tools… Audio

The Antarctic Dry Valleys are one of the harshest places on earth. Dr. Adele Williamson from the University of Waikato is trying to find out if bacteria that live there have evolved different tools to… Audio

 In her new book The Social Instinct: How Cooperation Saved the World, evolutionary biologist Nichola Rahani writes that being 'cooperative breeders' is how humans have survived. Audio

Kiwi doctor Andrew Read may have played a part (through no fault of his own) in Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and other leading artists leaving Spotify after podcaster Joe Rogan misrepresented an old… Audio

In his new book, A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth, British palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist Dr Henry Gee offers a rather blunt assessment of why humanity might already be a dead… Audio

Sydney-based New Zealander Dr Matt Baker returns for a chat about some of the latest science news. This week we revisit the topic of pachyderms, and some of Baker's own research around so-called DNA… Audio

Ever wondered how some people are able to function optimally on just a few hours' sleep, while others still find themselves feeling a lot less than ideal after a solid eight hour shift? Those lucky… Audio

An Australian study recently published in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution has shown some animals' body shapes are adapting and changing to cope with climate change. Sara Ryding of Deakin… Audio

In his debut book How We Became Human: And Why We Need To Change, Sydney-based philosopher, writer and teacher Tim Dean looks at how we evolved to be moral creatures, and why some of our evolved… Audio

Her fulltime job is as a priest at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Maryland, Virginia, but in her 'other' life, Rev. Pamela 'Pan' Conrad has worked as a member of the tactical operations team for… Audio