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Human to fish, and back again: a brisk walk through our evolutionary history
Via stints as reptiles, rodents and fish with feet, the evolution of humans is as meandering as it is extraordinary. Reminiscent of a similar sequence from Carl Sagan’s iconic TV series Cosmos (1980), this short animation traces human evolutionary history back 550 million years to a small, primitive fish known as Metaspriggina, believed to be an early ancestor of all living vertebrates. The result is an enlightening overview, not only of our own curious lineage, but of the unpredictable turns that evolution can take for all species.
Director: Jurian Möller
Website: EVO
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History of science
Meet the Quaker pacifist who shattered British science’s highest glass ceilings
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History of science
Ideas ‘of pure genius’ – how astronomers have measured the Universe across history
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Evolution
The many ways a lizard tongue sticks, grasps, pinches and plops – in slo-mo
6 minutes
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Biology
Starlings swoosh like brushstrokes across the sky in this dazzling short
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Space exploration
The rarely told story of the fruit flies, primates and canines that preceded us in space
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Biology
Brilliant dots of colour form exquisite patterns in this close-up of butterfly wings
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Evolution
How – and how not – to think about the role randomness plays in evolution
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Engineering
For one of nature’s great builders, finding a mate means weaving the perfect nest
4 minutes
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Astronomy
The history of astronomy is a history of conjuring intelligent life where it isn’t
34 minutes