Colin | Colin Barras

Strewth – Australian genetic link to founding of the Americas

Jul 22, 2015 | Human Origins, Journalism

Deep in the Amazon, geneticists have found an unexpected Australian twist to the story of how the Americas were founded. Image: Orlando Calheiros

Two dolphin species band together to form unprecedented alliance

Jul 22, 2015 | Animal Behaviour, Conservation, Evolution, Journalism

It’s a social network like no other. The dolphins of the Bahamas forage and play together and forge alliances – even though they belong to two distinct species. They’re not the only example of mixed-species dolphin groups, but this level of interaction is unprecedented. Image: harrisongavin18

Fussy eating may have doomed ape-like humans

Jul 15, 2015 | Earth Science, Evolution, Human Origins, Journalism

It was the first fussy eater. Most ancient hominins ate a broad diet, but one species specialised on sedges, which might have led to its downfall. Image: PriscillaBurcher

The three ancestral tribes that founded Western civilisation

Jul 1, 2015 | Evolution, Featured, Human Origins, Journalism

Not too long ago, the founding of Europe seemed beguilingly simple. Our species arrived 45,000 years ago from the Middle East, outcompeted the Neanderthals, and that was that. But ancient DNA studies have led to a revolution in European prehistory studies. Image: Effervescing Elephant

Did humans do this? Mystery of weird Amazonian savannah solved

Jul 1, 2015 | Conservation, Journalism

What is a vast grassland doing in the middle of the world’s largest rainforest? Conservationists say that fires started by the indigenous people have destroyed the forests. Others argue that the savannah has existed for millennia and that the fires conserve this natural landscape. Both could be wrong. Image: Duda Arraes