Climatic variability might not drive evolutionary change as much as previously thought

A new study combining climate data with fossil records of large mammals that lived across Africa during the last 4 million years casts doubt on a long-standing hypothesis that repeated shifts in climate acted as major drivers of evolutionary change in mammals, including human ancestors. During the dry season, evaporating water leaves behind trona crystals, which grow on the lakebed of Lake Magadi, the southernmost lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley. A drilling rig used in the...