Humans’ closest primate relatives lost their tails about 25 million years ago, but exactly how has remained a mystery. A breakthrough in genetic research may finally offer answers.

When I get home at the end of the day, I am greeted by 35 pounds of bouncing fur and three tails wagging a mile a minute. After lots of rubs and kisses, my three Havanese dogs settle down for a ...

To understand how apes and humans lost their tail, Mr. Xia looked at how the tail forms in other animals. In the early stages of an embryo’s development, a set of master genes switch on ...

WASHINGTON — Our very ancient animal ancestors had tails. Why don’t we? Somewhere around 20 million or 25 million years ago, when apes diverged from monkeys, our branch of the tree of life ...

The tails are associated with spina bifida, a dangerous condition in which the canals of the spinal cord don’t entire close before birth, but they are often present without the disorder.

Small reptiles like lizards and geckos are known for their extraordinary ability to regrow their tails, a potentially lifesaving skill in the wild. But it turns out these reptiles are not the only ...

Many people believe that dogs wag their tails when they are happy. But, according to a new study, the behavior is actually much more nuanced than that.

Alligators can regrow severed tails, surprising scientists. Young alligators can grow back up to 9 inches of a lost tail, a study finds. They’re the largest animal with this regenerative ability.

Our feline friends say a lot with their body language. Here's why cats wag their tails, according to an expert. Cats are mysterious little creatures, known for leaving even the most devoted pet ...

The tails also make the luna moths bigger, which might make them harder for the bats to handle and dispatch. But when Barber pitted bats against the polyphemus moth—an even bigger species that ...

Humans’ closest primate relatives lost their tails about 25 million years ago, but exactly how has remained a mystery. A breakthrough in genetic research may finally offer answers.