LOS ANGELES — Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery about the origins of the human outer ear, revealing that this distinctive mammalian feature evolved from an unexpected source: fish gills.

Even though you don't think about them much as you go about your day, your ears play a major role in enabling you to function. Aside from hearing, they are also crucial for maintaining the body's ...

Unlike birds and amphibians, mammals can't recover lost hearing. In people, the cells of the inner ear responsible for detecting sound and transmitting those signals to the brain form during early ...

An international team of palaeontologists has made a significant discovery in fossils that offer key information about the evolutionary shift from the jaw joint bones to those of the middle ear in ...

Evolution is a master recycler. It often uses old structures (or ancient genes) for new jobs. The mammalian ear is a perfect example. Over the eons, the jawbones of our fish ancestors became three ...