Why do giraffes have such long necks? A study led by Penn State biologists explores how this trait might have evolved and lends new insight into this iconic question. The reigning hypothesis is that ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A female giraffe browsing. Everything in biology ultimately boils down to food and sex. To survive as an individual you need food.

A Penn State researcher has been trying to get to the bottom of the age-old question of why giraffes have long necks. Ed Reschke Getty Images Editor’s note: The Focus on Research column highlights ...

Giraffes are a beautiful and powerful example of what adaptive evolution can achieve. However, in recent years, they have attained notoriety for a completely different reason: it has been suggested ...

Giraffes are best known for their elegant necks, stretching high over the savannah like periscopes. We have some pretty good ideas about why evolution granted them these long necks: access to the ...

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Those impossibly long legs that make giraffes look like they’re walking on stilts aren’t just architectural supports for a tall body. Scientists have discovered they’re actually energy-saving devices ...

Laura Bertola does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...

Everything in biology ultimately boils down to food and sex. To survive as an individual, you need food. To survive as a species, you need sex. Not surprisingly, then, the age-old question of why ...

Although male and female giraffes have the same body proportions at birth, they are significantly different as they reach sexual maturity. Females have proportionally longer necks and longer bodies ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Douglas R. Cavener, Penn State (THE CONVERSATION) Everything in biology ultimately ...