Once bathing in the waters of the southwestern United States, a fish, Cyprinodon macularius , found in the Death Valley basement, has surprisingly adapted after the drastic change in its aquatic environment. The adaptation of its metabolism to new conditions is an astonishing example of physiological plasticity.

Tiny pupfish have adapted their respiration to go without oxygen for long stretches.

And you thought you could hold your breath for a long time. Enter the desert pupfish, a tiny fish that has been playing evolutionary catch-up due to the extreme changes in its environment over the last 10,000 years.

The desert pupfish has evolved to go without oxygen for considerable periods of time to survive its harsh environment

A 2.8-million-year-old jawbone fossil with five intact teeth unearthed in an Ethiopian desert is pushing back the dawn of humankind by about half a million years.

What sounds a bit like science fiction is everyday hospital reality for Verma - and she's not the only one. Physician and researcher James Mah of the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, for example, creates virtual 3D copies of patients, as he explained at the AAAS conference.

The relict leopard frog’s journey into Southern Nevada’s landscape has seen its share of challenges.