Millions of years ago, our ancestors were able to move their ears to better capture sounds, much like dogs or cats. But with ...

“The exact reason these became vestigial is difficult to tell, as our ancestors lost this ability about 25 million years ago, ...

The auricular muscles, which enabled our distant ancestors to move their ears for better hearing, activate when people try to ...

If you can wiggle your ears, you can use muscles that helped our distant ancestors listen closely. These auricular muscles ...

Thought to be pretty redundant in modern humans outside of wiggling our ears for a giggle, new research has revealed that ...

Evolution has largely deprived us of our ability to swivel our ears, but those vestigial muscles still activate when we listen intently, according to new research.

Vestigial ear muscles activate during focused listening, revealing a hidden link to our auditory past and evolution.

This muscle, known as the auricularis posterior, has been largely dormant in humans for centuries but shows signs of ...

When sounds came from behind a participant, the posterior auricular muscles contracted as if attempting to point the ears in that direction. If you can wiggle your ears, you can use muscles that ...

Based on the electrode recordings, the researchers noted that when sounds came from behind the participants, their posterior auricular muscles fired up more than when the sounds were played ...

Summary: Humans have vestigial ear muscles that once helped our ancestors focus on sounds. New research shows these muscles still activate when we strain to hear in noisy environments. Scientists used ...