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Evolution news
Why are there so many lizards in Australia? The ancient climate holds a clue
If you travel around Australia, you will find an incredible diversity of lizards. The three-toed snake-tooth skink (Saiphos reticulatus), for example, is a peculiarly long and stumpy-legged reptile that burrows in rainforest ...
Evolution
6 hours ago
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Bee magnetism appears far more widespread than expected across 120 species
As married research professors at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Dustin Gilbert and Anne Murray often discuss their work once they get home each night. Their fields of study rarely crossover. That changed six years ...
Evolution
14 hours ago
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Fossil teeth from China uncover 400,000-year-old H. erectus ties to Denisovans
Scientists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have uncovered new information suggesting a potential connection between Homo erectus and modern humans, ...
Evolution
16 hours ago
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Rivalry with neighboring groups may be a key driver of male size in primates
In many primate species, males are much larger than their female counterparts, which is generally attributed to male competition for mates (sexual selection). But bigger bodies may not just be about alpha males defeating ...
The stability paradox: How do organisms change shape over the course of evolution?
Researchers at the Technion have discovered how changes in genetic regulatory sequences can lead to alterations in the form and structure of animals—even when genetic regulatory systems are stable and resistant to change. ...
Evolution
17 hours ago
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Strange 500-million-year-old marine fossils reveal a feeding strategy that still shapes oceans today
More than 500 million years ago, during what is known as the Cambrian period, the seas and oceans on Earth were filled with a myriad of marine animals, many of which have now become extinct. This evolutionary burst in new ...
Human childbirth is not uniquely difficult among mammals
Human childbirth is commonly viewed as uniquely difficult and dangerous. The reason: The combination of bipedalism and large brains creates a tight fit between the baby and the birth canal. Research at the University of Vienna ...
Plants & Animals
May 12, 2026
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Despotic primate societies rarely play as adults, analysis of 37 species reveals
Although about half of primate species play as adults with other adults, a team of international researchers has just unlocked a key factor in the reason why some don't. The answer lies in the type of society in which the ...
Plants & Animals
May 12, 2026
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'Mobile' DNA elements may have expanded gene regulatory networks in brain development
Scientists have uncovered evidence supporting a mechanism in which transposable elements (TEs), once considered "non-functional" DNA, may have contributed to the evolution and expansion of gene regulation during neural development. ...
Evolution
May 12, 2026
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Roots reveal climate adaptation as 284 plant varieties reshape water barrier
Plant roots are far more than simple absorption organs: they can adjust their structure to better cope with water stress. Scientists at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with the University of Lausanne (UNIL), ...
Plants & Animals
May 12, 2026
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Hidden changes in plant reproduction reveal new clues about evolution of self-fertilization
In flowering plants, the transition from cross-fertilization (outcrossing) to self-fertilization has evolved repeatedly across species. This shift is often accompanied by a well-known set of traits collectively called the ...
Plants & Animals
May 12, 2026
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Shark face study uncovers 400-million-year-old blueprint shared across jawed vertebrates
Most of what scientists know about face development comes from studies in bony vertebrates such as mice, chickens, and zebrafish. However, their evolutionary counterparts, cartilaginous fishes, have remained largely unexplored. ...
Evolution
May 11, 2026
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Why gradual environmental change can trigger sudden species collapse and fragmented populations
When species are subjected to changing environments, they can survive in their current location through genetic adaptation. However, this ability is not unlimited. In a study published in PNAS, biomathematician Jitka Polechová ...
Evolution
May 11, 2026
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How the Atlantic herring adapted to the brackish water of the Baltic Sea
When the Atlantic herring colonized the Baltic Sea thousands of years ago, it needed to adapt to the low salinity. Genes with a vital role in the functioning of sperm, eggs and embryos were crucial to this adaptation. A new ...
Plants & Animals
May 11, 2026
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The birds and the babies: Humans and zebra finches have a similar technique for learning to speak
We are all born completely helpless, with little of the knowledge and skills we will need to survive as adults. Even our ability to communicate is almost entirely learned from our parents or caregivers.
Plants & Animals
May 11, 2026
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The G-value paradox: Why similar genes can lead to very different brains
Biologists have long puzzled over why organisms with similar numbers of protein-coding genes can differ so dramatically in nervous system complexity. New research points to a potential link between the expanding diversity ...
Evolution
May 11, 2026
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Old plant populations offer new clues to climate resilience
When scientists think about how plants will respond to climate change, they often look north. As temperatures rise, many species are expected to shift their ranges toward cooler regions with a loss of populations in warmer ...
Evolution
May 11, 2026
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When uncertainty spikes, chasing rewards backfires and a more informed strategy pulls ahead
Humans and other animals are constantly required to make decisions under uncertain conditions or while in rapidly changing environments. Past psychology and biology studies showed that some decision-making strategies can ...
Plants evolved distinct functions for two forms of a fundamental signaling molecule, study shows
The molecule cAMP, which plays essential roles in mammalian cells, is less well understood in plants. In a new Science Advances paper, researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and international ...
Evolution
May 8, 2026
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Scientists split gentoo penguins into four species, one totally new to science
The four-foot-tall Emperor penguin of Antarctica may be the most iconic member of this unique family of birds, but 17 other species of penguins populate the Southern Hemisphere, many of them confined to isolated islands that ...
Evolution
May 8, 2026
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More news
How a strange fruit fly became a bloodthirsty underwater hunter
What can singing mice say about human speech?
How oak trees outwit their predators
Kangaroos chart 'upside-down' evolution
Precision DNA editing targets root cause of severe childhood epilepsy in preclinical study
Geologists in films are the good guys... but they often die
