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Evolution news
Unusual three-way bestows magnetic sense to single-celled organism
How do microorganisms orient themselves to find the optimal habitat? Scientists have thoroughly investigated so-called magnetotactic bacteria, which use the Earth's magnetic field as a biological compass. Some eukaryotic ...
Evolution
4 hours ago
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Ancestral variation, not new mutations, may impact survival of species facing climate change
Research co-authored by an Oklahoma Museum of Natural History curator, her graduate student and an international team of scientists has shed new light on the evolutionary "toolkit" animals use to survive environmental change.
Plants & Animals
6 hours ago
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Children and monkeys share common understanding of geometry
With their ability to use tools, remember faces and even learn how to communicate with humans through sign language, nonhuman primates are considered to be among the smartest creatures on Earth. However, some concepts—geometry, ...
Plants & Animals
8 hours ago
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Wealthier North Carolina neighborhoods may be hotspots for insecticide-resistant tiger mosquitoes
The choices people make to control mosquitoes in their own backyards may be helping some of those mosquitoes survive the very insecticides meant to kill them, according to two new studies from North Carolina State University. ...
Evolution
14 hours ago
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AI tool reveals climate shifts may have fueled bursts of bird evolution
University of Michigan researchers have used an AI tool to demonstrate that birds in the group Passeriformes evolved in rapid evolutionary bursts and that these bursts frequently coincided with climate shifts throughout Earth's ...
Evolution
18 hours ago
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Seasonal gene switch locks fruit flies in winter mode
Researchers at Washington State University have discovered a molecular "winter lock" that keeps animals in a less active winter state until favorable conditions return, a discovery that could improve pest control and lead ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 18, 2026
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Reptile fossil found in Brazil helps shed light on the common origins of dinosaurs and crocodiles
Long before dinosaurs ruled the continents and modern crocodiles first appeared, their ancestors were already going through a decisive phase in their evolutionary history. It was in this ancient world, shortly after the greatest ...
Evolution
Jul 17, 2026
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Australia's most diverse marsupial predators have been hiding their origins for millions of years
When you think of carnivorous marsupials, you probably picture the Tasmanian devil or perhaps a spotted-tailed quoll. But these famous predators are only the largest members of a remarkable family of marsupials called dasyurids.
Evolution
Jul 17, 2026
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Tunas and other ocean predators may have evolved more slowly than previous research predicted
Today, oceans host a large variety of fast, resilient marine predators, including tunas, mackerels and various other fish species. Many of these fish belong to a lineage known as Scombridae, whose members are characterized ...
Marsupial newborns get early arms as embryos bypass usual limb-building sequence
Scientists have discovered that marsupial forelimbs (arms) develop much earlier before birth than previously thought, providing new insights into evolutionary innovation and biology.
Plants & Animals
Jul 15, 2026
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Medaka males can mate 27 times daily, but sperm performance drops fast
Oryzias latipes, commonly known as medaka, is a small fish measuring about 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 inches) in length that exhibits highly active spawning behavior during the breeding season. Previous research by an Osaka Metropolitan ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 15, 2026
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New study reveals what drives the evolution of remarkable eyes in deep‑sea hyperiid amphipods
Hyperiid amphipods are a small but anatomically diverse group of shrimp-like crustaceans with remarkable adaptations for life in the ocean's twilight zone. A team of researchers from MBARI, the Smithsonian National Museum ...
Evolution
Jul 15, 2026
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Hidden muscle machinery reveals 50 new gene subfamilies across vertebrates
Within every muscle of every living species with a backbone, a protein called myosin tugs on a partner protein to generate a muscle contraction. This function, discovered in mammals a century ago, has been presumed by scientists ...
Evolution
Jul 14, 2026
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Evolutionary history shapes plant carbon storage strategies worldwide
Two types of carbohydrates are important to plants—structural carbohydrates (which form cell walls) and nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs). The latter group represents plants' stored energy reserves, which can be used to ...
Evolution
Jul 14, 2026
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Haven or trap? Study finds sinkholes protect endangered tree at evolutionary cost
Are giant sinkholes in China's karst mountains havens or traps for the rare plants that inhabit them? A new study finds they are both—offering refuge from heat and drought while gradually eroding the evolutionary potential ...
Evolution
Jul 14, 2026
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138
RNA-only repair enzyme reveals how primordial life could have protected genomes
In most modern cells, DNA stores the genetic blueprint, and proteins replicate, repair and build from those blueprints. At the same time, proteins require instructions from DNA to be made in the first place.
Evolution
Jul 13, 2026
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In deep oceans, evolution is supercharged. This diversity could help unlock humanity's greatest challenges
Far beneath the surface of the ocean lies the largest and least explored habitat on Earth. The deep sea is cold, dark, highly pressurized—and home to a huge amount of undiscovered life.
Evolution
Jul 12, 2026
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Physical laws explain why most flies evolved similar flight, with mosquitoes as outliers
A new study in PLOS Biology of 133 species of flies, mosquitoes and their relatives shows that most species fly in surprisingly similar ways. Physical and aerodynamic laws shape the evolution of their flight behavior more ...
Evolution
Jul 10, 2026
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Researchers link the mass extinction of once-dominant marine groups to intolerable heat, diminished oxygen in oceans
A new Stanford-led study offers the clearest picture yet of how some ocean life survived our planet's biggest mass extinction while most animals did not. About 252 million years ago, 96% of marine species and 70% of land ...
Evolution
Jul 10, 2026
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258
Morning glories reveal 96% drop in adaptation as pollinator pressure reshapes evolution
Facing both climate change and a crashing pollinator population, plants may be evolving to attract pollinators rather than adapting to a warming climate, and the trade-off has resulted in a steep decline in plants' rate of ...
Evolution
Jul 9, 2026
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Other news
Shroud of Turin DNA sheds light on its biological history
Light-driven chemistry steers electron transfers beyond redox limits
Why some human brains can outlast other soft tissues after death
New web tool maps fossil locations across ancient continents in seconds
Japan's first mosasaur premaxilla fossil hints at a new species
What explains gender pay gaps in academia?
Camouflaging snails change color in the rain
Transforming vibrations into clean fuels and chemicals through piezosynthesis
How the most widespread parasite on Earth reads its genome
New cell imaging method measures protein folding in living organelles
Early career funding improves scientific influence and citations for women
Scientists map how the flu virus rewires the human cell from the inside
