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Evolution news
Protein-building RNA molecules reveal possible remnants of an ancestral genetic code
The genetic code determines the correspondence between genetic instructions and amino acids—the building blocks that form proteins. How this correspondence arose is one of the major open questions in evolutionary biology. ...
Evolution
2 hours ago
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Two new howler monkey species discovered in the Amazon after 85 years
Genetic research has uncovered two previously unknown species of howler monkey living in the Amazon rainforest, confirming the world's largest tropical forest is more biodiverse than scientists thought.
Plants & Animals
3 hours ago
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What a 99-million-year-old feather is telling us about the evolution of flight
Long before birds took to the skies, dinosaurs were already sporting feathers. But exactly how they evolved into the sophisticated structures that allow birds to fly remains something of a mystery. Now, the discovery of the ...
Cool adaptations: How fish survive in the Antarctic Ocean
With water temperatures as low as -1.9°C (28.6°F), the Southern Ocean is a place of extreme living conditions. A new study led by Senckenberg researchers shows how fish have adapted to Antarctic temperatures. The researchers ...
Evolution
6 hours ago
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Machine learning reveals how often fish schooling evolved—and repeatedly disappeared
Scientists have used new machine learning techniques to investigate a topic no one has ever found a way to study: the evolution of fish moving together in schools across thousands of species. The new paper, published Nov. ...
Evolution
Nov 9, 2026
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Male lizard 'perfumes' may be more about rivalry than seduction
Animals communicate in ways that are sometimes obvious to us and sometimes almost completely hidden. Bright colors, songs and courtship displays are easy to notice. Chemical signals are different: an animal can leave a message ...
3-million-year-old Taung Child once again shakes up our human family tree
A century after the Taung Child permanently altered our view of human origins, a new study published in npj Palaeoecosystems dates the famous fossil to between 2.96 and 3.03 million years old. Led by professor Gabriele Macho ...
Evolution
Nov 9, 2026
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Canines could help anthropological studies, answering questions about human evolution
Anthropologists seeking to understand human evolution often include primates such as chimps or apes in their studies. But a new review paper by Kyle Smith, a postdoctoral research scholar in NC State's College of Veterinary ...
Evolution
Nov 9, 2026
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Prehistoric whale reveals extreme skull asymmetry
Sperm whales and pygmy sperm whales are known among mammals for their unusually shaped heads. Unlike most vertebrates, which are bilaterally symmetrical, toothed whales have asymmetrical skulls that accommodate highly specialized ...
Evolution
Nov 9, 2026
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197
Watching others pays off: Attentive macaques benefit from observing their group mates interacting
Monkeys constantly observe and evaluate their social environment. It stands to reason that the social and mental abilities required to do so were favored by evolution. After all, these abilities should influence how an animal ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 9, 2026
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The wasps that horrified Darwin reveal evolution's one-way streets
Few insects have a more gruesome lifestyle than Darwin wasps. Rather than simply hunting other animals, these parasitic wasps lay their eggs on or inside living hosts, including caterpillars, beetles and spiders. Their larvae ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 6, 2026
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Evolutionary history and genetic basis of spruce diversification revealed
The genus Picea (spruce) is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere and is a dominant component of boreal and montane forests. Understanding the evolutionary processes that have shaped diversification and regional ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 6, 2026
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Why bandicoots and bilbies evolved such different snouts
Why does a quenda have a short, sturdy snout, while its relative the bilby has such a remarkably long one? New research led by Murdoch University's Harry Butler Institute suggests millions of years of adaptation to different ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 6, 2026
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Land plants' closest algal relatives evolved multicellular growth repeatedly, genetic analysis suggests
What did the algae that gave rise to the first land plants look like? A research team led by the University of Göttingen and including the universities of Maastricht and Innsbruck and Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 5, 2026
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Hooved mammals that migrate may be at greater risk of extinction than those that stay put
Over the past 100,000 years, hooved mammals that migrate have experienced a higher rate of extinction compared to nonmigratory species, according to a study being published Nov. 5 in the journal PLOS Biology by Joel Abraham ...
Evolution
Nov 5, 2026
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A 70-million-year-old genetic rescue allowed codfishes to escape extinction and shape the North Atlantic
A new study has revealed how the repurposing of an ancestral gene saved the embryos of cod's ancestors from extinction, enabling them to form the large populations that, millions of years later, would change the course of ...
Evolution
Nov 5, 2026
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Swiss Army knife of the Hawaiian Islands—how an endangered bird drills into trees to find food
There are no woodpeckers on the Hawaiian Islands, but a little yellow bird called the 'akiapōlāʻau (Ah-key-ah-pole-ah-ow) has evolved an unusual beak to drill into branches to find food.
Evolution
Nov 5, 2026
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Flat feet may have helped Neanderthals stay stable while carrying heavy loads
In all likelihood, the Neanderthals had flat feet. But it was not a defect at all. Instead, it was the consequence of a precise functional strategy to reduce impact stress under heavy loads and maximize stability on mountainous ...
Evolution
Nov 4, 2026
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Feejee Mermaid on display in Colorado may shock and intrigue—but no longer considered a 'missing link'
Mermaids have inhabited world folklore and mythology for centuries. Ancient Babylonians worshiped Oannes, a human-fish hybrid; sirens populated Greek mythology; and fairy tales such as "The Little Mermaid" have made this ...
Evolution
Nov 4, 2026
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Evolution has repeatedly turned hawkmoth genitals into defensive tools
The genital structures of male hawkmoths are lifesavers. By rubbing specialized scales on their genitals against parts of their abdomen, the nocturnal insects emit ultrasonic sounds that can potentially scramble the acoustic ...
More news
How competing reproductive needs shaped the evolution of liverworts
European flounder can complete whole life cycle in freshwater
Bonobo females hunt more than males, decade-long study reveals
Other news
Harnessing laser nuisance achieves record resolution for atomic measurements
Swordfish may be using deep dives to navigate the open ocean
Water molecules turn out to be secret messengers for magnetism
Earth's 'core carbon' may have come from the far reaches of the solar system
Poles of bacteria imaged in fine detail for the first time
LHC collaboration presents first result in the hunt for 'quirks'
Airborne imaging explores a mosaic of thawing permafrost
