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Evolution news
Octopus and cuttlefish suckers may have evolved by repurposing ancient developmental genes
Cephalopods, like the octopus, have specialized arms and suckers, but how these structures evolved from the simple bodies of their mollusk ancestors remains a mystery. Researchers from the University of Tokyo compared gene ...
Plants & Animals
7 hours ago
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Why haven't farm animals evolved against humans? A biologist explains why there won't be a chicken uprising anytime soon
"Why haven't farm animals evolved to protect themselves against humans?—Sarang, age 15, Latur, Maharashtra, India"
Evolution
Oct 19, 2026
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Oldest animals on Earth found to share a common wormlike ancestor
New research from the University of St Andrews has shed light on the evolution of an important yet thus far poorly understood group of marine invertebrate animals—brachiopods. The work, published in Science Advances, presents ...
Evolution
Oct 19, 2026
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How plants unwittingly help fungal pathogens
Infecting a maize plant is no simple task for a fungal pathogen such as Ustilago maydis. A group of researchers led by Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) has now uncovered how the fungus detects that it has successfully ...
Evolution
Oct 19, 2026
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Ancient Hox code reveals the developmental roots of vertebrate hind fins and limbs
Paired appendages—the pectoral and pelvic fins of fishes and the forelimbs and hindlimbs of tetrapods—were a major innovation in vertebrate evolution. Their emergence greatly expanded the ways vertebrates could move through ...
Evolution
Oct 19, 2026
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What evolved first—our brain or gut?
What if the brain evolved to serve the gut? Scientists at Flinders University are challenging a cornerstone of biology, arguing that the gut's nervous system may be the body's original "brain," with the brain evolving later ...
Evolution
Oct 19, 2026
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Adaptive molecular convergence more common than previously thought, distant jellyfish relatives reveal
A new study has found that adaptive molecular convergence—the process by which distantly related or unrelated species evolve the same genomic changes—is not as rare as previously thought.
Plants & Animals
Oct 16, 2026
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Newly discovered viruses reveal an evolutionary missing link
Researchers at the University of Miami have identified a group of previously unknown viruses that bridge an evolutionary gap between viruses and cellular protein compartments, a discovery with implications for both biotechnology ...
Evolution
Oct 15, 2026
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India's cobras share genetic ties across the mainland, while Sri Lankan cobras form a distinct genetic lineage
The spectacled cobra (Naja naja) is one of India's "big four" snakes responsible for most serious snakebite cases. It is currently considered one species, which lives across much of South Asia, with regional differences in ...
Solving the mystery behind a flightless beetle's transatlantic journey
They can't fly or swim, so why do their closest relatives appear on different continents? Grey Gustafson, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, discovered through DNA sequencing that the ancestors ...
Evolution
Oct 15, 2026
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Fossil footprints reveal how dinosaur ancestors gradually shifted from sprawling to upright walking
A research team led by Dr. Lorenzo Marchetti of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin described the earliest archosauriform footprints (Pachychirotherium gardenaensis) from the GEOPARC Bletterbach—UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites, ...
Evolution
Oct 15, 2026
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Toothless 'hell chicken' dinosaur may have had a taste for fruit
While many dinosaurs were fearsome predators with razor-sharp teeth, others were peaceful herbivores munching on plants. We can now add a new species to the list of plant-eaters, Infernogallus jamesi. Its name means hell ...
The stubby legs of ancient sled dogs helped people traverse the Arctic for the past 9,000 years
For centuries, dogs have helped people travel across the Arctic, hauling supplies, equipment and other goods through snowy landscapes where other domesticated animals struggled to venture. Now, a new study publishing Oct. ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 14, 2026
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Not all early birds evolved toward better flight, Jurassic fossil suggests
For early birds, evolution wasn't always about becoming better flyers. This conclusion is supported by the recent discovery of a remarkably well-preserved, 150-million-year-old bird fossil from Fujian province, China, which ...
Evolution
Oct 14, 2026
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Modeling study shows early tetrapods had surprisingly little ability to move their necks
A new model using sturgeon as a material analog has made it possible to estimate how the backbones of some of the first animals on land could and could not move. These results disprove a long-standing hypothesis that changes ...
Evolution
Oct 14, 2026
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Scientists discover 'D-rex', a giant fungus from Chinese forests whose unique lineage dates back 65 million years
Deep in the forests of Yunnan, China, scientists have discovered a "fungal giant" that challenges our understanding of how large fungi can become. The newly described species, Dianjunus rex, produces vertical fruiting bodies ...
Evolution
Oct 13, 2026
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Humans and songbirds hear the same sounds, but organize them differently
Researchers from the University of Amsterdam and Leiden University have discovered that humans and songbirds use markedly different strategies to recognize sequences of complex sounds. The findings shed new light on how biology ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 13, 2026
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Winged insect evolution: New evidence sheds light on century-old debate
A new study combining genomic analyses and fossil evidence sheds light on the century-old "Palaeoptera Problem," a longstanding debate over the evolutionary relationships among major groups of winged insects.
Evolution
Oct 13, 2026
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Copper-resistant bacteria complicate efforts to keep ship hulls clean
Marine bacteria have evolved to bypass the copper-based coatings applied to ship hulls to stop the growth of barnacles, algae and other marine life. This necessitates new methods for managing biofouling—the unwanted accumulation ...
Evolution
Oct 13, 2026
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Bacterial antiviral defense suggests ancient link to human chromosome protection
A new antiviral defense system discovered by Columbia scientists could be adapted in the future into a gene editor that slows down aging in our cells and improves cancer therapies. At the same time, the discovery also sheds ...
Evolution
Oct 12, 2026
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