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Evolution news
Unlocking plant resilience: Shared genes offer hope for climate-ready crops
A team at the University of Calgary is making scientific advances in understanding plant adaptation, which could ultimately be used to find ways to make agricultural crops more resilient to heat, drought and climate change.
Evolution
4 hours ago
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Hornwort genomes provide clues on how plants conquered the land
Over 450 million years ago, plants began the epic transition from water to dry land. Among the first pioneers were the ancestors of humble hornworts, a group of small, unassuming plants that have persisted to this day. New ...
Plants & Animals
5 hours ago
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Tiny plants reveal big potential for boosting crop efficiency
Scientists have long sought ways to help plants turn more carbon dioxide (CO₂) into biomass, which could boost crop yields and even combat climate change. Recent research suggests that a group of unique, often overlooked ...
Evolution
7 hours ago
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Fossil study reveals oldest-known evolutionary 'arms race'
A study led by researchers at the American Museum of Natural History presents the oldest known example in the fossil record of an evolutionary arms race. These 517-million-year-old predator-prey interactions occurred in the ...
Evolution
Jan 3, 2025
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248
Chimpanzees' stone tool choices may mirror ancient human ancestors' techniques
An international team of paleobiologists, anthropologists and behavioral scientists has found that the process used by modern chimps to select tools for cracking nuts may be similar to how ancient human ancestors chose their ...
Lake bacteria evolve like clockwork with the seasons, study reveals
Like Bill Murray in the movie "Groundhog Day," bacteria species in a Wisconsin lake are in a kind of endless loop that they can't seem to shake. Except in this case, it's more like Groundhog Year.
Evolution
Jan 3, 2025
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Gene expression study reveals human brain cell types becoming more specialized, not just more numerous
Our brain is arguably the organ that most distinguishes humans from other primates. Its exceptional size, complexity and capabilities far exceed those of any other species on Earth. Yet humans share upwards of 95% of our ...
Evolution
Jan 2, 2025
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Scientists are discovering the deepest evolutionary secrets of Australia's marsupial mole
Marsupial moles are perhaps Australia's most bizarre mammals. Known as "itjaritjari" to the Indigenous Aṉangu people and featuring prominently in their tales, the marsupial mole is rarely observed, making any sighting a ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 2, 2025
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Convergent evolution: stick and leaf insects share 20 body features
A team of biologists in Montana and Germany has found that, regardless of type, those insects that express a protective stick- or leaf-like appearance all evolved the same basic body parts. In their study, published in the ...
Rare fossil embryos show early Ecdysozoa development in Cambrian era
An international research team has made a notable discovery of fossil embryos belonging to Ecdysozoa, a diverse group of animals including roundworms, velvet worms, insects, and crabs. These fossils, dated to approximately ...
Evolution
Dec 24, 2024
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138
Fly vs. wasp: Stealing a defense move helps thwart a predator
In the continual arms race between parasites and their hosts, innovation was thought to be the key to a successful attack or defense that one-ups the competition. But sometimes, as in the corporate world, outright theft can ...
Evolution
Dec 24, 2024
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New study documents evolution of fast-growing, fish-eating herring in Baltic Sea
Atlantic and Baltic herring are typical plankton-eating fish of central importance for the northern Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea ecosystems. A new study published in Nature Communications led by scientists from Uppsala University ...
Evolution
Dec 23, 2024
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The genomic journey of modern and archaic humans may be older than we thought
Research conducted at the Department of Biology, University of Padova, has identified critical genomic milestones in the evolution of Homo sapiens, including key chromosomal rearrangements and specific gene variants that ...
Heterogeneous host populations drive evolution of more virulent pathogens, modeling study shows
The evolution of pathogens has received attention in a wide range of scientific fields, such as epidemiology, demography, and evolutionary ecology. Understanding pathogen evolution is particularly urgent for rapidly evolving ...
Evolution
Dec 20, 2024
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Sea snakes regain advanced color vision, recovering a complex trait once lost to evolutionary time
Nine species of sea snakes have now been identified as having regained the genetic requirements for advanced color vision, demonstrating that once a complex trait has been lost to evolutionary time, it may be regained in ...
Evolution
Dec 20, 2024
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Simulations of hominin Lucy help show how long distance running evolved in modern humans
A team of natural scientists, musculoskeletal specialists, and evolutionary biologists affiliated with several institutions in the U.K., working with a colleague from the Netherlands, has found via simulations, that the famous ...
Extended chart of life shows ancient species may have evolved slower and lasted longer
If all the world's a stage and all the species merely players, then their exits and entrances can be found in the rock record. Fossilized skeletons and shells clearly show how evolution and extinction unfolded over the past ...
Evolution
Dec 19, 2024
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140
Genetic mutations in parasites may lead to global spread of sleeping sickness
Parasites that cause the deadly illness known as sleeping sickness can spread beyond their native Africa as a result of mutations to key genes, a study shows.
Evolution
Dec 19, 2024
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Evolutionary study reveals toxic reach of disease-causing bacteria across plant kingdom
The capacity of bacteria to spread disease across the plant kingdom may be much more widespread than previously suspected, according to new analysis.
Evolution
Dec 19, 2024
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Could NZ's two kākā subspecies actually be remnants of a more diverse species? Here's why we need to know
As many Wellingtonians will know, kākā can be trouble. New Zealand's pesky forest parrots have expanded throughout New Zealand's capital city since they were reintroduced 22 years ago and they are not averse to "modifying" ...
Evolution
Dec 19, 2024
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