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Evolution news
Genetic basis of camouflage in alpine Corydalis plants revealed
Camouflage is a common defensive strategy among animals. By modifying their coloration and patterning, animals evade predators or ambush prey. Notably, more than 40% of alpine plant species in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and ...
Evolution
7 hours ago
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Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid, research reveals
More mammals were living on the ground several million years before the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs, new research led by the University of Bristol has revealed.
Evolution
23 hours ago
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Giving up on photosynthesis: How a borrowed bacterial gene allows some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet
A group of diatom species belonging to the Nitzschia genus gave up on photosynthesis and now get their carbon straight from their environment, thanks to a bacterial gene picked up by an ancestor. Gregory Jedd of Temasek Life ...
Evolution
Apr 1, 2025
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Biomechanical 'size matching' explains floral isolation in bumblebee-pollinated elephant-nose flowers
Buzz pollination—a process in which bees extract pollen by vibrating flowers—occurs in more than 20,000 plant species. Among the most specialized examples are the wildflowers of the Pedicularis genus (Orobanchaceae), ...
Evolution
Mar 31, 2025
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Bird flu could be on the cusp of transmitting between humans—but there are ways to slow down viral evolution
Disease forecasts are like weather forecasts: We cannot predict the finer details of a particular outbreak or a particular storm, but we can often identify when these threats are emerging and prepare accordingly.
Evolution
Mar 31, 2025
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Horses, donkeys and zebras have adaptations that break normal genomic rules
A genetic mutation in horses that would typically halt protein production has become a molecular asset. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Vanderbilt University have identified a rare instance of genetic recoding ...
New simulation of life on Earth reveals hidden diversity of undiscovered species
In a study published in Systematic Biology, researchers from Imperial College London, UCL, Dalhousie University and the United Nations Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Center described how their new simulation ...
Evolution
Mar 31, 2025
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Plesiosaur discovery sheds light on early Jurassic evolution and plausible endemism
A newly described plesiosaur fossil from southern Germany is providing crucial evidence about the diversification of these ancient marine reptiles during the Early Jurassic.
Evolution
Mar 31, 2025
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'She loves me, she loves me not': Physical forces encouraged evolution of multicellular life, scientists propose
Humans like to think that being multicellular (and bigger) is a definite advantage, even though 80% of life on Earth consists of single-celled organisms—some thriving in conditions lethal to any beast.
Evolution
Mar 31, 2025
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How climate and barriers shape global patterns in seed plant distribution over millions of years
Why do some plants thrive in specific regions but not in others? A study led by researchers at the University of Göttingen explores the factors shaping plant distributions and how these patterns have changed over millions ...
Evolution
Mar 28, 2025
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Cruciferous plants' pungent defense mechanism: How repurposed stomatal genes also fend off herbivores
Throughout evolution, plants have continuously adapted to survive in changing environments. Apart from complex structural changes, plants have also developed various defense strategies against herbivores, including tougher ...
Evolution
Mar 28, 2025
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Bird genome study offers insights into pandemic disease evolution
Evolution is nature's engine, driving and shaping genetic change and the diversity around us. Charles Darwin famously unveiled this process through his theory of natural selection, revealing how species adapt and evolve over ...
Evolution
Mar 28, 2025
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Scientists reveal evolutionary dynamics of centromeres in octoploid strawberries
The modern cultivated strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) originates from interspecific hybridization between two octoploid wild species: F. virginiana and F. chiloensis. However, the differences in centromere characteristics ...
Evolution
Mar 28, 2025
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Cartilage and bone development: Three paths to skeleton formation
In vertebrates, the skeleton of different regions of the body arises from different precursor cells. Researchers at the University of Basel have now discovered that these skeletal cells do not just differ in their developmental ...
Evolution
Mar 27, 2025
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Wild marmots' social networks reveal controversial evolutionary theory in action
It probably feels obvious that having a close friend can influence your well-being. But do the groups that you're a part of also affect your well-being? For example, does the culture of your work colleagues influence your ...
Evolution
Mar 27, 2025
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Scientists uncover key mechanism in evolution: Whole-genome duplication drives long-term adaptation
Sometimes, the most significant scientific discoveries happen by accident. Scientists have long known that whole-genome duplication (WGD)—the process by which organisms copy all their genetic material—plays an important ...
Evolution
Mar 26, 2025
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Why humans have smaller faces than Neanderthals
The human face is strikingly distinct from our fossil cousins and ancestors—most notably, it is significantly smaller, and more gracile. However, the reasons behind this change remain largely unknown. A team of researchers ...
Evolution
Mar 26, 2025
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199
The interplay of two genes illuminates how the large human brain evolved
Researchers from the German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research and the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics have discovered two specific genes that evolve exclusively in humans ...
Evolution
Mar 26, 2025
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After 80 years of stumping scientists, strange Philippine frog unmasked as hybrid
Evolutionary biologists working in the Philippines have long puzzled over a hard-to-find amphibian mystery: the Leyte Chorus Frog. It's a small, ground-dwelling frog from Leyte Island in the Visayan province of the eastern ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 26, 2025
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How scratching monkeys can help us understand emotions and consciousness
Scientists Sakumi Iki and Ikuma Adachi recently spent a lot of time watching monkeys scratch themselves.
Plants & Animals
Mar 26, 2025
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More news
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DNA repair protein's unexpected structure may lead to new cancer treatments
Frontier molecular orbital theory aids single-atom catalyst design
Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming
New distant warm Jupiter discovered with TESS
Quantum computing predicts proton affinity with superior accuracy
Gorillas match chimpanzees in self-awareness study
Koalas in Queensland show unique immunity to deadly retrovirus
Super-resolution imaging technology reveals inner workings of living cells
Physicists investigate dynamic phenomena of a time crystal
Tomato plants delay shoot meristem maturation to achieve heat-stress resilience
