Biological adaptation is the evolutionary process through which heritable traits that enhance an organism’s fitness become more prevalent in a population over generations under specific environmental conditions. It operates primarily via natural selection acting on genetic variation, including mutations, recombination, and gene flow, and is constrained by developmental, genetic, and phylogenetic factors. Adaptations can be morphological, physiological, or behavioral and are typically characterized by increased survival or reproductive success in a given niche. The process is dynamic and context-dependent, such that traits advantageous in one environment may be neutral or deleterious in another, contributing to diversification and speciation.
When human cells lack oxygen, they must react. Without oxygen, the metabolism can hardly generate energy, and many vital processes begin to falter. A research team from Bielefeld University, together with international partners, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 19, 2025
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What makes plants tolerant to nutrient fluctuations? An international research team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and involving the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) has conducted ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 19, 2025
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Cells are regularly faced with environmental stresses that may damage or destroy them. To survive, they quickly adjust their gene expression to protect themselves. This is especially true for cancer cells, which must contend ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 17, 2025
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For a long time, evolutionary biologists have thought that the genetic mutations that drive the evolution of genes and proteins are largely neutral: they're neither good nor bad, but just ordinary enough to slip through the ...
Evolution
Nov 14, 2025
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Climate change is driving drastic environmental shifts and accelerating global biodiversity loss. Hybrid introgression has recently emerged as a key mechanism enabling rapid adaptation to historical climate change. Yet empirical ...
Evolution
Nov 13, 2025
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Mutations drive evolution, but they can also be risky. New research led by plant biologists at the University of California, Davis, published Nov. 10 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals how plants ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Nov 12, 2025
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Animals from completely different branches of the tree of life, such as insects, worms and vertebrates, independently evolved similar genetic solutions to survive on land, according to a new study from researchers at the ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 12, 2025
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Cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae, are found almost everywhere in the world—from hot springs to arctic ice to antioxidant smoothies. Part of their extreme adaptability lies within a unique light-harvesting ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 10, 2025
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The ability of some animals to dynamically change color to match the brightness of their surroundings is one of nature's great survival tools, allowing flatfish to blend into sandy seabeds, frogs to adjust to the bottom of ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 10, 2025
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A new study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that common fungal species may be adapting to higher temperatures in warmer sites within cities compared to cooler sites in the same ...
Evolution
Nov 5, 2025
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