Biological evolution is the heritable change in characteristics of biological populations over successive generations, driven by mechanisms such as mutation, recombination, genetic drift, gene flow, and natural and sexual selection. It operates through changes in allele frequencies within gene pools, constrained and shaped by developmental, physiological, and ecological contexts. Evolutionary processes generate adaptation, diversification, and extinction, producing hierarchical patterns from microevolutionary shifts within populations to macroevolutionary dynamics among lineages. At the molecular level, evolution involves sequence variation, genomic rearrangements, and changes in gene regulation, which collectively underlie phenotypic diversity and the emergence of complex biological organization.
Two new studies into lizard colors reveal how one species maintains its colorful diversity while others are losing their ancient colors. And the changes are being driven by the biological equivalent of rock-paper-scissors.
Angiosperms, also known as flowering plants, represent the most diverse group of seed plants, and their origin and evolution have long been a central question in plant evolutionary biology. Whole-genome duplication (WGD), ...
Evolution
Jan 2, 2026
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Understanding the evolution of insect mating behavior is essential for explaining how early insects adapted to life on land. A new study examines Petrobiellus akkesiensis, a rare jumping bristletail, and reveals that its ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 30, 2025
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The textbook version of the "Out of Africa" hypothesis holds that the first human species to leave the continent around 1.8 million years ago was Homo erectus. But in recent years, a debate has emerged suggesting it wasn't ...
One of the biggest quests in biology is understanding how every cell in an animal's body carries an identical genome yet still gives rise to a kaleidoscope of different cell types and tissues. A neuron doesn't look nor behave ...
Evolution
Dec 22, 2025
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Would you rather fight a horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses? The famous question, though implausible, reflects a ubiquitous tradeoff between quantity and quality. Now, a study shows that this dilemma operates in biology ...
Evolution
Dec 19, 2025
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Humans have it. So does Drosophila. But not yeast. That "it" is a small pause at the start of gene activity—a brief molecular halt that may have helped life evolve from simple cells to complex animals.
Evolution
Dec 19, 2025
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Every living being must cope with a changing world—summer gives way to winter, one year it floods and the next is a drought. It's obvious that populations of plants and animals must constantly face new challenges, says ...
Evolution
Dec 17, 2025
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The ancestors of our furry cats and dogs once looked similar to today's modern mongoose, a mammal with a long body and small, round ears. In fact, all members of the order Carnivora, which includes a variety of mammalian ...
Evolution
Dec 17, 2025
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Why did humans evolve the eyes we have today? While scientists can't go back in time to study the environmental pressures that shaped the evolution of the diverse vision systems that exist in nature, a new computational framework ...
Evolution
Dec 17, 2025
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