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.
Some colorful lizards and a mathematical formula from the finance sector have been used to build a new framework to model evolution.
Evolution
Oct 8, 2025
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140
Television nature programs and scientific papers tend to celebrate the perfection of evolved traits. But the father of evolution through natural selection, Charles Darwin, warned that evolution would produce quirks and "blunders" ...
Ecology
Oct 2, 2025
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23
Around the world, women on average live longer than men. This striking pattern holds true across nearly all countries and historical time periods. Although the gap between the sexes has narrowed in some countries due to medical ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 1, 2025
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167
New research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution sheds light on the timelines and pathways of evolution of fungi, finding evidence of their influence on ancient terrestrial ecosystems. The study, led by researchers from ...
Evolution
Oct 1, 2025
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201
Researchers at University of Tsukuba proposed a new approach to reveal ecological niches (positions within ecosystems) and evolutionary relationships in nature through large-scale growth analysis of bacteria in strictly regulated ...
Evolution
Sep 29, 2025
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21
A digital reconstruction of a million-year-old skull suggests humans may have diverged from our ancient ancestors 400,000 years earlier than thought and in Asia not Africa, a study said Friday.
Evolution
Sep 26, 2025
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Predators and the environment determine why some animals use camouflage to avoid being eaten, while others use bright colors to warn them off, new research reveals. Published today in the journal Science, the findings help ...
Evolution
Sep 25, 2025
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60
For decades, scientists have known that bacteria can exchange genetic material, in a process called horizontal gene transfer. This allows bacteria to rapidly evolve new traits, such as antibiotic resistance. A new study, ...
Evolution
Sep 25, 2025
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26
The genetic culprits responsible for the spread of multidrug resistance (MDR) in bacteria have been identified by new research mapping 100 years of bacterial evolution.
Evolution
Sep 25, 2025
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136
Until Homo floresiensis was discovered, scientists assumed that the evolution of the human lineage was defined by bigger and bigger brains. Via a process called encephalization, human brains evolved to be relatively more ...
Evolution
Sep 24, 2025
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