Molecular evolution is the biological process encompassing changes in the nucleotide sequences of DNA or RNA and the amino acid sequences of proteins over time, driven by mutation, recombination, genetic drift, natural selection, and other population-level forces. It focuses on the rates and patterns of substitutions, insertions, deletions, and genome rearrangements, as well as the emergence of new genes and regulatory elements. Molecular evolution underlies divergence among species, functional innovation, and conservation of essential biomolecules, and is quantitatively analyzed using models of sequence evolution, comparative genomics, and phylogenetic inference to elucidate evolutionary relationships and constraints at the molecular level.
A new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison provides the first empirical evidence connecting the chromosomal location of genes to natural selection, indicating the arrangement of genes can influence ...
Evolution
Nov 24, 2025
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Cornell researchers have found that a new DNA sequencing technology can be used to study how transposons move within and bind to the genome. Transposons play critical roles in immune response, neurological function and genetic ...
Biotechnology
Nov 21, 2025
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252
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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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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The bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) is a haunting presence in many hospitals in the United States, where more than one in 100 patients are treated for A. baumannii infections. This species of bacteria is known ...
Evolution
Nov 6, 2025
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When COVID-19 arrived, researchers tried to build evolutionary family trees—known as phylogenetic trees—of the virus. These help scientists understand when new virus strains appear and how they are linked to each other. But ...
Evolution
Nov 5, 2025
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Scientists at the FMI and the University of California-Santa Cruz have found that similar molecular machineries control daily circadian rhythms and developmental timing. Their study with worms shows that core timing systems ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Nov 4, 2025
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Deep within the world's oceans lurk marine bacteria armed with plastic-munching enzymes, their evolution seemingly sculpted by our synthetic castaways.
Evolution
Nov 4, 2025
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159
Directed evolution is a laboratory technique that mimics natural selection and allows scientists to evolve genes and the proteins they encode. Traditionally, this technique has been used in microbes, mammalian cells, or in ...
Biotechnology
Oct 2, 2025
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25
Convergent evolution—where distinct species independently evolve similar traits or functions, such as the wings of birds and bats—has long fascinated biologists. Now, a research team led by Prof. Zou Zhengting from the Institute ...
Evolution
Sep 30, 2025
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