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.
Recent research showed that an artificially constructed self-replicating RNA system modeling primitive life at the origin of life evolved to become more prone to extinction under certain experimental conditions.
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 7, 2026
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23
A new study tracking thousands of B cells across more than 100 germinal centers in mice reveals how the system consistently produces highly effective antibodies. The findings overturn longstanding ideas about how germinal ...
Evolution
Jun 5, 2026
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51
A new study on multiple genomes from the extinct cave lion has discovered that it represented a highly distinct evolutionary lineage, which separated from modern lions more than a million years ago. The results also show ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 3, 2026
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14
A key step in the origin of many pandemics occurs when an animal-borne virus infects humans and then evolves to spread more efficiently from person to person. That is why scientists and physicians keep a close watch on viruses ...
Evolution
Jun 2, 2026
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114
Their fur might feel the same, but a mink in the Everglades is not the same as a mink from northern Florida, researchers from the University of Connecticut and Central Connecticut State University report in the April 20 issue ...
Plants & Animals
May 28, 2026
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6
Researchers have found surprising links that show that Neanderthal ancestry influences our immune system today in ways more nuanced than previously recognized. Their work is published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution.
Evolution
May 28, 2026
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493
Transposons, DNA sequences that can self-replicate and move (jump) throughout the genome, are widespread and can affect cell survival if left unchecked. Cells control these "jumping genes" by silencing them, but little was ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 25, 2026
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40
For most of the 20th century, the model of human origins was a tree: with the trunk dividing into branches, and then twigs. Each species of human relative (hominin) was a neat, single branch.
Evolution
May 23, 2026
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73
Scientists from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have uncovered what gives Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera, the ability to colonize the human gut. The researchers found that a small RNA embedded within ...
Molecular & Computational biology
May 16, 2026
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19
Researchers at the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw (IIMCB), led by Prof. Gracjan Michlewski, have shown that a subtle difference at the very beginning of an RNA molecule can influence how strongly ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 15, 2026
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