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.
The questions of how humankind came to be, and whether we are alone in the universe, have captured imaginations for millennia. But to answer these questions, scientists must first understand life itself and how it could have ...
Evolution
Sep 16, 2025
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The movement of genetic material between organisms that aren't directly related is a significant driver of evolution, especially among single-celled organisms like bacteria and archaea. A team led by researchers at Bigelow ...
Evolution
Sep 6, 2025
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MADS-box genes, critical regulatory elements in eukaryotes, have undergone extensive diversification in green plants. Although MADS-box genes have been extensively studied, the understanding of their origin and evolution, ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 5, 2025
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A study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution reveals a surprising evolutionary insight: sometimes, losing genes rather than gaining them can help bacterial pathogens survive and thrive.
Evolution
Sep 2, 2025
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By tracing the genomes of nine brown algal species, researchers have shed light on the ancient origins, remarkable stability, and unexpected transformations of U/V sex chromosomes. This reveals how sex determination can evolve, ...
Evolution
Aug 26, 2025
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For decades, large stretches of human DNA were dismissed as "junk" and considered to serve no real purpose. In a new study published in Cell Genomics, researchers at Lund University in Sweden show that the repetitive part ...
Evolution
Aug 25, 2025
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How did life leap from simple microbial cells to the complex, structured cells that make up animals, plants, and fungi? A new study in The EMBO Journal by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) offers fresh ...
Evolution
Aug 15, 2025
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In medicine and biotechnology, the ability to evolve proteins with new or improved functions is crucial, but current methods are often slow and laborious. Now, Scripps Research scientists have developed a synthetic biology ...
Biotechnology
Aug 8, 2025
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Proteins are life's molecular workhorses, doing everything from turning sunlight into food to fighting viruses. They are built from 20 different types of amino acid molecules, so even a small protein made of 60 amino acids ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 24, 2025
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136
A new international study suggests that ancient viral DNA embedded in our genome, which were long dismissed as genetic "junk," may actually play powerful roles in regulating gene expression. Focusing on a family of sequences ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 18, 2025
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