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.
In their landmark 1961 paper on the lac operon, Nobel laureates François Jacob and Jacques Monod speculated that RNA might control gene activity in bacteria through base-pairing interactions. But once protein transcription ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 28, 2026
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How do cells ensure that the "blueprints" of genetic information-RNA are accurate and intact before they are exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm for protein production? A study led by Professor Yongsheng Shi's team ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 27, 2026
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13
In the intricate machinery of the inner ear, hearing begins with a protein that moves a few billionths of a meter up to 100,000 times per second. That protein, called TMC1, sits at the tips of sensory hair cells deep in the ...
Evolution
Mar 25, 2026
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21
A new paper in Genome Biology and Evolution, indicates that while the COVID-19 virus has developed rapidly since 2019, it has done so within limited genetic channels. These genetic limits have remained unchanged. Despite ...
Evolution
Mar 25, 2026
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Milkweed has found a new strategy in its epic evolutionary battle with monarch butterflies: upgrading its toxins to outmaneuver the monarch's resistance. In a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy ...
Evolution
Mar 19, 2026
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40
The trajectory of base editing has been remarkable, progressing from the laboratory to patient care, treating debilitating or terminal illnesses, in less than a decade. A type of gene editing that makes chemical changes to ...
Biotechnology
Mar 18, 2026
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61
Scientists have long observed that embryos of different species within a phylum look quite distinct at early and late developmental stages but resemble one another more during mid-embryogenesis, a phenomenon known as developmental ...
Evolution
Mar 16, 2026
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A team of US researchers has gained new insights into how large protein molecules consistently fold themselves into useful shapes. Using a new approach to fluorescence microscopy, Hoi Sung Chung and colleagues at the National ...
A new LMU study shows how proteins function reliably even without a stable 3D structure—and the crucial importance not only of short sequence motifs, but also of chemical characteristics.
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 13, 2026
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22
The tiny Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) has always fascinated researchers because, according to the rules of evolution, it shouldn't have survived as a species, let alone thrive as a species for over 100,000 years. Using ...
