Evolution, as a scientific topic, encompasses the study of heritable change in populations of organisms over successive generations, driven primarily by mechanisms such as mutation, natural selection, genetic drift, gene flow, and recombination. It investigates how genetic variation arises and is differentially propagated, leading to adaptation, speciation, and macroevolutionary patterns observable in phylogenies and the fossil record. Research in this area integrates population genetics, comparative genomics, quantitative genetics, and developmental biology to elucidate processes shaping genetic architecture, fitness landscapes, and phenotypic diversity, as well as the tempo and mode of evolutionary change across different ecological and genomic contexts.
A review article now published in Nature Reviews Genetics brings together evolutionary theory, comparative genomics and large-scale human genetics to explain why we age and why aging rates differ among individuals and species. ...
Evolution
Jun 11, 2026
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Typically, the information encoded in DNA allows organisms to develop, function, and pass traits across generations. Yet DNA alone does not explain how genes are switched on and off in different cells and environments. This ...
Evolution
Jun 7, 2026
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New research shows Cheviot goats are one of the UK's most genetically distinct goat populations. Led by Newcastle University, this is the first genetic study to determine the ancestry and genetic health of a UK feral goat ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 4, 2026
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In its native habitat, switchgrass flowered earlier when growing farther north. In experiments with diverse genetic samples, it flowered earlier in the south.
Plants & Animals
Jun 3, 2026
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Non-native wall lizards living in Cincinnati, Ohio, have thrived against the odds thanks to an ability to expand their population more quickly than any inbreeding-amplified harmful genes could weaken their chances for survival, ...
Ecology
May 30, 2026
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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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If you look at the trees as you're driving on the Trans-Canada Highway toward Banff National Park, you will see Englemann spruce on the cooler, wetter northeast-facing slopes of the Three Sisters. Across the valley—on the ...
Plants & Animals
May 26, 2026
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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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It may sound too bizarre to be true, but the Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa), a fish that inhabits rivers, lakes, and swamps in Mexico and Texas, exists over much of its range in populations that are 100% female. In 1932, ...
Plants & Animals
May 22, 2026
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A new computational program, MicroFinder, enables faster and more accurate assembly of bird genomes. Improved genome assemblies will help researchers better understand bird biology, evolution, and help inform conservation ...
Plants & Animals
May 22, 2026
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