In biological sciences, morphology is the branch that studies the form, external structure, and macroscopic organization of organisms and their parts, independent of function. It encompasses comparative morphology, which analyzes homologous structures across taxa; functional morphology, which relates structural features to mechanical or biomechanical constraints; and developmental morphology, which examines changes in form during ontogeny. Morphological data, including body plans, organ systems, and patterning of tissues, are central to systematics, phylogenetic inference, and taxonomy, and are integrated with molecular and genetic information to elucidate evolutionary relationships, phenotypic variation, and constraints on organismal design.
New research is redefining the morphological and functional existence of anatomical "neck" regions to better include previously exempted vertebrates such as fishes and amphibians, changing the status quo of what it means ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2026
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Research has shed intriguing new light on the genetics underlying the diverse plant organ shapes seen in agriculture and nature. Despite more than a century of scientific investigation into the role of inner and outer tissues, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 8, 2026
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A new international study led by researchers at the University of Oulu, Finland, shows that wolves living in different parts of the world are not anatomically identical. Their skulls differ in shape and size according to ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 7, 2026
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A research team from the Natural History Museum of Denmark has published a compelling new study in insect taxonomy in the open-access journal ZooKeys, officially establishing a new genus of rove beetle: Luffy gen. nov. The ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 7, 2026
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The evolutionary paths that created snatching forelimbs in insects multiple times moved in a similar direction but didn't end at a single solution. Kobe University research is pioneering a study of how organs with similar ...
Evolution
Jul 7, 2026
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Biologists have long puzzled over how organs develop into their final shapes, and the nearly transparent bodies of young sea stars may offer a unique window into the organ development process.
Evolution
Jul 6, 2026
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A new study, published July 6, 2026, in the journal Nature Communications, suggests that two of the best-known trends in human evolution—brain growth and the reduction in the size of the face and jaw—may be far less attributable ...
Evolution
Jul 6, 2026
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The shape of biological structures, ranging from flower petals to the limbs or organs of animals, is often naturally best suited for performing specific functions. Biological structures also often present curved surfaces ...
Human evolution is generally explained through changes in brain size, locomotion or tool use, but new research from Wits University suggests that gum disease and changes in facial structure may have been important factors ...
Evolution
Jul 1, 2026
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40
A new analysis supports the previously overlooked "brain lag" hypothesis—the idea that, in some primate lineages, the evolution of larger body size preceded the evolution of larger brain size—while also building on that hypothesis ...
Evolution
Jul 1, 2026
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