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.
A tissue fold known as the cephalic furrow, an evolutionary novelty that forms between the head and the trunk of fly embryos, plays a mechanical role in stabilizing embryonic tissues during the development of the fruit fly ...
Evolution
Sep 3, 2025
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The complex 3D shapes of brains, lungs, eyes, hands, and other vital bodily structures emerge from the way in which flat 2D sheets of cells fold during embryonic development. Now, researchers at Columbia Engineering have ...
Biotechnology
Aug 21, 2025
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An international research team led by Dr. Verónica Díez Díaz from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin has used new digital 3D reconstructions to gain detailed insights into the mobility of the tail of the sauropod Giraffatitan ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Aug 21, 2025
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Short-nosed dog breeds, like French Bulldogs and Pugs, remain immensely popular. But are they truly better companion animals than other breeds? According to a new study by ethologists at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 5, 2025
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A newly published study has found that males of some of our earliest known ancestors were significantly larger than females. The pronounced difference in body size present in both Australopithecus afarensis (the East African ...
Evolution
Jul 29, 2025
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An international research team from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and from Buenos Aires and Washington D.C. has identified a new fossil from central Germany, offering fresh insights into the early evolutionary history ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jul 24, 2025
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Beneath the scales of Australia's iconic monitor lizards (commonly known as goannas), scientists have discovered an unexpected secret: a hidden layer of bony skin structures known as osteoderms. These structures, which have ...
Evolution
Jul 20, 2025
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Originally bred for meat and fur, the European rabbit has become a successful invader worldwide. When domesticated breeds return to the wild and feralize, the rabbits do not simply revert to their wild form—they experience ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2025
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Plant architecture influences the microenvironment throughout the crop canopy. Plants with a more erect leaf architecture allow more light to reach lower canopy leaves.
Biotechnology
Jun 27, 2025
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A 500-million-year-old fossil from Morocco, discovered by Natural History Museum scientists, is offering extraordinary new insights into one of evolution's most puzzling transformations: how echinoderms, the group that includes ...
Evolution
Jun 26, 2025
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