Phylogeny, as a biological process, refers to the historical pattern of lineage splitting and character change that generates the evolutionary relationships among organisms or genes over time. It encompasses the processes of speciation, extinction, and divergence of traits driven by mutation, genetic drift, natural selection, recombination, and gene flow, which cumulatively produce branching evolutionary lineages. Phylogenetic processes operate across multiple temporal and spatial scales, shaping hierarchical biodiversity patterns and resulting in genealogical structures that can be inferred from comparative molecular, morphological, or genomic data, forming the basis for reconstructing evolutionary histories and testing macroevolutionary hypotheses.
Within every muscle of every living species with a backbone, a protein called myosin tugs on a partner protein to generate a muscle contraction. This function, discovered in mammals a century ago, has been presumed by scientists ...
Evolution
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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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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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Zoraptera, also known as angel insects or ground lice, are tiny termite-like insects generally found underneath bark or in decaying wood. The Zoraptera group includes a few dozen known insect species that closely resemble ...
Is it possible to study the history of viruses that emerged several hundred million years ago? An international team of INRAE and CIRAD researchers answered this question by exploring plant genomes to find the molecular fossils ...
Evolution
Jul 2, 2026
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Decades-old hospital samples have helped University of East Anglia (UEA) researchers uncover how a deadly antibiotic-resistant "superbug" quietly tightened its grip across the globe. It lurked in hospital corridors for decades, ...
Evolution
Jul 1, 2026
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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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A study is reframing a fundamental question in plant evolution: What made trees possible? Researchers from Cal Poly Humboldt, Yale University, the University of Hohenheim in Germany and the Czech Academy of Sciences set out ...
Evolution
Jul 1, 2026
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Although modern crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gharials are restricted to the tropics, their fossil record tells a very different story. Ancient crocodylians once inhabited much of the globe and exhibited a remarkable ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 29, 2026
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Biologists group animals with similar traits into broad categories called orders. Despite their similarities, animal species in the same order can have very different average lifespans.
