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.
The bond between humans and dogs is one of nature's most enduring partnerships, but exactly when it began has long been a mystery. Now, a new study has turned back the clock. The study, titled "Dogs were widely distributed ...
Evolution
Mar 28, 2026
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46
Researchers from the Earlham Institute, in collaboration with the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford, have discovered three previously unrecognized lineages of the protist Bodo, each with its own bacterial ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 23, 2026
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9
New research from the University of Lincoln, UK, is challenging a common assumption about the evolutionary origins of human violence, suggesting that everyday aggression does not inevitably lead to lethal conflict. The study, ...
Evolution
Mar 21, 2026
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Like the males of many animal species, male Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies, a commonly studied lab animal, are aggressive toward one another and even fight when competing for resources such as food and females. Researchers ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 20, 2026
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20
Most of us have heard the phrase "it takes a village" when it comes to childcare. This age-old saying holds true for some songbirds, and a new study has found that this "village" has evolutionary consequences for their songs.
Evolution
Mar 13, 2026
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38
Thirteen million years ago, a group of medium-sized monkeys known for guarding their territory among the treetops with fearsome "howls" started doing something new. These monkeys, among the oldest known ancestors of the modern ...
Evolution
Mar 11, 2026
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69
A research team led by scientists at the Butantan Institute in São Paulo, Brazil, has completed the most extensive genetic sequencing of a jararaca viper to date. The focus of the study was the genome of the golden lancehead ...
Evolution
Mar 11, 2026
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41
Long before humans cultivated crops or sailed between continents, a group of plant viruses was already evolving among wild plants in Eurasia. According to a new international study published in Plant Disease, the ancestors ...
Evolution
Mar 9, 2026
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20
A new University of California San Diego study published in Cell challenges a long-standing assumption about how animal viruses become capable of sparking human epidemics and pandemics. Using a phylogenetic, genome-wide analysis ...
Evolution
Mar 9, 2026
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44
Certain species of wasps and frogs share a pain and inflammation peptide similar to one found in vertebrates to help defend against predators—a discovery that contributes to a shifting view of how evolution works, say researchers. ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 5, 2026
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