https://phys.org/biology-news/evolution/ en-us The latest science news on evolution The genetic code determines the correspondence between genetic instructions and amino acids—the building blocks that form proteins. How this correspondence arose is one of the major open questions in evolutionary biology. A study led by Dr. Lluís Ribas de Pouplana, ICREA researcher at IRB Barcelona, and Dr. Paul Schimmel, with the participation of researchers from MIT and Scripps Research, has identified conserved signals in transfer RNAs that could help reconstruct the early stages of this system. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-protein-rna-molecules-reveal-remnants.html Evolution Tue, 10 Nov 2026 15:50:01 EST news713544541 Genetic research has uncovered two previously unknown species of howler monkey living in the Amazon rainforest, confirming the world's largest tropical forest is more biodiverse than scientists thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-howler-monkey-species-amazon-years.html Plants & Animals Tue, 10 Nov 2026 15:30:01 EST news713544062 Long before birds took to the skies, dinosaurs were already sporting feathers. But exactly how they evolved into the sophisticated structures that allow birds to fly remains something of a mystery. Now, the discovery of the longest feather ever found preserved in amber is providing some new clues. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-million-year-feather-evolution-flight.html Evolution Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:30:01 EST news713531525 With water temperatures as low as -1.9°C (28.6°F), the Southern Ocean is a place of extreme living conditions. A new study led by Senckenberg researchers shows how fish have adapted to Antarctic temperatures. The researchers used the Antarctic spiny plunderfish (Harpagifer antarcticus) as a model organism and, for the first time, analyzed the maternal and paternal copies of its genome separately. This allowed them to uncover mechanisms that contribute to this group of fishes' adaptation to extreme cold. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-cool-fish-survive-antarctic-ocean.html Evolution Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:20:13 EST news713528221 Scientists have used new machine learning techniques to investigate a topic no one has ever found a way to study: the evolution of fish moving together in schools across thousands of species. The new paper, published Nov. 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is among the largest studies of the evolution of any behavior ever conducted in any group of species, according to the authors. The research shows that behaviors, which have previously been difficult to quantify, can be studied at a large evolutionary scale. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-machine-reveals-fish-schooling-evolved.html Evolution Mon, 09 Nov 2026 18:30:05 EST news713465581 Animals communicate in ways that are sometimes obvious to us and sometimes almost completely hidden. Bright colors, songs and courtship displays are easy to notice. Chemical signals are different: an animal can leave a message behind long after it has moved away. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-male-lizard-perfumes-rivalry-seduction.html Plants & Animals Mon, 09 Nov 2026 17:40:06 EST news713438358 A century after the Taung Child permanently altered our view of human origins, a new study published in npj Palaeoecosystems dates the famous fossil to between 2.96 and 3.03 million years old. Led by professor Gabriele Macho of the Archaeology, Environmental Changes and Geo-Chemistry (AMGC) research group at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), the international research highlights that the human family tree in southern Africa was far more complex than previously assumed. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-million-year-taung-child-human.html Evolution Mon, 09 Nov 2026 15:50:06 EST news713459044 Anthropologists seeking to understand human evolution often include primates such as chimps or apes in their studies. But a new review paper by Kyle Smith, a postdoctoral research scholar in NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine, argues that an equally informative animal is often right under our noses—the domestic (or family) dog. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-canines-anthropological-human-evolution.html Evolution Mon, 09 Nov 2026 15:40:21 EST news713450539 Sperm whales and pygmy sperm whales are known among mammals for their unusually shaped heads. Unlike most vertebrates, which are bilaterally symmetrical, toothed whales have asymmetrical skulls that accommodate highly specialized organs used for echolocation and sound production. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-prehistoric-whale-reveals-extreme-skull.html Evolution Mon, 09 Nov 2026 12:00:24 EST news713441761 Monkeys constantly observe and evaluate their social environment. It stands to reason that the social and mental abilities required to do so were favored by evolution. After all, these abilities should influence how an animal interacts with its conspecifics and, as a result, what social position it can attain within the group's hierarchy. Researchers from the DPZ and the University of Göttingen have now investigated whether this widely held assumption is correct by studying 46 wild male Assamese macaques in Thailand. The paper is published in the journal Current Biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-pays-attentive-macaques-benefit-group.html Plants & Animals Mon, 09 Nov 2026 11:00:18 EST news713192881 Few insects have a more gruesome lifestyle than Darwin wasps. Rather than simply hunting other animals, these parasitic wasps lay their eggs on or inside living hosts, including caterpillars, beetles and spiders. Their larvae then feed on their hosts, gradually consuming them and eventually killing them. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-wasps-horrified-darwin-reveal-evolution.html Plants & Animals Fri, 06 Nov 2026 17:20:01 EST news713195341 The genus Picea (spruce) is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere and is a dominant component of boreal and montane forests. Understanding the evolutionary processes that have shaped diversification and regional differentiation across the genus requires a well-resolved phylogeny of Picea. However, the evolutionary history of Picea has long been obscure due to conflicting genetic signals. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-evolutionary-history-genetic-basis-spruce.html Plants & Animals Fri, 06 Nov 2026 12:00:01 EST news713181141 Why does a quenda have a short, sturdy snout, while its relative the bilby has such a remarkably long one? New research led by Murdoch University's Harry Butler Institute suggests millions of years of adaptation to different environments across Australia and New Guinea may help explain the difference. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-bandicoots-bilbies-evolved-snouts.html Plants & Animals Fri, 06 Nov 2026 09:00:01 EST news713172135 What did the algae that gave rise to the first land plants look like? A research team led by the University of Göttingen and including the universities of Maastricht and Innsbruck and Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales has now taken a detailed look at one of the most important groups for answering this question: the Zygnematophyceae, the closest living algal relatives of land plants. These include familiar-looking filamentous algae such as Spirogyra, as well as many that just consist of single cells. Despite their relatively simple appearance, they are particularly important for understanding plant evolution due to their close relationship with land plants. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-closest-algal-evolved-multicellular-growth.html Plants & Animals Thu, 05 Nov 2026 18:50:01 EST news713123701 Over the past 100,000 years, hooved mammals that migrate have experienced a higher rate of extinction compared to nonmigratory species, according to a study being published Nov. 5 in the journal PLOS Biology by Joel Abraham at Princeton University, U.S., and colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-hooved-mammals-migrate-greater-extinction.html Evolution Thu, 05 Nov 2026 14:00:14 EST news713019241 A new study has revealed how the repurposing of an ancestral gene saved the embryos of cod's ancestors from extinction, enabling them to form the large populations that, millions of years later, would change the course of human history. The codfishes and their relatives in the order Gadiformes lost genes essential for egg buoyancy and the survival of their embryos, yet survived by adaptively recruiting mechanisms that aid egg ovulation in freshwater fishes. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-million-year-genetic-codfishes-extinction.html Evolution Thu, 05 Nov 2026 11:20:27 EST news713095803 There are no woodpeckers on the Hawaiian Islands, but a little yellow bird called the 'akiapōlāʻau (Ah-key-ah-pole-ah-ow) has evolved an unusual beak to drill into branches to find food. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-swiss-army-knife-hawaiian-islands.html Evolution Thu, 05 Nov 2026 09:00:24 EST news713014621 In all likelihood, the Neanderthals had flat feet. But it was not a defect at all. Instead, it was the consequence of a precise functional strategy to reduce impact stress under heavy loads and maximize stability on mountainous or rough terrain. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-flat-feet-neanderthals-stay-stable.html Evolution Wed, 04 Nov 2026 18:10:01 EST news713036341 Mermaids have inhabited world folklore and mythology for centuries. Ancient Babylonians worshiped Oannes, a human-fish hybrid; sirens populated Greek mythology; and fairy tales such as "The Little Mermaid" have made this figure a pop culture icon. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-feejee-mermaid-display-colorado-intrigue.html Evolution Wed, 04 Nov 2026 17:20:06 EST news713014930 The genital structures of male hawkmoths are lifesavers. By rubbing specialized scales on their genitals against parts of their abdomen, the nocturnal insects emit ultrasonic sounds that can potentially scramble the acoustic signals that bats use to hunt. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-evolution-hawkmoth-genitals-defensive-tools.html Plants & Animals Wed, 04 Nov 2026 15:20:07 EST news713019660 Human feet are much stiffer than those of other primates, which means they limit midfoot bending during walking. The evolutionary reasons for this are not entirely clear. One idea is that the features that stiffen the foot evolved to make upright walking less effortful. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-foot-stiffening-socks.html Evolution Wed, 04 Nov 2026 10:40:11 EST news713008392 A new evolutionary theory suggests changes in body size, rather than competition for food and habitat, may drive the earliest physical differences between species. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-body-size-competition-evolution.html Evolution Tue, 03 Nov 2026 18:10:01 EST news712949521 Yale research scientist Saúl Domínguez-Guerrero didn't set out to catch "evolution in the act" when he traveled to the Caribbean with a team of Yale researchers a few years ago. At the time, the team from the lab of evolutionary biologist Martha Muñoz planned to do fieldwork on Caribbean anoles, colorful, tree-dwelling lizards native to warmer regions of the Americas. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-evolution-forest-lizards-reveal-rapid.html Evolution Tue, 03 Nov 2026 10:00:09 EST news712919521 University at Buffalo scientists have found evidence that different species of yeast have shared genes originally acquired from an ancient virus—and the guts and droppings of beetles may have helped make it happen. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-beetle-poop-millions-years-yeast.html Evolution Tue, 03 Nov 2026 09:40:06 EST news712919348 Liverworts reproduce through a life cycle involving two distinct stages. First, sperm fertilize eggs in the presence of water, producing embryos that develop into spore-producing structures called sporophytes. These structures then produce spores that can disperse and grow into new liverwort plants. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-reproductive-evolution-liverworts.html Plants & Animals Mon, 02 Nov 2026 18:20:06 EST news712860061 Most flounders sampled in Lake Pulmanki in northern Finland had spent their entire lives in freshwater. The study provides the first evidence of the species living entirely in freshwater. The work is published in Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-european-flounder-life-freshwater.html Plants & Animals Mon, 02 Nov 2026 17:00:06 EST news712839560 Researchers have discovered a gene for a tandem potassium channel in an algal virus. The finding supports the view that giant viruses may have contributed significantly to the evolution of complex proteins. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-giant-virus-yields-potassium-channel.html Evolution Sat, 31 Oct 2026 17:00:05 EDT news712424159 Among the ravenous carnivores and lumbering herbivores that roamed the Cretaceous landscape, another kind of dinosaur was evolving that started to eat something else: the plants that began to flower and produce fruit. The discovery by paleontologists from Stony Brook University, Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and the North Dakota Geological Survey reveals that a new species, Infernogallus jamesi—a type of small oviraptorosaur—had chewing muscles for mashing soft food, making it the first known dinosaur that specifically ate fruit. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-rare-fossil-discovery-reveals-dinosaur.html Evolution Sat, 31 Oct 2026 09:00:02 EDT news712402274 African cuckoo finches (Anomalospiza imberbis) are very deceptive birds, or at least the mothers are. They sneak into the nests of other birds, such as prinias and cisticolas, to lay their eggs, then slip away and leave the hosts to raise the chicks. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-genetic-lazy-parent-youre-cuckoo.html Evolution Fri, 30 Oct 2026 10:20:05 EDT news712568628 A remarkably diverse fossil ecosystem in central Colombia that preserves an unusual overlap between survivors of older Jurassic groups and newer Cretaceous lineages has led researchers at McGill University and the Centro de Investigaciones Paleontológicas (CIP) to recognize a new pattern of large-scale evolutionary transition, one that does not include mass extinctions. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-marine-fossils-colombia-reveal-evolutionary.html Evolution Fri, 30 Oct 2026 10:00:05 EDT news712569481