https://phys.org/biology-news/evolution/ en-us The latest science news on evolution In most modern cells, DNA stores the genetic blueprint, and proteins replicate, repair and build from those blueprints. At the same time, proteins require instructions from DNA to be made in the first place. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rna-enzyme-reveals-primordial-life.html Evolution Mon, 13 Jul 2026 05:00:05 EDT news702907471 Far beneath the surface of the ocean lies the largest and least explored habitat on Earth. The deep sea is cold, dark, highly pressurized—and home to a huge amount of undiscovered life. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-deep-oceans-evolution-supercharged-diversity.html Evolution Sun, 12 Jul 2026 11:30:01 EDT news702563555 A new study in PLOS Biology of 133 species of flies, mosquitoes and their relatives shows that most species fly in surprisingly similar ways. Physical and aerodynamic laws shape the evolution of their flight behavior more strongly than previously thought. Mosquitoes prove to be a striking exception. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-physical-laws-flies-evolved-similar.html Evolution Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:40:09 EDT news702901048 A new Stanford-led study offers the clearest picture yet of how some ocean life survived our planet's biggest mass extinction while most animals did not. About 252 million years ago, 96% of marine species and 70% of land animals died off during the Permian–Triassic extinction event, known as the "Great Dying." Not all branches of the evolutionary tree were affected evenly, however. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-link-mass-extinction-dominant-marine.html Evolution Fri, 10 Jul 2026 07:42:09 EDT news702888087 Facing both climate change and a crashing pollinator population, plants may be evolving to attract pollinators rather than adapting to a warming climate, and the trade-off has resulted in a steep decline in plants' rate of adaptation, according to a University of Michigan study. The researchers, studying morning glories, observed a 96% decrease in the population's rate of adaptation over nine years. The declining rate of adaptation could affect farmers, who deal with morning glory as an agricultural nuisance. The research is published in the journal Evolution Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-morning-glories-reveal-pollinator-pressure.html Evolution Thu, 09 Jul 2026 20:20:03 EDT news702831315 High above the rainforest floor, tiny ponds form in the leaves of plants perched on tree branches. Frogs breed in these ponds, alongside insects, microbes and even tiny crustaceans, creating miniature ecosystems suspended high in the canopy. These are the bromeliads—the remarkable plant family that also gave us air plants, the towering 12-meter (39-foot) "Queen of the Andes", and the pineapple on your terrible pizza. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-hummingbirds-pineapples-ancient-relationship-evolutionary.html Evolution Thu, 09 Jul 2026 15:00:11 EDT news702820861 A tiny mouse living nearly 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) above sea level in the Andes is helping scientists rethink the limits of life on Earth. The animal, a leaf-eared mouse, is the focus of a new international study co-authored by McMaster University researchers, revealing how mammals can survive in conditions once thought uninhabitable. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-uncover-mouse-survives-earth-harshest.html Evolution Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:00:01 EDT news702801820 Scientists have uncovered what may be the earliest evidence of "right-handedness" in the animal kingdom, dating back more than half a billion years. The discovery comes from the fossil record of Spriggina floundersi, an organism from the Ediacaran Period that lived about 550 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ancient-fossil-reveal-animal-kingdom.html Evolution Thu, 09 Jul 2026 05:00:05 EDT news702711210 Caddisflies are among nature's master underwater builders, capable of spinning sticky silk that they use to form protective cases and webs in freshwater streams. Scientists like the University of Utah's Russell Stewart have long studied this bioadhesive material in the hope of using it as a chemical model for creating a synthetic version for use in the human body in medical applications. Now the genetics of caddisflies' evolutionary superpower is coming into focus, providing science with new clues for developing bioadhesives. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-caddisfly-silk-gene-evolves-quickly.html Evolution Wed, 08 Jul 2026 15:40:06 EDT news702728237 Long before the dawn of modern parenting, animals laid eggs and moved on, leaving their progeny to fend for themselves. Now, a study published in Nature uncovers one of the elegant ways evolution transformed neglect into nurture. Working with clonal raider ants, a surprisingly parental insect, researchers found that rather than evolving entirely new brain circuits for caregiving, evolution repurposed ancient neural systems for regulating hunger into triggers for social behaviors. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-tiny-neuron-ant-brains-reveal.html Evolution Wed, 08 Jul 2026 12:10:01 EDT news702729697 The transition from a lumbering, heavy dinosaur body to the flight-adapted bird body plan is one of many fascinating episodes in evolutionary history. Working out how this massive transformation took place relies heavily on fossil records, especially of transitional species. A study of a newly identified Jurassic bird published in the journal Science Advances is providing fresh insights into a tail adaptation that helps birds fly. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-tiny-jurassic-bird-reveals-key.html Evolution Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:40:06 EDT news702720639 University of Newcastle researchers have documented one of the clearest examples of iridescence ever recorded in an amphibian, revealing that the endangered green and golden bell frog (Ranoidea aurea) possesses intricate color-shifting skin previously unseen in the species. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rare-shifting-iconic-australian-frog.html Plants & Animals Tue, 07 Jul 2026 13:40:10 EDT news702637262 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 functions evolve, providing a new analytical approach to identify evolutionary dynamics quantitatively. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-raptorial-insect-forelegs-evolved-converged.html Evolution Tue, 07 Jul 2026 05:00:04 EDT news702538089 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. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-sea-stars-rare-view-embryonic.html Evolution Mon, 06 Jul 2026 17:20:08 EDT news702563735 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 to directed natural selection than scientists have long assumed. Instead, the findings by researchers at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (SHEP) at the University of Tübingen point to a slower and presumably more limited evolutionary process than the traditional textbook portrayal suggests. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-larger-brain-smaller-human-evolution.html Evolution Mon, 06 Jul 2026 11:20:08 EDT news702551982 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 each other. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-phylogenomics-reveals-angel-insects-ancestry.html Evolution Mon, 06 Jul 2026 07:20:05 EDT news702209723 Museums are supposed to be havens for the collective cultural and scientific heritage of the planet, but specimens sometimes go missing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-megalodon-legendary-life-revealed-fossil.html Evolution Fri, 03 Jul 2026 17:20:02 EDT news702130302 Picture a mouse taking rapid, staccato sniffs of a crumb it's found while foraging for food. Now compare that with a human leaning in for a single, deep inhale to gauge whether a cantaloupe is ripe. New research from Northwestern University has found that, like humans, mice also can take a single sniff to deliberately probe their environment—something scientists previously did not know. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-mammals-underlying-evolution.html Plants & Animals Fri, 03 Jul 2026 14:00:06 EDT news702203566 Whether mussels, crustaceans or fish, marine animals have been responding to environmental crises with a reduction in body size for hundreds of millions of years. A new study by Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), in conjunction with the Universities of Warsaw and Lille, now shows that this phenomenon, known as the "Lilliput effect," is especially pronounced during phases of strong global warming. The researchers see it as a warning sign regarding changes to today's climate. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-paleontological-climate-marine-animals.html Evolution Fri, 03 Jul 2026 11:40:05 EDT news702290246 When trying to attract and recognize potential mates, animals are known to rely on various signals, traits and behaviors. In the case of birds, these signals can typically include a wide range of sounds—such as trills, whistles, chirps or melodious notes defined as "songs"—as well as the color and movement of their feathers. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-songs-play-greater-role-plumage.html Evolution Fri, 03 Jul 2026 08:20:04 EDT news702042111 Octopuses, squid and cuttlefish may have evolved large brains because of the challenges posed by their environments rather than the demands of social life, according to a new study published in iScience today. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ecological-factors-social-behavior-brain.html Evolution Thu, 02 Jul 2026 18:40:03 EDT news702223381 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 of viruses. The work is published in the journal PLOS Pathogens. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-dna-harbors-virus-fossils-million.html Evolution Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:20:03 EDT news702216662 Vision shapes how many animals find food, avoid danger and navigate their world. In animals with two eyes, eye placement is often linked to lifestyle: predators such as lions tend to have forward-facing eyes that help them judge distance, while prey animals such as deer typically have eyes positioned on the sides of the head, providing a wider view of their surroundings. Eye placement can reveal much about ecology, yet most of what we know comes from animals with only two eyes. Spiders present a fascinating challenge to this picture. Most species possess eight eyes, arranged in remarkably diverse configurations, raising the question of how these patterns relate to hunting strategy. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-behavior-evolution-spider-eye.html Plants & Animals Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:00:03 EDT news702216541 All living organisms are known to inherit genes, DNA sequences that contain instructions for producing specific proteins and performing biological functions, from their parents. In some cases, however, genes can also shift between different species via a process known as horizontal gene transfer (HGT). https://phys.org/news/2026-07-holoparasitic-genes-host-dna-survive.html Evolution Thu, 02 Jul 2026 10:20:01 EDT news702204647 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, largely unnoticed by the wider public. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-hidden-decades-hospital-superbug-built.html Evolution Wed, 01 Jul 2026 19:00:03 EDT news702118986 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 in shaping the evolutionary path that ultimately led to modern humanity. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ancient-gum-disease-reshape-jaws.html Evolution Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:00:01 EDT news702128669 A new study of wild bats reveals that an animal's immune system is shaped by more than its need to fight infections. Researchers from the University of Maryland have found that sex, age and competition for mates influence how bats balance different types of immune defenses—providing new insight into how evolutionary pressures shape immune strategy. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-competition-age-sex-immune-wild.html Evolution Wed, 01 Jul 2026 15:40:04 EDT news702136141 In cancer research, one person's junk is increasingly becoming another person's treasure. Scientists have uncovered new evidence showing how recently evolved "junk DNA" genetic elements can become integrated into ancient cellular pathways that regulate cancer. These findings may provide fresh insights into how evolutionary forces shape disease and reveal potential new targets for cancer research. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-evolutionary-junk-dna-clues-cancer.html Evolution Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:00:16 EDT news702050581 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 by suggesting that some lineages' brain sizes then continued to grow beyond an expected baseline. Robin Dunbar of the University of Oxford presents these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-primate-brains-evolved-larger-bodies.html Evolution Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:00:09 EDT news702027061 European brown bears are masters of survival: These animals have weathered Pleistocene climate fluctuations and survived the cycles of ice ages and interglacial periods to the present day. Zoologists have now investigated the origins of this evolutionary flexibility: 3D analyses of bear jaws show that certain chewing structures in the lower jaw of brown bears have apparently adapted very flexibly to changing climatic conditions. SNSB zoologist Anneke van Heteren has now published her findings in the journal Comptes Rendus Palevol. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-climate-resilience-brown-years-revealed.html Evolution Wed, 01 Jul 2026 12:40:11 EDT news702123721