https://phys.org/biology-news/evolution/ en-us The latest science news on evolution Where did the energy come from to power the chemical origin of life, and how did phosphate come to be the universal energy currency of cells? Biologists from the Institute of Molecular Evolution at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have uncovered a new source of energy that drove primordial chemical reactions on the early Earth forward to kick-start metabolism. Their findings, now published in The FEBS Journal, identify phosphite and palladium, substances that naturally occur in H2-producing hydrothermal vents, as an inorganic precursor of ATP. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-hydrothermal-vents-geochemical-precursor-atp.html Evolution Tue, 06 Oct 2026 18:00:11 EDT news710509202 The short-legged horned toad (Boulenophrys brachykolos), listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, is the only known small frog species in Hong Kong belonging to the genus Boulenophrys of the family Megophryidae. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-endangered-lantau-toads-genetic-differences.html Evolution Tue, 06 Oct 2026 13:20:05 EDT news710501641 A new study of shark anatomy suggests the shape of their inner ears is far more variable than expected, and this variation could have more to do with their evolutionary history than where they live or what they eat. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-sharks-ears-reveal-diversity-evolution.html Evolution Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:20:09 EDT news710421722 Researchers at the University of Galway in Ireland have found that venomous snakes are significantly more likely than nonvenomous species to have colors that stand out against their natural surroundings. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-danger-venomous-snakes.html Evolution Mon, 05 Oct 2026 09:30:01 EDT news710409782 The earliest animals may have evolved hundreds of millions of years before their first unmistakable fossils appear in the fossil record, according to a new study led by the University of Oxford. The findings, published in Science Advances, suggest animals may have originated deep in the Neoproterozoic Era, even before some of the most extreme ice ages in Earth's history. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-animals-evolved-vastly-earlier-fossil.html Evolution Fri, 02 Oct 2026 14:00:13 EDT news710066581 As cities grow and urban sprawl expands, could these changing landscapes be giving invasive species a competitive edge? Scientists at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) say the answer may be yes, according to a new study from the UF/IFAS Invasion Science Institute. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-urban-environments-ultimate-grounds-invasive.html Evolution Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:20:09 EDT news710070241 How do bacteria adapt when resources run low? ISTA researchers have found that, under starvation stress, E. coli can use bacteriophages and CRISPR-Cas immunity to transfer and incorporate DNA, accelerating genetic reshuffling. The process resembles a primitive form of sexual reproduction and may help bacterial populations adapt to changing conditions. The findings were published in Molecular Biology and Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-sex-dna-exchange-starving-bacteria.html Evolution Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:24 EDT news710066761 In recent years, scientists have shown that chimpanzees favor certain peers by picking whom they prefer to groom and selectively sharing food. The behavior offers a glimpse into humanity's prosocial evolutionary past. But a question has lingered: How might a chimpanzee friendship affect antisocial acts? https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chimps-plunder-pineapple-friends.html Plants & Animals Thu, 01 Oct 2026 11:20:01 EDT news710065861 A research consortium has generated the broadest look yet at the proteins that make up mitochondria, capturing the organelle's diversity across multiple branches on the tree of complex life. With major contributions from Broad Institute scientists and its Proteomics Platform, the consortium generated and analyzed the mitochondrial proteomes of one plant and five single-celled pathogens that affect millions of people globally every year. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-mitochondria-life-family-tree-unearths.html Evolution Thu, 01 Oct 2026 11:00:10 EDT news709989111 Before most women know they're pregnant, an embryo has already begun organizing itself into the structures that will shape a developing body. Scientists have few opportunities to study those earliest stages of human development, making many of life's first steps difficult to observe directly. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chameleon-embryos-reveal-early-developmental.html Evolution Thu, 01 Oct 2026 10:00:02 EDT news710064182 La Trobe archaeologists have described 18 new hominin fossils, including a second Homo erectus skull fragment that confirms the species first appeared in southern Africa 2.0 million years ago—200,000 years earlier than traditionally thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-adult-fossil-evidence-homo-erectus.html Evolution Wed, 30 Sep 2026 14:00:02 EDT news709983601 Asgard archaea, our closest known microbial relatives, play a key role in current models of the origin of more complex organisms, known as eukaryotes (all animals, plants, protists and fungi). However, their biology has so far been poorly understood. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-asgard-archaea-motility-older-previously.html Evolution Wed, 30 Sep 2026 11:00:20 EDT news709920782 A newly described feathered dinosaur found in northeastern China adds evidence supporting the theory that flight-related features evolved differently in various bird-like dinosaur groups. The findings, reported in Nature Communications, are based on an analysis of an exceptionally well-preserved fossil of a microraptorine (a small dinosaur with feathers and wings) found in a geological formation estimated to be between 145 and 100 million years old. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-feathered-winged-dinosaur-china-theories.html Evolution Tue, 29 Sep 2026 16:20:09 EDT news709913642 A spore is a bacterium's survival capsule: dried almost solid and wrapped in protein armor, with its chemical processes shut down. Bacteria enter this state of hibernation when environmental conditions are unfavorable. What's left is close to indestructible: It can survive boiling, desiccation, radiation and the vacuum of space. NASA once bolted Bacillus spores to the outside of a satellite and left them in orbit for nearly six years; the ones shielded from sunlight were able to come back to life upon returning to Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-hibernating-bacteria-invade-hospitals-survive.html Evolution Mon, 28 Sep 2026 17:10:01 EDT news709832761 The development of treatment resistance is one of the key challenges in modern cancer and antibiotic therapy. New therapeutic approaches aim to curb the spread of resistance through the targeted timing of treatment cycles. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-treatment-resistant-cells-yeast.html Evolution Mon, 28 Sep 2026 10:40:05 EDT news709809902 How are species boundaries maintained in the face of environmental disturbance? This is not only a fundamental question in evolutionary biology but also an increasingly important one as human activities and climate change alter habitats and bring previously separated species into contact. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-japan-tsunami-fish-hybridization-species.html Evolution Sun, 27 Sep 2026 16:00:01 EDT news709555869 Scientists at Cornell University have found a human genetic element in a poxvirus and discovered that it is both an important gene for brain function and a jumping gene capable of moving and inserting itself into genomes. A study published in Science reports that the gene, called BC200, combines characteristics never before seen together. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-human-gene-poxvirus.html Evolution Fri, 25 Sep 2026 09:40:01 EDT news709544957 Orangutan infants spend their first eight years with their mothers, and throughout this time, they can draw on their knowledge. After that, however, orangutans are entirely on their own. To fare well as independent orangutans, infants need to learn many survival skills, arguably the most important of which are feeding skills. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-style-survival-skills-young-orangutans.html Plants & Animals Thu, 24 Sep 2026 14:00:10 EDT news709397701 By comparing variations in the coat colors of eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in Montreal city parks, researchers found that hyperlocal conditions appear to play a bigger role in shaping wildlife traits than previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-montreal-squirrels-insight-evolutionary-urban.html Evolution Thu, 24 Sep 2026 13:00:04 EDT news709463341 About 66 million years ago, the asteroid that ended the age of the dinosaurs paved the way for a spectacular expansion of new animal species. During this period, ants rose to ecological dominance. Today, they form the largest family of social insects, with more than 15,000 species worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-genes-ants-evolutionary-triumph-extinction.html Evolution Thu, 24 Sep 2026 11:40:15 EDT news709460406 In the first detailed chromosome map of the aardwolf, Texas A&M University researchers have discovered that, despite millions of years of separate evolution, the chromosomes of aardwolves, other hyenas and even domestic cats have remained remarkably similar. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-aardwolves-cats-chromosome-similarities.html Plants & Animals Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:40:02 EDT news709460281 Every time a cell divides, its chromosomes must be distributed correctly between the two daughter cells. Central to this process is the centromere, a specialized region of the chromosome. The centromere serves as the attachment site for the cellular machinery that pulls the chromosomes apart. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ancient-genome-function-persists-frequent.html Evolution Wed, 23 Sep 2026 16:40:01 EDT news709393982 Most primate species have relatively large brains with surfaces marked by pronounced bulges and furrows. This is not the case with common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). The brains of these small monkeys are smooth and virtually unfolded. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-brain-organoids-uncover-primates.html Evolution Wed, 23 Sep 2026 14:00:20 EDT news709376401 If you're swimming in the Salish Sea late at night and feel a skittering along your calves, tiny hairy feet tip-tapping their way higher and higher toward your face, don't worry—it's probably just the stuff of nightmares: hairy-legged, red-eyed sea spiders newly discovered by UBC researchers. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-hairy-feet-red-eyes-salish.html Evolution Wed, 23 Sep 2026 11:20:10 EDT news709374541 Human and chimpanzee genomes are more than 98% identical, and the genes themselves barely differ. The changes that make us human are thought to hide instead in the DNA that controls when and where genes switch on. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-evolution-human-skeleton-clues-cartilage.html Evolution Wed, 23 Sep 2026 11:00:18 EDT news709377181 New research from the University of St Andrews has created the largest combined study of bat genomes and fossils ever undertaken, finding that bats most likely originated in Europe around 65 million years ago before spreading across the world. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-genomes-fossils-european-million-years.html Evolution Wed, 23 Sep 2026 11:00:05 EDT news709214222 As the climate changes, species face a critical question: Can they evolve quickly enough to keep pace with their changing environment? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-seabird-evolve-fast-extinction-climate.html Evolution Tue, 22 Sep 2026 11:20:15 EDT news709289341 A KAUST-led team has developed the AI tool Unify to help scientists compare similar cell types across distant species. This comparison can help researchers assess which findings from animal studies may be most relevant to human health. Their study is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-tool-cell-million-years.html Evolution Mon, 21 Sep 2026 17:00:08 EDT news709217246 CRISPR may be a powerful technology for gene editing, but the system existed in bacteria long before scientists began using it. For billions of years, CRISPR has acted as a natural immune system in bacteria and other microbes, helping defend them against invading viruses. But now, two new studies, published in Science, describe a similar RNA-guided system that originated in the viruses themselves and appears to be a precursor to CRISPR. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-discovery-crispr-lost-ancestor-gene.html Evolution Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:20:12 EDT news708950672 Cysteine is one of the main building blocks that cells use to make proteins. But this amino acid is a double-edged sword—too much cysteine is toxic to the cell. Cells therefore keep free cysteine levels to a minimum, converting most of the amino acid into the antioxidant glutathione. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-high-amino-acid-cysteine-toxic.html Evolution Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:27:12 EDT news708945882