Plants that can move inspire new adaptive structures

The Mimosa plant, which folds its leaves when they're touched, is inspiring a new class of adaptive structures designed to twist, bend, stiffen and even heal themselves. University of Michigan researchers are leading their ...

Genetic switches play big role in human evolution

(Phys.org) —A Cornell study offers further proof that the divergence of humans from chimpanzees some 4 million to 6 million years ago was profoundly influenced by mutations to DNA sequences that play roles in turning genes ...

Birds of a feather create new species together—and here's how

Starlings have an image problem in Australia. These drab invaders are best known as pests of orchards and shopping centres. If you take a trip to see their African relatives though, you'll find starlings are some of the most ...

The propagation of admixture-derived evolutionary potential

Adaptive radiation—the rapid evolution of many new species from a single ancestor—is a major focus in evolutionary biology. Adaptive radiations often show remarkable repeatability where lineages have undergone multiple ...

page 1 from 2