Is sex primarily a strategy against transmissible cancer?

One of the greatest enigmas of evolutionary biology is that while sex is the dominant mode of reproduction among multicellular organisms, asexual reproduction appears much more efficient and less costly. However, in a study ...

When plant roots learned to follow gravity

Highly developed seed plants evolved deep root systems that are able to sense Earth's gravity. The how and when of this evolutionary step has, until now, remained unknown. Plant biologists at the Institute of Science and ...

First tapeworm genomes give insights into parasite evolution

Tapeworms have no gut or head. They are parasites that cause debilitating diseases, which can be deadly and often don't respond to drugs. Now, scientists have mapped the genetic code of tapeworms for the first time, the journal ...

It slices, it dices, and it protects the body from harm

An essential weapon in the body's fight against infection has come into sharper view. Researchers at Princeton University have discovered the 3D structure of an enzyme that cuts to ribbons the genetic material of viruses ...

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