If you had to describe a male peacock's tail feathers, you might pick words like "dazzling" or "beautiful." You probably wouldn't go with "stealthy," "aerodynamic," or "subtle." Peacock tails are just one example of how evolution ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 16, 2021
0
126
Researchers at the University of Bristol have shown how laboratory evolution can give rise to highly efficient enzymes for new-to-nature reactions, opening the door for novel and more environmentally friendly ways to make ...
Biochemistry
Aug 19, 2021
0
1056
A new study at the University of Chicago has shown that elaborate protein structures accumulate over deep time even when they serve no purpose, because a universal biochemical property and the genetic code force natural selection ...
Evolution
Dec 9, 2020
3
4715
Everywhere we look in the natural world, there's evidence of natural selection: the resin armor of a lodgepole pine cone evolved to defend against seed-hungry birds and squirrels; the long neck of a giraffe was evolutionarily ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 3, 2020
1
188
University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists have found that a constantly fluctuating environment can enable some species to invade new areas by helping them maintain the genetic diversity they need to settle into their new ...
Evolution
Jun 22, 2020
0
112
Biologist Jeff Podos at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with Mario Cohn-Haft at the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Brazil, report that they have recorded the loudest bird calls ever documented, made ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 21, 2019
2
582
Some parasitic plants steal genetic material from their host plants and use the stolen genes to more effectively siphon off the host's nutrients. A new study led by researchers at Penn State and Virginia Tech reveals that ...
Biotechnology
Jul 22, 2019
1
937
For the first time, researchers have shed new light on the evolution of different social roles within animal groups by exploring how fish predators target and attack groups of virtual prey. The study, led by the universities ...
Ecology
Apr 15, 2019
0
68
The connection between bird diet and skull shape is surprisingly weak for most species according to a new study led by UCL and the Natural History Museum, rewriting our understanding of how ecosystems influence evolution.
Evolution
Feb 19, 2019
6
197
Nearly seventy years after myxomatosis decimated the rabbit populations of Australia, Britain and France, a new study reveals how the species has evolved genetic resistance to the disease through natural selection.
Biotechnology
Feb 14, 2019
0
121
