Evolutionary Biology

Researchers identified mutations in genes that may be involved in fat regulation, fur growth, and morphology.

A decade-long, multicontinent study suggests that acoustic defense strategies are more common among moths than previously imagined.

The molting fluid of ant pupae functions as “metabolic currency” in the ant colony and may have enabled the evolution of eusociality. 

A tiny pilot study found that so-called chameleon vines mimicked plastic leaves, but experts say poor study design and conflicts of interest undermine the report.

Bats are known for staying healthy even while harboring viral infections. Now, research sheds light on how their unusual immune system evolved.

Researchers find so-called integrons, previously known only in bacteria, in their distantly related microbial relatives. 

Study authors say the teeth, dated around 780,000 years old, push back the date humans are known to have engaged in cooking by more than 600,000 years. 

Meet the grasshopper that has reproduced asexually for a quarter of a million years—without acquiring undue numbers of harmful mutations.

Although epigenetic changes were long thought to largely act on the genome, rather than as part of it, research is now showing that these patterns can, directly or indirectly, change the genetic code.

Evidence is mounting that epigenetic marks on DNA can influence future generations in a variety of ways. But how such phenomena might affect large-scale evolutionary processes is hotly debated.

Sounds made by more than 50 vertebrates previously thought to be mute push back the origin of this type of communication by at least 100 million years, a study finds.

Mammals that give birth to live young may have evolved to make use of the remnants of viruses in their genomes to ward off pathogens, a study suggests. 

The black fur allele has fitness costs but also confers higher immunity against canine distemper virus, making mix-and-match mating key to population survival.

Viral remnants make up 8 percent of the human genome, and a new study finds that these sequences are still active in healthy people.

Genetic material pilfered from mitochondria may seal cracks in our genetic code, a study suggests.

Despite recent advances in the study of eukaryogenesis, much remains unresolved about the origin and evolution of the most complex domain of life.

A lot happened in the hundreds of millions years separating the first and last eukaryotic common ancestors, but when and how most features arose remains a mystery.

A team proposes that the addition of a small accessory subunit to the carbon-fixing enzyme was key to improving its catalytic properties and specificity to CO₂.

The award highlights tremendous opportunities for aDNA as well as challenges related to rapid growth, equity, and misinformation.