http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/charles_darwin/ New research into Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Read science articles on mutations, natural selection and how new species appear. Photos. en-us Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:05:01 EST Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/charles_darwin/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213154055.htm Fossil record of graptoloids challenges the theory that immediately after a mass extinction, species develop new physical traits at a rapid pace. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:40:40 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213154055.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213133453.htm Since Charles Darwin first put forth the theory of evolution, scientists have been trying to unlock the mysteries of genetics. But research on the genome -- the organism's entire hereditary package encoded in DNA and RNA -- has been less extensive. There is a tendency to think of the genome as a static and passive container of information. A critical new paradigm now redefines the genome as a dynamic structure that can impact genes themselves. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:34:34 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213133453.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120207100143.htm Although many anthropologists believe that modern humans ancestors "wiped out" Neanderthals, it's more likely that Neanderthals were integrated into the human gene pool thousands of years ago during the Upper Pleistocene era as cultural and climatic forces brought the two groups together. New research suggests that the Neanderthals demise was due to a combination of influences, including cultural changes. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:01:01 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120207100143.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131102519.htm Thirty-thousand-year-old bison bones discovered in permafrost at a Canadian goldmine are helping scientists unravel the mystery about how animals adapt to rapid environmental change. Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:25:25 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131102519.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130130841.htm Genetic mutations that boost an individual's adaptability have greater chances of getting through to X chromosomes -- at least in chimpanzees, according to new Danish research. An analysis of the genes of 12 chimpanzees has now demonstrated that the chimpanzee X chromosome plays a very special role in the animal's evolutionary development. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:08:08 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130130841.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124113036.htm The iconic, winged dinosaur Archaeopteryx was dressed for flight, an international team of researchers has concluded. The group identified the color of the raven-sized creature's fossilized wing feather, determining it was black. The color and the structures that supplied the pigment suggest that Archaeopteryx's feathers were rigid and durable, which would have helped it to fly. Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:30:30 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124113036.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124092930.htm Organic chemists have made a significant advance towards establishing the origin of the carbohydrates (sugars) that form the building blocks of life. The researchers have re-created a process which could have occurred in the prebiotic world. Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:29:29 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124092930.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119133926.htm For students to accept the theory of evolution, an intuitive "gut feeling" may be just as important as understanding the facts, according to a new study. In an analysis of the beliefs of biology teachers, researchers found that a quick intuitive notion of how right an idea feels was a powerful driver of whether or not students accepted evolution -- often trumping factors such as knowledge level or religion. Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:39:39 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119133926.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120117144330.htm More than 500 million years ago, single-celled organisms on the Earth's surface began forming multicellular clusters that ultimately became plants and animals. Just how that happened is a question that has eluded evolutionary biologists. Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:43:43 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120117144330.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120113210347.htm Based on a hominid molar, scientists from Germany, Bulgaria and France have documented that great apes survived in Europe in savannah-like landscapes until seven million years ago. Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:03:03 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120113210347.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120112142301.htm Determining the evolution of pigmentation patterns on mollusk seashells -- which could aid in the understanding of ancient nervous systems -- has proved to be a challenging feat for researchers. Now, however, through mathematical equations and simulations, researchers have used 19 different species of the predatory sea snail Conus to generate a model of the pigmentation patterns of mollusk shells. Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:23:23 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120112142301.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120112134321.htm A team of geneticists and computational biologists have reveal how an ancient mechanism is involved in gene control and continues to drive genome evolution. Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:43:43 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120112134321.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120111223744.htm Why are the faces of primates so dramatically different from one another? Biologists serving as "evolutionary detectives" studied the faces of 129 adult male primates from Central and South America, and offer answers. These faces evolved over at least 24 million years. Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:37:37 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120111223744.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109103029.htm Scientists have described the Darwinian evolution of functional TNA molecules from a large pool of random sequences. This is the first case where such methods have been applied to molecules other than DNA and RNA, or very close structural analogues thereof. One of the researchers said "the most important finding to come from this work is that TNA can fold into complex shapes that can bind to a desired target with high affinity and specificity." Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:30:30 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109103029.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120108143559.htm Scientists have now demonstrated how just a few small, high-probability mutations increased the complexity of a molecular machine more than 800 million years ago. By biochemically resurrecting ancient genes and testing their functions in modern organisms, the researchers showed that a new component was incorporated into the machine due to selective losses of function rather than the sudden appearance of new capabilities. Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:35:35 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120108143559.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111227142628.htm A small fish crawling on stumpy limbs from a shrinking desert pond is an icon of can-do spirit, emblematic of a leading theory for the evolutionary transition between fish and amphibians. This theorized image of such a drastic adaptation to changing environmental conditions, however, may, itself, be evolving into a new picture. Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:26:26 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111227142628.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111222195009.htm The genetic changes underlying the evolution of new species are still poorly understood. For instance, we know little about critical changes that have happened during human evolution. Genetic studies in domestic animals can shed light on this process due to the rapid evolution they have undergone over the last 10,000 years. A new study describes how a complex genomic rearrangement causes a fascinating phenotype in chickens. Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:50:50 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111222195009.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111222161213.htm Changes in social structure and cultural practices can also contribute to human evolution, according to a new study. Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:12:12 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111222161213.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111221092001.htm A new analysis of two adaptive radiations in the fossil record found that these diversifications proceeded "head first." Head features diversified before body shapes and types. This suggests that feeding-related evolutionary pressures are the initial drivers of diversification. Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:20:20 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111221092001.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111220102248.htm Scientists studying a unique collection of human skulls have shown that changes to the skull shape thought to have occurred independently through separate evolutionary events may have actually precipitated each other. Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:22:22 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111220102248.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111220102244.htm Genetically determined morphological integration directs the evolution of skull shape in humans, according to new research. Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:22:22 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111220102244.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111219102230.htm Chinese scientists have announced the first complete sequencing of Mongolian genome. Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:22:22 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111219102230.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111216112901.htm Any multicellular animal, from a blue whale to a human being, poses a special challenge for evolution. Most of the cells in its body will die without reproducing; Only a privileged few will pass their genes to the next generation. How could the extreme degree of cooperation required by multicellular existence actually evolve? Why aren't all creatures unicellular individualists determined to pass on their own genes? Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:29:29 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111216112901.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111215141615.htm Any multicellular animal poses a special difficulty for the theory of evolution. Most of its cells will die without reproducing, and only a privileged few will pass their genes. Given the incentive for cheating, how is cooperation among the cells enforced? Evolutionary biologists suggest the answer is frequent population bottlenecks that restart populations from a single cell. Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:16:16 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111215141615.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111215135935.htm Believed critical for determining which individuals can -- or cannot -- successfully reproduce with each other, genitalia not only figure prominently in the origin of new species, but are also typically the first type of trait to change as new species form. Today, new international research shows that as populations and species diversify, the exact shape and fit of genitalia steals the show over size. Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:59:59 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111215135935.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111215135855.htm A new study has identified a gene mutation that researchers estimate dates back to 11,600 B.C., making it the second oldest human disease mutation known. The mutation was described in people of Arabic, Turkish and Jewish ancestry. It causes a rare, inherited vitamin B12 deficiency. The mutation originated in a single, prehistoric individual and was passed down to that individual's descendants. The discovery should permit reliable genetic diagnosis of suspected cases of Imerslund-Gräsbeck Syndrome. Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:58:58 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111215135855.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111214101818.htm High-tech medical imaging techniques were recently used to access internal structures of fossil human skulls. Researchers used sophisticated 3-D methods to quantify the shape of the basal brain as reflected in the morphology of the skeletal cranial base. Their findings reveal that the human temporal lobes, involved in language, memory and social functions as well as the olfactory bulbs are relatively larger in Homo sapiens than in Neanderthals. Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:18:18 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111214101818.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111208121408.htm A study of South American songbirds has shown that these birds differ dramatically in color and song yet show very little genetic differences, indicating they are on the road to becoming a new species. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:14:14 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111208121408.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111207133053.htm We put a lot of energy into improving our memory, intelligence, and attention. There are even drugs that make us sharper, such as Ritalin and caffeine. But maybe smarter isn't really all that better. A new warns warns that there are limits on how smart humans can get, and any increases in thinking ability are likely to come with problems. Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:30:30 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111207133053.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111206115051.htm A new species of horned dinosaur was just announced by an international team of scientists, nearly 100 years after the initial discovery of the fossil. The animal, named Spinops sternbergorum, lived approximately 76 million years ago in southern Alberta, Canada. Spinops was a plant-eater that weighed around two tons when alive, a smaller cousin of Triceratops. Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:50:50 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111206115051.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111205102713.htm Researchers have found the first direct evidence that an acquired trait can be inherited without any DNA involvement. The findings suggest that Lamarck, whose theory of evolution was eclipsed by Darwin's, may not have been entirely wrong. Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:27:27 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111205102713.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111124150835.htm Much of our knowledge about past life has come from the fossil record -- but how accurately does that reflect the true history and drivers of biodiversity on Earth? Thu, 24 Nov 2011 15:08:08 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111124150835.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111124150752.htm The orb web, typical of a large number of spider species, has a single evolutionary origin, according to molecular phylogenetic research. The study presents the hypothesis that the diversification of spider webs is motivated by the need to occupy new natural habitats (trunks, stems, etc.) and to make more efficient use of natural resources. Thu, 24 Nov 2011 15:07:07 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111124150752.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111123133520.htm A new study involving bat skulls, bite force measurements and scat samples collected by an international team of evolutionary biologists is helping to solve a nagging question of evolution: Why some groups of animals develop scores of different species over time while others evolve only a few. Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:35:35 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111123133520.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111121114757.htm Genetically modified animals are designed to contain the spread of pathogens. One prerequisite for the release of such organisms into the environment is that the new gene variant does not spread uncontrollably, suppressing natural populations. Scientists have now established that certain mutations are maintained over an extended period if two separate populations exchange individuals with one another on a small scale. Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:47:47 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111121114757.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111103143237.htm The first individuals settling on new land are more successful at passing on their genes than those who did not migrate, according to new research. Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:32:32 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111103143237.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111031154119.htm During human evolution our ancestors mated with Neanderthals, but also with other related hominids. Researchers have now shown that people in East Asia share genetic material with Denisovans, who got the name from the cave in Siberia where they were first found. Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:41:41 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111031154119.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111020122313.htm Culture is not a trait that is unique to humans. By studying orangutan populations, researchers have demonstrated that great apes also have the ability to learn socially and pass them down through a great many generations. Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:23:23 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111020122313.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111019182044.htm Young genes that appeared since the primate branch split from other mammal species are expressed in unique structures of the developing human brain, a new analysis finds. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:20:20 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111019182044.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111018084634.htm New research into evolutionary psychology suggests that physical stature affects our preferences in political leadership. The article reveals that a preference for physically formidable leaders, or caveman politics, may have evolved to ensure survival in ancient human history. Tue, 18 Oct 2011 08:46:46 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111018084634.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111010173015.htm Researchers say that losing the ability to make a particular kind of sugar molecule boosted disease protection in early hominids, and may have directed the evolutionary emergence of our ancestors, the genus Homo. Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:30:30 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111010173015.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111004180106.htm A study into the muscle development of several different fish has given insights into the genetic leap that set the scene for the evolution of hind legs in terrestrial animals. This innovation gave rise to the tetrapods -- four-legged creatures, and our distant ancestors -- that made the first small steps on land some 400 million years ago. Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:01:01 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111004180106.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110927155224.htm Most of what we have come to think of as our daily fruits, vegetables, and grains were domesticated from wild ancestors. Over hundreds and thousands of years, humans have selected and bred plants for traits that benefit us -- traits such as bigger, juicier, and easier-to-harvest fruits, stems, tubers, or flowers. But how do long-lived species respond to short-term selection processes, and will this information be helpful in predicting responses to rapid climate changes? Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:52:52 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110927155224.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110926102801.htm The discovery by Russian archaeologists of the remains of an extinct prehistoric human during the excavation of Denisova Cave in Southern Siberia in 2008 was nothing short of a scientific sensation. The sequencing of the nuclear genome taken from an over 30,000-year-old finger bone revealed that Denisova man was neither a Neanderthal nor modern human, but a new form of hominin. Minute traces of the Denisova genome are still found in some individuals living today. The comparisons of the DNA of modern humans and prehistoric human species provide new indications of how human populations settled in Asia over 44,000 years ago. Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:28:28 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110926102801.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110925185434.htm Genetic parasites invaded the mammalian genome more than 100 million years ago and dramatically changed the way mammals reproduce -- transforming the uterus in the ancestors of humans and other mammals from the production of eggs to a nurturing home for developing young, a new study has found. Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:54:54 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110925185434.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110921115910.htm Researchers have found that periods of rapid fluctuation in temperature coincided with the emergence of the first distant relatives of human beings and the appearance and spread of stone tools. Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:59:59 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110921115910.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110919151322.htm CT scans of fossil skull fragments may help researchers settle a long-standing debate about the evolution of Africa's Australopithecus, a key ancestor of modern humans that died out some 1.4 million years ago. The study explains how CT scans shed new light on a classic evolutionary puzzle by providing crucial information about the internal anatomy of the face. Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:13:13 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110919151322.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110919113846.htm New research pieces together ancient human migration in North and South America. Researchers have found that technology spread more slowly in the Americas than in Eurasia. Population groups in the Americas have less frequent exchanges than groups that fanned out over Europe and Asia. Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:38:38 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110919113846.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110919090029.htm A team of scientists has discovered the oldest known DNA regulatory region. The team identified a small DNA fragment, with a deeply conserved noncoding sequence region (CNR), in the vicinity of soxB2 regulatory genes, which plays a role in gene regulation. Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110919090029.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110916114110.htm Earth's most successful bacteria are found in the oceans and belong to the group SAR11. Researchers have now provide an explanation for their success and at the same time call into question generally accepted theories about these bacteria. In their analysis they have also identified a rare and hitherto unknown relative of mitochondria, the power stations inside cells. Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:41:41 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110916114110.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915131654.htm Scientists published the first quantitative evidence supporting the notion that genome-wide "bookmarking" of DNA with methyl molecules -- a process called methylation -- and underlying DNA sequences have co-evolved in a kind of molecular slow-dance over the 6 million years since humans and chimps diverged from a common ancestor. Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915131654.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110914115831.htm The blood from woolly mammoths -- those extinct elephant-like creatures that roamed Earth in pre-historic times -- is helping scientists develop new blood products for modern medical procedures that involve reducing patients' body temperature. Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:58:58 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110914115831.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110912143447.htm There are many old wives' tales about what determines a baby's sex, yet it is the tight controls at the gene level that determine an organism's sex in most species. Researchers have found that even when genetic and genomic mechanisms are disrupted, organisms quickly evolve ways to compensate. Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:34:34 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110912143447.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104203.htm Skeletal remains found in a South African cave may yield new clues to human development and answer key questions of the evolution of the human lineage, according to a new series of papers. Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:42:42 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104203.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104201.htm Hand bones from a single individual with a clear taxonomic affiliation are scarce in the hominin fossil record, which has hampered understanding of the evolution of manipulative abilities in hominins. An international team of researchers has now published a study that describes the earliest, most complete fossil hominin hand post-dating the appearance of stone tools in the archaeological record, the hand of a 1.98-million-year-old Australopithecus sediba from Malapa, South Africa. Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:42:42 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104201.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110907171533.htm That seems to be the takeaway from new research that concludes "archaic" humans, somewhere in Africa during the last 20-60 thousand years, interbred with anatomically modern humans and transferred small amounts of genetic material to their offspring who are alive today. University of Arizona geneticist Michael Hammer and a team of evolutionary biologists, geneticists and mathematicians report the finding in today's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:15:15 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110907171533.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110907163921.htm An endangered species, Przewalski's horse, is much more distantly related to the domestic horse and has a much more diverse gene pool than researchers previously had hypothesized, researchers report. The new study's findings could be used to inform conservation efforts to save the endangered species, of which only 2,000 individuals remain in parts of China and Mongolia, and in wildlife reserves in California and the Ukraine. Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:39:39 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110907163921.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110906181543.htm Do animals that have evolved underground, completely isolated from the day-night cycle, still "know" what time it is? Does a normal circadian clock persist during evolution under constant darkness? A new study tackles these questions by investigating a species of cavefish which has lived for 2 million years beneath the Somalian desert, finding that it has an unusual circadian clock; it ticks with a period of up to 47 hours, and is completely blind. Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:15:15 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110906181543.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110906161634.htm Our genetic blueprint contains numerous entities known as transposons, which have the ability to move from place to place on the chromosomes within a cell. An astounding 50 percent of human DNA comprises both active transposon elements and the decaying remains of former transposons. Every time a plant or animal cell prepares to divide, the chromosome regions richest in transposon-derived sequences are among the last to duplicate. New research provides potential insight into both these enigmas. Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110906161634.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110905160918.htm Anatomically modern humans interbred with more archaic hominin forms even before they migrated out of Africa, a team of researchers has found. The discovery suggests genetic exchange with their more morphologically diverged neighbors was more widespread than previously thought and all humans today may carry genes from now-extinct Homo species. Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:09:09 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110905160918.htm