http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/evolution/ Evolution. Read about natural selection in a flask and genetic variation in flowers. Consider the evolution of human social behavior, and more. en-us Thu, 16 Feb 2012 01:05:02 EST Thu, 16 Feb 2012 01:05:02 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/evolution/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120215142817.htm Scientists have tested nearly 700 wild yeast strains isolated from diverse environments for the presence of known and unknown prion elements, finding them in one third of all strains. All the prions appear capable of creating diverse new traits, nearly half of which are beneficial. These unexpected findings stand as strong evidence against the common argument that prions are merely yeast "diseases" or rare artifacts of laboratory culture. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:28:28 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120215142817.htm 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/2012/02/120213154053.htm A study of the evolutionary history of Antarctic fish and their "anti-freeze" proteins illustrates how tens of millions of years ago a lineage of fish adapted to newly formed polar conditions -- and how today they are endangered by a rapid rise in ocean temperatures. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:40:40 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213154053.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/2012/02/120212192555.htm A novel discovery reveals a mechanism by which the immune system tries to halt the spread of HIV. Harnessing this mechanism may open up new paths for therapeutic research aimed at slowing the virus’ progression to AIDS. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:25:25 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120212192555.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120211095049.htm Advances in studying genes mean that scientists in evolutionary developmental biology or “evo-devo” can now explain more clearly than ever before how bats got wings, the turtle got its shell and blind cave fish lost their eyes, says an evolutionary biologist. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 09:50:50 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120211095049.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208152340.htm Scientists searching for the genomics version of the holy grail – more insight into predicting how an animal’s genes affect physical or behavioral traits – now have a reference manual that should speed gene discoveries in everything from pest control to personalized medicine. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:23:23 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208152340.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208133029.htm Biologists have found new evidence of why mice, people and other vertebrate animals carry thousands of varieties of genes to make immune-system proteins named MHCs -- even though some of those genes make vertebrate animals susceptible to infections and to autoimmune diseases. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:30:30 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208133029.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208090146.htm A large-scale study analyzing metabolic compounds in rice grains has identified 131 rice metabolites and clarified the genetic and environmental factors that influence their production. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:01:01 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208090146.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120207202620.htm Mapping the ancestry of sheep over the past 11,000 years has revealed that our woolly friends are stars among domestic animals, boasting vast genetic diversity and substantial prospects for continued breeding to further boost wool and food production for a rising world population. An international research team has provided an unprecedented in-depth view of the genetic history of sheep, one of the world's most important livestock species. The study maps out how humans have moulded sheep to suit diverse environments and to enhance the specialised production of meat, wool and milk. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:26:26 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120207202620.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120207133602.htm Scientists have completed the genome sequence of a Denisovan, a representative of an Asian group of extinct humans related to Neanderthals. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:36:36 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120207133602.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120207121808.htm Biologists have found new evidence for why mice, people and other vertebrate animals carry thousands of varieties of genes to make immune-system proteins named MHCs -- even though some of those genes make us sick. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:18:18 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120207121808.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/2012/02/120206154122.htm Studies of diving beetles suggest sperm evolution may be driven by changes in female reproductive organs, challenging the paradigm of post-mating sexual selection being driven mostly by competition among sperm. In the process, the researchers discovered an unexpected and stunning variety of sperm form and behavior. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:41:41 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206154122.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206154114.htm The love song of an extinct cricket that lived 165 million years ago has been brought back to life by scientists. The song – possibly the most ancient known musical song documented to date – was reconstructed from microscopic wing features on a fossil discovered in North East China. It allows us to listen to one of the sounds that would have been heard by dinosaurs and other creatures roaming Jurassic forests at night. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:41:41 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206154114.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120203102414.htm They are tiny, ugly, disease-carrying little blood-suckers that most people have never seen or heard of, but a new discovery in a one-of-a-kind fossil shows that "bat flies" have been doing their noxious business with bats for at least 20 million years. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:24:24 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120203102414.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120203092000.htm If you wanted to draw your family tree, you could start by searching for people who share your surname. Cells, of course, don’t have surnames, but scientists have found that genetic switches called enhancers, and the molecules that activate those switches – transcription factors – can be used in a similar way, as clues to a cell’s developmental history. The study also unveils a new model for how enhancers function. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:20:20 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120203092000.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120203091813.htm Many living organisms suffer from parasites, which use the hosts’ resources for their own purposes. The problem of parasitism occurs at all levels right down to the DNA scale. Genomes may contain up to 80% “foreign” DNA but details of the mechanisms by which this enters the host genome and how hosts attempt to combat its spread are still the subject of conjecture. Nearly all organisms contain pieces of DNA that do not really belong to them. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:18:18 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120203091813.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202151131.htm A biologist who released lizards on tiny uninhabited islands in the Bahamas has shed light on the interaction between evolutionary processes that are seldom observed. He found that the lizards' genetic and morphological traits were determined by both natural selection and a phenomenon called founder effects, which occur when species colonize new territory. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:11:11 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202151131.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202151127.htm In the first experimental study of the founder effect in a natural setting, researchers found that natural selection does not overwhelm the founder effect. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:11:11 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202151127.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120201135318.htm Studying self-replicating genetic units, called plasmids, found in one of the world's widest-ranging pathogenic soil bacteria -- the crown-gall-disease-causing microorganism Agrobacterium tumefaciens -- biologists are showing how freeloading, mutant derivatives of these plasmids benefit while the virulent, disease-causing plasmids do the heavy-lifting of initiating infection in plant hosts. The research confirms that the ability of bacteria to cause disease comes at a significant cost that is only counterbalanced by the benefits they experience from infected host organisms. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:53:53 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120201135318.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120201120732.htm Spotted salamanders exposed to contaminated roadside ponds are adapting to their toxic environments, according to new research. The study provides the first documented evidence that a vertebrate has adapted to the negative effects of roads apparently by evolving rapidly. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:07:07 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120201120732.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120201093100.htm To generate phylogenetic trees and investigate relationships between organisms, scientists usually look for similarities and differences in the DNA. Plant scientists were confounded by the fact that the DNA extracted from the plants’ green chloroplasts sometimes showed the greatest similarities when related species grew in the same area. Scientists have now discovered that a transfer of entire chloroplasts, or at least their genomes, can occur in contact zones between plants. Inter-species crossing is not necessary. The new chloroplast genome can even be handed down to the next generation and, thereby, give a plant with new traits. These findings are of great importance to the understanding of evolution as well as the breeding of new plant varieties. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:31:31 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120201093100.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131102521.htm Scientists have shed new light on the way superbugs such as MRSA are able to become resistant to treatment with antibiotics. Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:25:25 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131102521.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/2012/01/120131092455.htm An evolutionary geneticist helped discover the gene in passion vine butterflies that keeps predators from eating them. The gene is responsible for red patterns on the butterflies' wings. Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:24:24 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131092455.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130170227.htm Forked fungus beetles are not pretty – they look like tree bark – but they're helping us better understand the evolution of social behavior, an evolutionary biologist said. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:02:02 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120130170227.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/2012/01/120129151104.htm Cells trying to keep pace with constantly changing environmental conditions need to strike a fine balance between maintaining their genomic integrity and allowing enough genetic flexibility to adapt to inhospitable conditions. In their latest study, researchers were able to show that under stressful conditions yeast genomes become unstable, readily acquiring or losing whole chromosomes to enable rapid adaption. Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:11:11 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120129151104.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126224526.htm Researchers have demonstrated how a new virus evolves, shedding light on how easy it can be for diseases to gain dangerous mutations. Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:45:45 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126224526.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126142939.htm Another attractive theory falls foul of the facts. A census of trees in rainforests on three continents has confirmed that competition plays a central role in structuring communities. This contradicts the so-called neutral theory in ecology, which views random fluctuations as the decisive factor. Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:29:29 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126142939.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126123712.htm Researchers have discovered that certain photosynthetic ocean bacteria need to beware of viruses bearing gifts. These viruses are really con artists carrying genetic material taken from their previous bacterial hosts that tricks the new host into using its own machinery to activate the genes, a process never before documented in any virus-bacteria relationship. The con occurs when a grifter virus injects its DNA into a bacterium living in a phosphorus-starved region of the ocean. Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:37:37 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126123712.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126123059.htm Using a combination of evolutionary biology and virology, scientists have traced the birth of the ability of some HIV-related viruses to defeat a newly discovered cellular-defense system in primates. Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:30:30 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126123059.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/2012/01/120123152512.htm An excavation at a site in South Africa has unearthed the 190-million-year-old dinosaur nesting site of the prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus -- revealing significant clues about the evolution of complex reproductive behavior in early dinosaurs. Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:25:25 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123152512.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123152505.htm An excavation at a site in South Africa has unearthed the 190-million-year-old dinosaur nesting site of the prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus -- revealing significant clues about the evolution of complex reproductive behavior in early dinosaurs. Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:25:25 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123152505.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123101827.htm Bonobos are among the closest living relatives of humans. Like other great apes they live in groups made up of several males and females. Unlike other ape species however, male bonobos do not, in general, outrank female individuals and do not dominate them in mating contexts. Scientists have now found that in wild bonobos high-ranking males were more aggressive and their mating success was higher when compared to lower-ranking males. Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:18:18 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123101827.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120122201209.htm Blind Mexican cavefish have not only lost their sight but have adapted to perpetual darkness by also losing their pigment (albinism) and having altered sleep patterns. New research shows that the cavefish are an example of convergent evolution, with several populations repeatedly, and independently, losing their sight and pigmentation. Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:12:12 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120122201209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120120010449.htm Fruit flies don't have noses, but a huge part of their brains is dedicated to processing smells. Flies probably rely on the sense of smell more than any other sense for essential activities such as finding mates and avoiding danger. Researchers have discovered that a gene called distal-less is critical to the fly's ability to receive, process and respond to smells. Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:04:04 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120120010449.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119143336.htm A new study shows a hybrid plant species may experience rapid genome evolution in predictable patterns, meaning evolution repeats itself in populations of independent origin. Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:33:33 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119143336.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119133552.htm Pigeons come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Some have feathers reaching up over their heads like a hood. Others have feathers all the way to the tips of their toes or fanned out on their tails like tiny turkeys. Now, researchers have traced the birds' family tree in an effort to sort out how all that remarkable variation came to be. Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:35:35 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119133552.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119133154.htm Pigeons display spectacular variations in their feathers, feet, beaks and other physical traits, but a new study shows that visible traits don’t always coincide with genetics: A bird from one breed may have huge foot feathers, while a closely related breed does not; yet two unrelated pigeon breeds both may have large foot feathers. Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:31:31 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119133154.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/2012/01/120117143758.htm New research shows that a warmer climate will have quite different consequences for plant species in the Arctic. While most species are expected to lose part of their current habitat, the genetic consequences will differ markedly among species. The research results will have major impact on future conservation efforts. Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:37:37 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120117143758.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/2012/01/120109145727.htm Representatives of a giant tortoise species that had apparently been driven to extinction by humans more than 150 years ago must be alive today, if in very small numbers. Researchers have come to this conclusion based on the "genetic footprints" of the long-lost species Chelonoidis elephantopus in the DNA of their hybrid sons and daughters. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:57:57 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109145727.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109145723.htm Dozens of giant tortoises of a species believed extinct for 150 years may still be living at a remote location in the Galápagos Islands, a genetic analysis reveals. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:57:57 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109145723.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/2012/01/120107151855.htm A new study shows genomes of a recently formed plant species to be highly unstable, a phenomenon that may have far-reaching evolutionary consequences. Sat, 07 Jan 2012 15:18:18 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120107151855.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120105141138.htm Researchers have discovered that planarians, tiny flatworms fabled for their regenerative powers, completely lack centrosomes, cellular structures that organize the network of microtubules that pulls chromosomes apart during cell division. Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:11:11 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120105141138.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111229131234.htm Many animals produce alarm calls to predators, and do this more often when kin or mates are present than other audience members. So far, however, there has been no evidence that they take the other group members' knowledge state into account. Researchers set up a study with wild chimpanzees in Uganda and found that chimpanzees were more likely to alarm call to a snake in the presence of unaware than in the presence of aware group members, suggesting that they recognize knowledge and ignorance in others. Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:12:12 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111229131234.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/2011/12/111227093055.htm Climate changes profoundly influenced the rise and fall of six distinct, successive waves of mammal species diversity in North America over the last 65 million years, shows a novel statistical analysis by evolutionary biologists. Warming and cooling periods, in two cases confounded by species migrations, marked the transition from one dominant grouping to the next. Tue, 27 Dec 2011 09:30:30 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111227093055.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/2011/12/111222102949.htm The entire Hawaiian population of the peat moss Sphagnum palustre appears to be a clone that has been in existence for some 50,000 years, researchers have discovered. Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:29:29 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111222102949.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