Evolutionary Biology News

January 17, 2025

Top Headlines

Reading the Genome and Understanding Evolution: Symbioses and Gene Transfer in Leaf Beetles

Jan. 17, 2025 — Scientists explored the evolutionary success of leaf beetles, the most diverse herbivores on Earth. They showed that symbioses with bacteria have evolved repeatedly and independently in different ...

Ecologists Reveal Key Genetic Insights for the Conservation of Iconic Cockatoo Species

Jan. 13, 2025 — Ecologists have made valuable discoveries that could transform the conservation of two iconic cockatoo species: the Sulphur-crested cockatoos and the critically endangered Yellow-crested cockatoos -- ...

Bacterial Survival Genes Uncovered Using Evolutionary Map

Jan. 13, 2025 — Researchers have described how the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus genetically adapts to humans, including mutations that allow some strains to evade the immune system and become resistant to ...

Coyote Genes May Show Urban Evolution at Work

Jan. 15, 2025 — A new study outlines the ways by which city life may be shaping the evolution of urban coyotes, the highly adaptable carnivores spotted in alleyways from Berkeley, Calif., to the Bronx, in New ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:18pm EST

Detecting Hidden Genetic Relationships in Animal Populations

Jan. 15, 2025 — Understanding biological relationships is often critical when studying animal populations. Researchers have now developed a transformative approach that identifies stretches of DNA that two ...

What Makes Some Plant Species 'Ripe' for Domestication

Jan. 14, 2025 — Researchers have proposed that some wild plant species possess certain attributes which make them more suitable for human cultivation than ...

Polygamy Is (Not) for the Birds

Jan. 13, 2025 — Researchers have uncovered new insights into the evolution of bird behavior, revealing why certain mating systems persist while others disappear over ...

New Fossil Discovery Sheds Light on the Early Evolution of Animal Nervous Systems

Jan. 10, 2025 — An international team of scientists has uncovered a fascinating piece of the evolutionary puzzle: how the ventral nerve cord, a key component of the ...

Chimpanzees Are Genetically Adapted to Local Habitats and Infections Such as Malaria

Jan. 9, 2025 — Chimpanzees bear genetic adaptations that help them thrive in their different forest and savannah habitats, some of which may protect against ...

An Earful of Gill: Evolutionary Origin of the Mammalian Outer Ear

Jan. 9, 2025 — A recent study has uncovered the surprising evolutionary origin of the mammalian outer ear, linking it to the gills of ancient fish and marine invertebrates. The research reveals that both structures ...

Tiny Microbe Colonies Communicate to Coordinate Their Behavior

Jan. 8, 2025 — A new study reveals evidence of electrical signaling and coordinated behavior in choanoflagellates, the closest living relatives of animals. This elaborate example of cell communication offers key ...

The Extreme Teeth of Sabre-Toothed Predators Were 'Optimal' for Biting Into Prey

Jan. 9, 2025 — Sabre-toothed predators -- best know from the infamous Smilodon -- evolved multiple times across different mammal groups. A new study reveals why: ...

Revealing a Key Mechanism of Rapid Centromere Evolution

Jan. 1, 2025 — A research team has clarified a mechanism of how retrotransposons, genetic elements that can 'jump around' chromosomes and are known drivers of evolution, preferentially insert in the ...

Hornwort Genomes Provide Clues on How Plants Conquered the Land

Jan. 6, 2025 — Over 450 million years ago, plants began the epic transition from water to dry land. Among the first pioneers were the ancestors of humble hornworts, a group of small, unassuming plants that have ...

Some Bacteria Evolve Like Clockwork With the Seasons

Jan. 3, 2025 — Each year, most species of bacteria in a Wisconsin lake rapidly evolved, apparently in response to dramatically changing seasons, and then evolved ...

Oldest-Known Evolutionary 'Arms Race'

Jan. 3, 2025 — A new study presents what is believed to be the oldest known example in the fossil record of an evolutionary arms race. These 517-million-year-old predator-prey interactions occurred in the ocean ...

Genetics of Alternating Sexes in Walnuts

Jan. 2, 2025 — Biologists have revealed genetics behind the alternating sexes of walnut trees. The research reveals a mechanism that has been stable in walnuts and their ancestors going back 40 million years -- and ...

How Do Monkeys Recognize Snakes So Fast?

Dec. 26, 2024 — A researcher has found that the rapid detection of snakes by monkeys is because of the presence of snake scales as a visual cue. His findings highlight an evolutionary adaptation of primates to ...

Fly Vs. Wasp: Stealing a Defense Move Helps Thwart a Predator

Dec. 25, 2024 — Many flies are plagued by parasitic wasps, which lay their eggs in fly larvae, turning them into surrogate wombs for wasp larvae. One common fly has successfully fought off its wasp predator by ...

Genes Linked to Deadly Parasites' Spread Beyond Africa Identified

Dec. 19, 2024 — Parasites that cause the deadly illness known as sleeping sickness can spread beyond their native Africa as a result of mutations to key genes, a study ...

Chart of Life Extended by Nearly 1.5 Billion Years

Dec. 19, 2024 — Fossilized skeletons and shells clearly show how evolution and extinction unfolded over the past half a billion years, but a new analysis extends the chart of life to nearly 2 billion years ago. The ...

Histone Modification Important for Correct Blood Cell Formation

Dec. 18, 2024 — Molecular biologists decode the epigenetic silencing of problematic retroviral gene ...

Fossil Predator Is the Oldest Known Animal With 'Saber Teeth'

Dec. 17, 2024 — Scientists have discovered the oldest known animal with saber teeth: a predator that lived 270 million years ago. This animal, from before the age of the dinosaurs, was a dog-like creature that was ...

Salmon Genes Unlock Secrets of Puberty and Evolution

Dec. 17, 2024 — A study shows how a single gene in Atlantic salmon can dramatically influence the timing of puberty -- a key factor for salmon life cycle and ...

Detailed Bedbug Genome Analysis May Improve Pesticides

Dec. 16, 2024 — Scientists now have a better genetic understanding of the insect. The research offers an updated genome analysis of the common bedbug Cimex lectularius, providing new insight for those working to ...

It's Complicated: Researchers Discover Unexpected Complexity of Sexual Differentiation in African Clawed Frog

Dec. 16, 2024 — Researchers have uncovered unexpected diversity in the genetic processes that determine the sex of the African clawed frog, a significant discovery in what was already one of the most widely studied ...

A New Twist: The Molecular Machines That Loop Our Chromosomes Also Twist DNA

Dec. 13, 2024 — Scientists have discovered a new property of the molecular motors that shape our chromosomes. While six years ago they found that these so-called SMC motor proteins make long loops in our DNA, they ...

Study Sheds Light on the Origin of the Genetic Code

Dec. 12, 2024 — Nearly all living organisms use the same genetic code, a complicated mechanism by which genetic information is translated into proteins, the building blocks of life. A new study suggests conventional ...

Barn Swallow Research Offers Real-Time Insight on How New Species Form

Dec. 12, 2024 — In a new study, scientists describe how different traits used to choose mates in barn swallow populations are driving the bird to diverge, which could eventually lead to the formation of new ...

Diverse Virus Populations Coexist on Single Strains of Gut Bacteria

Dec. 12, 2024 — A study offers evidence that a single bacterial species -- the host of the phage -- can maintain a diverse community of competing phage species. Knowing how more than one kind of virus can survive ...

Unique Motor Control System of Anglerfish's Specialized 'Fishing Rod' Discovered

Dec. 12, 2024 — Researchers have uncovered in anglerfish a specialized motor neuron population for the first dorsal fin used for 'fishing'. When the first dorsal fin evolved from a swimming and buoyancy ...

Biological Diversity Is Not Just the Result of Genes

Dec. 11, 2024 — How can we explain the morphological diversity of living organisms? Although genetics is the answer that typically springs to mind, it is not the only explanation. By combining observations of ...

New Research Unlocks Jaw-Dropping Evolution of Lizards and Snakes

Dec. 11, 2024 — A groundbreaking study has shed light on how lizards and snakes -- the most diverse group of land vertebrates with nearly 12,000 species -- have evolved remarkably varied jaw shapes, driving their ...

Once-Endangered Kirtland's Warblers Show Extensive Signs of Inbreeding in Genome

Dec. 10, 2024 — The genome of a once-endangered songbird shows extensive signs of inbreeding, according to a new study. Because inbreeding can negatively impact survival and reproduction, the results could guide ...