evolution

When different archaeal species mate, their CRISPR systems interact in ways that may influence their evolution.

All life on Earth uses a genetic code based on four nucleotides. Now, scientists have created one with eight.

Nearly 50 years after its development, only a handful of creatures have passed the self-awareness exam. A new attempt with fish highlights a debate over the test’s use and meaning.

Certain adaptations identified in the fish’s DNA linked to wound healing, cancer protection, and a long life.

A clock constructed of rDNA methylation sites can estimate both chronological and biological age across species.

If the structures identified in a 2.1-billion-year-old rock are really signs of burrowing organisms, it would push back the earliest known mobile organisms by 1.5 billion years.

New studies suggest forebears’ age and physical proximity matter when it comes to their grandkids’ survival.

Sea fireflies spew a mucus with a chemical glow to lure mates and avoid being eaten.

Countries with populations whose average adult height grew late last century are more likely to have high rates of babies delivered surgically.

Authors of a small study say the two abilities likely evolved in tandem.

Researchers use a CRISPR-Cas9 strategy to expand a desired trait from 50 percent of mouse pups to about 72 percent.

Galagadon’s tiny teeth look like the spaceships in its namesake video game from the early 1980s.

Members of species with shells they must hold onto for survival have larger sexual tubes than those with less precious private property.

The lay of the land shapes the diversity of groundwater-dependent salamanders.

South American hummingbird males were caught on camera poking and pinching each other with bills adapted for fighting.

The Indiana University professor was known for his research on the evolution of organismal development.

A study of tiny monkey skulls and teeth suggests that shrinking body size didn’t crowd out wisdom teeth during evolution.

Human endogenous retroviruses that colonized vertebrate DNA millions of years ago have long been dismissed as junk DNA, but researchers now know that they may play important roles in cancer, neurodegeneration, and other ailments.

Urban environments are driving genetic changes in resident species through multiple mechanisms, from establishing gene flow barriers to exerting novel selection pressures.

Clinical trials that target human endogenous retroviruses to treat multiple sclerosis, ALS, and other ailments are underway, but many questions remain about how these sequences may disrupt our biology.