mutations, evolution

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

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.

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.

Researchers identify deletions in the N-terminal domain of the spike protein that allow the coronavirus to avoid antibody neutralization and that may contribute to the emergence of new variants.

A device dubbed the “mother machine” enables real-time observation of mutagenesis in single bacterial cells.  

By tweaking certain conditions of a long-running experiment on E. coli, scientists found that some bacteria could be prompted to express a mutant phenotype sooner, without the “generation of new genetic information.” The resulting debate—whether the data support evolutionary theory—is more about semantics than science.

A study suggests that the virus may not be evolving as quickly as a previous group estimated.

A new study suggests that in the Spanish Habsburg royal family, natural selection may have diminished the most harmful effects of inbreeding.

In pondering genome structure and function, evolutionary geneticist Laurence Hurst has arrived at some unanticipated conclusions about how natural selection has molded our DNA.

New estimates of human mutation suggest that each of us harbor approximately 60 novel genetic mutations.

Editor's choice in microbiology

Editor's choice in developmental biology