adaptation

Long lambasted as junk DNA or genomic parasites, transposable elements turn out to be contributors to adaptation.

The movements of so-called jumping genes can generate the genetic diversity needed to drive evolutionary change in populations over time.  

The Princeton University evolutionary biologist studies how animals are changing due to human activity.

Researchers are using experiments and observational studies to look for host genetic variation that could be partly determined by the gut microbiota.

Bacteria that live in the digestive tracts of animals may influence the adaptive trajectories of their hosts.

The physiological demands of that long neck get support from a gene involved in strengthening bones and blood vessels, researchers find after inserting the sequence in mice.

In yellow-green and purple versions of the reef-building Acropora tenuis, the genes that code for particular fluorescent and other colorful proteins become more active in the summer, protecting symbiotic algae from thermal stress and resisting bleaching.

The animals kill off around one-quarter of the neurons in their somatosensory cortex, perhaps to save energy, and the cells appear to return the following summer.

Unable to break through the water’s surface, tadpoles have a unique workaround for breathing air.

As global temperatures rise and winters shorten, caterpillars of the corn borer moth are emerging earlier in parts of the US thanks to changes in two genes, researchers find.

Geography plays a role in how the small mammals adapt to environmental changes.

The unusual cephalopod was spotted on a recent underwater research expedition.

Biologists study how a zebra’s hair helps it keep cool.

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

A species of water flea in northern Belgium that helps keep algae in check is growing smaller and less abundant in urbanized areas. 

The adaptation gives better endurance to the Bajau people, known as sea nomads, by increasing spleen size and, in turn, boosting the number of oxygenated red blood cells when diving.  

In an unusual evolutionary twist, local stick spiders have come up with an almost identical repertoire of color morphs in multiple locations.