New research finds that the appearance of the HbS mutation, which protects against malaria but leads to sickle cell disease when present in two copies, was more common in sperm samples from men in Ghana, where malaria risk is high, than Europeans.

Octopuses were around 82 million years earlier than scientists previously thought—and had two extra limbs at the time.

Jumping genes in bdelloid rotifers are tamped down by DNA methylation performed by an enzyme pilfered from bacteria roughly 60 million years ago, a study finds.

The glossy shell of some beetles, it has long been speculated, helps hide the insects from predators. A recent paper put the hypothesis to the test—and found it wanting.

Researchers determined the season during which the meteor struck by studying the bones of fish excavated from a contentious field site.

The dual purposes of the plants’ hidden colors may conflict as the climate warms, authors of a new study suggest.

The field of ancient DNA, which combines archaeology and anthropology with cutting-edge genetics, is requiring scientists to have frank conversations about when research is justified and who it benefits.

Epigenetic structures appear to reduce the rate of changes in genes essential for survival and reproduction, a study finds, challenging the notion that mutations are evenly distributed throughout the genome prior to selection.

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 discovery, made on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, constitutes an exceptionally high number of new mammals to be described in a single paper.

The Kenyan fossil finder is known for his discoveries of various Stone Age artifacts and ancient human skulls and skeletons.

Moving collectively on the water surface could help protect schools of fish from being eaten by predatory birds.

When observed under a microscope, guard hairs from mice resemble optical sensors used in thermal cameras to detect heat, according to a new study.

A thermodynamic analysis of more than 400 chemical reactions that likely took place in the ancestor of all life finds most would spontaneously occur at hydrothermal vents, thanks to the hydrogen these geological formations emit.

Hydra vulgaris constantly replenish the cells in their heads and grow new ones to reproduce asexually. But gene expression analyses reveal that regenerating a head after an injury is a very different process.

A new analysis of fossil footprints suggests that the 2-meter-tall, 4- to 5-meter-long carnivores that left them could run nearly 45 kilometers per hour, bolstering the evidence that at least some dinosaurs were speedy, agile hunters.

A new study suggests that lighter colors may help these species stay cool on their long journeys, when birds are pushing themselves to their physiological limits.

The primitive streak, a structure that emerges during mammalian and avian gastrulation, might be a byproduct rather than a landmark of the embryonic development process.