evolution

A survey of more than 200 whale skulls has unveiled bursts of evolution over the past 50 million years.

Environmental pressure seems to spawn changes in the intrinsically disordered regions of enzymes in polar yeasts, allowing them to adapt to extreme cold.

Researchers made the find using an algorithm that purportedly distinguishes between mutations that were selected for and those that came along for the ride by coincidence, a feat that has long eluded scientists.

A team of researchers in Australia have imaged fossilized soft organs of early jawed vertebrates for the first time, finding that our ancient fish ancestors’ hearts, livers, and stomachs are strikingly similar to ours.

The gut microbiomes of city-dwelling animals, including coyotes, lizards, and birds, show similarities to those found in humans who also live in urban environments.

A single amino acid substitution in a protein causes increased neuron production in the frontal lobes of humans compared to Neanderthals—a tiny difference that could have given our species a cognitive edge, researchers say.

A genomic analysis reveals that humans domesticated donkeys more than 7,000 years ago.

Most animals can’t pass on mutations that arise spontaneously throughout their lives—but Elkhorn corals can.

The findings will likely help elucidate the effects of chromosome fusions, which can cause disease but have also contributed to evolution.

3D modeling of 7 million-year-old hominin bones hints at bipedality occurring earlier than previously thought.

Frogs invest in cognitive capacity to avoid predators—up until there are too many hungry snakes around for the evolutionary strategy to pay off.

Pet dogs produce a larger volume of tears when they are reunited with their owners than with acquaintances, possibly because of surging oxytocin levels—findings that could be the first evidence of emotional crying in nonhuman animals.

The paleoanthropologist was widely celebrated for his unmatched ability to find and identify fossils.

The simple act of chewing gum can raise the body’s metabolic rate by as much as 15 percent, a study finds.

A strange layer in the fossil record contains evidence that fern populations exploded following the mass extinction that ended the Cretaceous period. Scientists want to know why.

A paper argues that the evolutionary loss of a thin vocal membrane in the larynx may have facilitated oral communication.  

Research traces the evolution of a gene variant that reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, finding that it originally evolved in response to infectious bacteria.

Understanding the biomechanics of the trap-jaw ant could help humans build better, faster robots.

Female fruit flies assess the physical symmetry of male suitors through the songs they sing, a study claims.