A vast array of species, including people, use slime for a variety of essential bodily functions. Studying the genetic ancestry of slime surprisingly showcases the role of repetitive DNA in evolution.
A long-term study of wild animal populations shows each generation is on average almost 20% genetically ‘better’ than their parents at surviving and reproducing.
Live birth has evolved independently more than 150 times. The underlying biophysical processes all look quite similar, but new research shows they use completely different genetic tools.
Being able to perceive sweetness can guide foragers to the most calorie-rich picks.
Elva Etienne/Moment via Getty Images
If you ever feel like you can’t stop eating sugar, you are responding precisely as programmed by natural selection. What was once an evolutionary advantage has a different effect today.
New research in fruit flies elucidates how the genes that direct animal body shape work.
Vaclav Hykes/EyeEm via Getty Images
Hox genes make sure all your body parts grow in the right place. Understanding how they work can reveal the process of evolution and lead to potential treatments for congenital birth defects.
A Homo erectus skull from Java, Indonesia. This pioneering species stands at the root of a fascinating evolutionary tree.
Scimex
The ancestors of modern-day people living on Southeast Asian islands likely interbred with a prehistoric species called Denisovans - raising the possibility of fresh and intriguing fossil discoveries.
Echolocation evolved multiple times in bats over millions of year. Yet the earliest bat ancestors probably didn’t have this skill — or if they did, it was likely very primitive.
North America during the late Pleistocene: a pack of dire wolves (red hair) are feeding bison while a pair of grey wolves approach in the hopes of scavenging.
Mauricio Antón
Scientists don’t ask how some people evolved to be tall. In the same way, asking how homosexuality evolved is the wrong question. We need to ask how human sexuality evolved in all its forms.
An Indonesian island was home to H. Floresiensis – but how did the dwarfed human species evolve?
areza taqwim/Shutterstock.com
James P. Gibbs, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
The Galapagos Islands’ giant tortoises are one of the world’s best examples of evolution. Scientists are pioneering new conservation strategies to save them from extinction and restore their habitat.
Grand Prismatic Spring and Midway Geyser Basin from above.
Brocken Inaglory/wikimedia
There’s long been a lack of evidence for why sex has become so much more common than asexual reproduction across nearly all species. Thankfully, this is now slowly changing.
The X-chromosome at some point evolved to be different from all other chromosomes.
Reproduction for a female fig wasp can be a nightmarish process. When she is ready to lay her eggs, she leaves the fig in which she was born and became pregnant and searches for another. After she finds…