“Map of Life” to Illustrate All Living Things Geographically
Now open to the public, a demonstration version of the “Map of Life” is set to illustrate how all living things on the planet are…
Evolutionary Biology News
Pentaradially Symmetrical Brittle Stars Move Bilaterally, Like People
By defining a “front” for directional control, pentaradially symmetrical brittle stars are using locomotion in a manner that is usually accomplished by bilaterally symmetrical animals….
Human Evolution Still Tied to Darwinian Selection
As it turns out, even with all our medical technology and health education, we can’t outrun the findings of Charles Darwin. A study conducted by…
Examining the Genes of Stone Age Farmers
New findings from a team of Swedish-Danish evolutionary biologists show that the genetic variation of today’s Europeans was strongly affected by immigrant Stone Age farmers….
Stickleback Fish Used Pre-Existing Genes to Go from Saltwater to Freshwater Environments
New research pinpoints to certain mutations that may have helped the stickleback, a tiny armored fish, to evolve quickly between saltwater and freshwater forms. Since…
Rare Example of Bacterial Gene Transfer Providing Evolutionary Benefit
A bacterial gene that has been discovered in the genome of the coffee berry borer beetle (Hypothenemus hampei) allows it to occupy a unique ecological…
Human Y-Chromosome Has Enough Genes to Stay for Millions of Years
The male-sex determining Y chromosome is here to stay, having lost only one gene in the last 25 million years, a new study of human…
Virus Gene Syncytin Insinuated Itself in Mammalian DNA Millions of Years Ago
Syncytin is a gene that was found in the human genome, but is bears all of the hallmarks of originating from a virus. Back in…
Invasive Species of Asian Mussels Turns Parasites into Hosts
In a new study published today in the journal Biology Letters, researchers have found an invasive species of mussels that has caused a complete ecological…
World’s Smallest Primate Issues High-Frequency Calls Like Bats
It was recently discovered by a team of scientists that the Philippine tarsier (Tarsius syrichta) can communicate in pure ultrasound, issuing calls that are so…
Researchers Complete Genome Sequence of a Denisovan Human Finger Bone
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology have completed the genome sequence of a Denisovan human finger bone that was discovered in Denisova…
Study Measures Mammalian Growth, Taking 24 Million Years to Go from Mouse to Elephant
Evolution has its quirks, and getting from a mouse-sized animal to a pachyderm didn’t take thousands of years, it took millions. Evolutionary biologists have published…
