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'She loves me, she loves me not': Physical forces encouraged evolution of multicellular life, scientists propose
Humans like to think that being multicellular (and bigger) is a definite advantage, even though 80% of life on Earth consists of single-celled organisms—some thriving in conditions lethal to any beast.
Biomechanical 'size matching' explains floral isolation in bumblebee-pollinated elephant-nose flowers
Buzz pollination—a process in which bees extract pollen by vibrating flowers—occurs in more than 20,000 plant species. Among the most specialized examples are the wildflowers of the Pedicularis genus (Orobanchaceae), whose curved "elephant-nose" petals rely exclusively on bumblebee vibrations for pollination.
New simulation of life on Earth reveals hidden diversity of undiscovered species
In a study published in Systematic Biology, researchers from Imperial College London, UCL, Dalhousie University and the United Nations Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Center described how their new simulation methods improve understanding of how patterns of biodiversity emerge across the globe.
Bird flu could be on the cusp of transmitting between humans—but there are ways to slow down viral evolution
Disease forecasts are like weather forecasts: We cannot predict the finer details of a particular outbreak or a particular storm, but we can often identify when these threats are emerging and prepare accordingly.
Horses, donkeys and zebras have adaptations that break normal genomic rules
A genetic mutation in horses that would typically halt protein production has become a molecular asset. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Vanderbilt University have identified a rare instance of genetic recoding that enhances oxygen metabolism and energy production in horses, donkeys, and zebras.
How climate and barriers shape global patterns in seed plant distribution over millions of years
Why do some plants thrive in specific regions but not in others? A study led by researchers at the University of Göttingen explores the factors shaping plant distributions and how these patterns have changed over millions of years. Analyzing nearly 270,000 seed plant species worldwide, the research highlights the roles of environmental conditions and dispersal barriers in influencing global plant diversity. The results were published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Cruciferous plants' pungent defense mechanism: How repurposed stomatal genes also fend off herbivores
Throughout evolution, plants have continuously adapted to survive in changing environments. Apart from complex structural changes, plants have also developed various defense strategies against herbivores, including tougher protective layers, thorns, and chemical deterrents.
Scientists reveal evolutionary dynamics of centromeres in octoploid strawberries
The modern cultivated strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) originates from interspecific hybridization between two octoploid wild species: F. virginiana and F. chiloensis. However, the differences in centromere characteristics and evolutionary patterns between wild and cultivated octoploids have remained poorly understood.
Wild marmots' social networks reveal controversial evolutionary theory in action
It probably feels obvious that having a close friend can influence your well-being. But do the groups that you're a part of also affect your well-being? For example, does the culture of your work colleagues influence your productivity?
Cartilage and bone development: Three paths to skeleton formation
In vertebrates, the skeleton of different regions of the body arises from different precursor cells. Researchers at the University of Basel have now discovered that these skeletal cells do not just differ in their developmental origin, but also in their gene regulation—which may be a key to the vertebrates' evolutionary success story.
After 80 years of stumping scientists, strange Philippine frog unmasked as hybrid
Evolutionary biologists working in the Philippines have long puzzled over a hard-to-find amphibian mystery: the Leyte Chorus Frog. It's a small, ground-dwelling frog from Leyte Island in the Visayan province of the eastern Philippines. The country is an island archipelago once blanketed with dense forests that today exist in small fragments—an unfortunate consequence of intensive logging.
Why humans have smaller faces than Neanderthals
The human face is strikingly distinct from our fossil cousins and ancestors—most notably, it is significantly smaller, and more gracile. However, the reasons behind this change remain largely unknown. A team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology has investigated why and how our species evolved such a unique facial form.
Scientists uncover key mechanism in evolution: Whole-genome duplication drives long-term adaptation
Sometimes, the most significant scientific discoveries happen by accident. Scientists have long known that whole-genome duplication (WGD)—the process by which organisms copy all their genetic material—plays an important role in evolution. But understanding just how WGD arises, persists, and drives adaptation has remained poorly understood.
The interplay of two genes illuminates how the large human brain evolved
Researchers from the German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research and the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics have discovered two specific genes that evolve exclusively in humans jointly influence the development of the cerebrum. They have thus provided evidence that these genes contribute together to the evolutionary enlargement of the brain.
Scientists uncover how enzymes evolved to function at low temperatures
Life has evolved over billions of years, adapting to the changing environment. Similarly, enzymes—proteins that speed up biochemical reactions (catalysis) in cells—have adapted to the habitats of their host organisms. Each enzyme has an optimal temperature range where its functionality is at its peak.
Radioisotopic ages of newly discovered fossil sites hold clues to evolution of mammals
Anatolia, the western part of modern-day Turkey that sits at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, is a fossil-rich land crucial to unlocking the mysteries surrounding the evolution of mammals over the last 10 million years. Despite the abundance of fossils from the Middle and Late Miocene (about 16 to 5.3 million years ago), scientists have to rely on indirect methods—like studying changes in the Earth's magnetic field and comparing fossils from distant and uncertain locations—to estimate the age of the remains, due to lack of volcanic materials.
Plants 'breathe' with millions of tiny mouths—lasers illuminate evolution of stomata behavior
Plant behavior may seem rather boring compared with the frenetic excesses of animals. Yet the lives of our vegetable friends, who tirelessly feed the entire biosphere (including us), are full of exciting action. It just requires a little more effort to appreciate.
Biologists discover ancient neurohormone that controls appetite
A team of biologists at Queen Mary University of London has discovered that a neurohormone controlling appetite in humans has an ancient evolutionary origin, dating back over half a billion years. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , reveal that this satiety-inducing molecule, known as bombesin, is not only present in humans and other vertebrates but also in starfish and their marine relatives.
How dramatic daily swings in oxygen shaped early animal life
Imagine a world where the oxygen you need changes dramatically between day and night. Your world shifts from being rich in oxygen (oxic) in the day, so you have energy to hunt for food, to suffocatingly oxygen-free (anoxic) at night, which slows you down.
'Chimpanzee 'engineers' have implications for understanding human technological evolution
A multidisciplinary team of researchers led by Dr. Alejandra Pascual-Garrido, Research Affiliate at the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, has discovered that chimpanzees living in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania employ a degree of engineering when making their tools, deliberately choosing plants that provide materials that produce more flexible tools for termite fishing.
Nature's time machine: How long-term studies unlock evolution's secrets
Georgia Tech scientists are revealing how decades-long research programs have transformed our understanding of evolution, from laboratory petri dishes to tropical islands—along the way uncovering secrets that would remain hidden in shorter studies.
Mountains as biodiversity engines: How uplift may shape species evolution
A new study co-authored by researchers at Indiana University sheds light on how the forces that shape mountain ranges also influence the evolution of species. In the study, "Direct effects of mountain uplift and topography on biodiversity," published in Science, researchers found that biodiversity increases as mountains rise, suggesting that geological processes play a direct role in the shaping of life on Earth.
Evolution: Features that help in finding a mate may lead to smaller brains
A longstanding question in evolutionary biology is how sexual selection influences how entire genomes develop. Sexual selection is where individuals with certain traits have higher reproductive success, leading to the spread of those traits throughout a species.
Deadly bacteria have developed the ability to produce antimicrobials and wipe out competitors, scientists discover
A drug-resistant type of bacteria that has adapted to health care settings evolved in the past several years to weaponize an antimicrobial genetic tool, eliminating its cousins and replacing them as the dominant strain. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists made the discovery when combing through local hospital data—and then confirmed that it was a global phenomenon.
Origin of life: How a special group of single-celled organisms laid the foundation for complex cells
Ten years ago, nobody knew that Asgard archaea even existed. In 2015, however, researchers examining deep-sea sediments discovered gene fragments that indicated a new and previously undiscovered form of microbes.
From dinosaurs to birds: The origins of feather formation
Feathers are among the most complex cutaneous appendages in the animal kingdom. While their evolutionary origin has been widely debated, paleontological discoveries and developmental biology studies suggest that feathers evolved from simple structures known as proto-feathers.
They'd rather die: The lesson that male roundworms refuse to learn
In human society, men tend to be seen as risk-takers, while women are seen as being more cautious. According to evolutionary psychologists, this difference developed in the wake of threats to each sex and their respective needs. While such generalizations are, of course, too binary and simplistic to faithfully describe complex and multifaceted human behavior, clearcut differences between females and males are often evident in other animals, even in simple organisms such as worms.
Cloaked in color: Research finds some female hummingbirds evolve male plumage to dodge aggression
Why do humans wear clothes? One reason is that changing outfits allows people to tailor their look in hopes of attracting or avoiding attention. New research led by the University of Washington found that hummingbirds may take a similar approach.
How an organelle evolves in symbiosis with a cell: Intermediate stage sheds light on the assimilation process
Organelles in cells were originally often independent cells, which were incorporated by host cells and lost their independence in the course of evolution. A team of biologists headed by Professor Dr. Eva Nowack at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) are examining the way in which this assimilation process occurs and how quickly. They now describe their findings about an intermediate stage in this process in Science Advances.
Chimpanzee genes have changed over time to suit local conditions: New study
Chimpanzees are humans' closest living relatives, sharing more than 98% of our DNA. They are endangered, with fewer than 250,000 left and an annual decline of between 1.5% and 6%. This is due to habitat destruction, hunting and infectious diseases, among other threats.
Scientists uncover principles underlying the toxicity of 'selfish' genes
Lurking within the genomes of nearly all species—including plants, fungi, and even humans—are genes that are passed from generation to generation with no clear benefit to the organism. Called "selfish" genes, they can sometimes be harmful or even lethal. A recent study from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research sheds new light on how selfish genes "cheat" inheritance to ensure they are passed to the next generation, often at the expense of an organism's fertility.
Sperm breach blastocyst defenses in primates, providing new insights into reproductive competition
In a study of early embryonic development in primates, an international research team under the leadership of Berthold Huppertz and Thomas Kroneis from Med Uni Graz has shown for the first time that sperm can penetrate the outer layer of five- to seven-day-old embryos (blastocysts).
The tendency of some flowers to be 'honest' and reward pollinators with nectar is partly genetic, study suggests
Flowers can produce showy displays that appeal to pollinating insects or animals, but some "cheat" by enticing pollinators but not rewarding them with nectar. Research in New Phytologist indicates that the tendency of flowers to be "honest" and reward pollinators with nectar is partly genetic, meaning that it can be passed down through generations.
How big brains and flexible skulls led to the evolution of modern birds
Modern birds are the living relatives of dinosaurs. Take a look at the features of flightless birds like chickens and ostriches that walk upright on two hind legs, or predators like eagles and hawks with their sharp talons and keen eyesight, and the similarities to small theropod dinosaurs like the velociraptors of "Jurassic Park" fame are striking.
Gorillas match chimpanzees in self-awareness study
Gorillas may have greater self-awareness than scientists previously thought. A new study finds that gorillas perform just as well as chimpanzees in tests that require awareness of their own bodies. A research team, led by Utrecht University biologist Jorg Massen, performed the study. The researchers now encourage their peers to use different types of tests to better understand self-awareness in animals.