#evolution

A new study from the University of Cambridge reveals that asexual reproduction held back the diversity of Earth's earliest animals for millions of years, until sexual reproduction accelerated evolution.

Anthropologist Alice Roberts says humans are best understood as animals shaped by deep evolutionary history, from cellular biochemistry to limb structure.

A new study surveying 120 bird species suggests masturbation is common across birds, occurs in both sexes, and may carry welfare and reproductive implications.

Researchers say the Pacific golden sweeper cannot make its own luciferase and instead acquires the light-producing protein from tiny crustaceans it eats.

A reanalysis of 540-million-year-old Brazilian microfossils suggests structures once interpreted as traces of tiny animals were actually communities of bacteria or algae.

An analysis of 470 flowering plant genomes suggests ancient genome duplications clustered around periods of environmental upheaval, potentially helping angiosperms survive mass extinctions.

Researchers testing a single-cell DNA sequencing pipeline unexpectedly found a freshwater protist that appears to reinterpret two genetic stop codons, adding a new exception to one of biology’s foundational rules.

A new PNAS-linked study reports that genetic exchange is widespread across natural populations of Leishmania, challenging the long-held view that the parasites spread mainly through clonal reproduction.

Fossils from Gujarat point to a giant snake called Vasuki indicus that may have reached up to roughly 15 meters in length, placing it among the largest snakes ever identified

A Science Advances study reports that mosses and Arabidopsis thaliana rely on similar cellular dynamics during leaf formation despite deep evolutionary separation.

New research highlighted by Phys.org examines how poison frogs developed a potent chemical defense system over time, offering a closer look at the evolutionary path behind one of nature’s most famous warning signals.

A reported embryo fossil from South Africa is being described as the world’s oldest proof that therapsids, the mammal ancestors that lived between 280 and 200 million years ago, laid eggs.

A new Medical Xpress essay challenges the idea of the human body as a perfectly engineered machine, arguing instead that anatomy reflects evolutionary compromise.

Researchers studying octopus mating found that the male hectocotylus is not just a reproductive appendage but also a sensory organ able to chemically detect the target site inside the female.

A new study finds that turtles specializing in hard-shelled prey were more than five times more likely to survive the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

A new study in Science reveals that seals and sea lions have independently evolved brain structures remarkably similar to humans and songbirds, enabling volitional vocal control and learned sound production.

A new fossil from southern China reveals that a meter-long bony fish from 425 million years ago had unique clusters of spiky teeth on soft tissue 'cushions' — a jaw design never seen before.

A Science study reveals that unrelated animal species independently evolved nearly identical molecular mimics of the pain-causing peptide bradykinin as a defensive weapon.

A new study reveals the human chin is not an adaptation but a byproduct of evolutionary changes to our face, solving a century-old anthropological mystery.