A new paper, building on recent advances in sequencing capability, now reports the complete genomes of 17 different strains of mice, creating an unparalleled genetic resource that will aid studies ranging from human disease to evolution.
Research conducted by a team of biological scientists published in PLoS ONE suggests that conservation biologists and managers should consider the prospect that populations transferred to new environments might rapidly evolve and foil original management plans. Study results raise the question of whether current biological conservation practices should take into account the possibility of contemporary evolution, to increase the chances of species survival from extinction.
Skewed skulls may have helped early whales discriminate the direction of sounds in water and are not solely, as previously thought, a later adaptation related to echolocation. University of Michigan researchers report the finding in a paper to be published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of Aug. 22.
UMDNJ scientists demonstrate that the origin of some traits during evolution result from developmental bias rather than from natural selection.
From hot pink to traditional French and Lady Gaga’s sophisticated designs, manicured nails have become the grammar of fashion.
A relatively simple combination of naturally occurring sugars and amino acids offers a plausible route to the building blocks of life, according to a paper published in Nature Chemistry co-authored by a professor at the University of California, Merced. The study shows how the precursors to RNA could have formed on Earth before any life existed, and it builds on the work of John D. Sutherland and Matthew W. Powner, published in 2009.
Life is tough for woodrats in deserts. The few food plants produce poison. A new University of Utah study shows how some woodrats put themselves on a diet to avoid poisoning: They eat smaller meals, increase time between meals and drink more water if it is available.
University of Utah scientists used chemical isotopes in ancient soil to measure prehistoric tree cover – in effect, shade – and found that grassy, tree-dotted savannas prevailed at most East African sites where human ancestors and their ape relatives evolved during the past 6 million years.
An international study, based on a doctoral thesis conducted at the University of Haifa, has discovered how a newly discovered gene played a central role in the transition of aquatic plants to land plants – a process that led to life on land as we know it today.
Some of the human X chromosome originates from Neanderthals and is found exclusively in people outside Africa.
New fossil localities from North Dakota and Montana have produced the remains of a turtle that survived the 65 million-year-old meteorite impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.
Genetic instructions for developing limbs and digits were present in primitive fish millions of years before their descendants first crawled on to land, University of Chicago researchers have discovered. The result suggests that the recipe for limb development is conserved in species separated by 400 million years of evolution.
After living incognito for millions of years in a remote area of a forested mountain range in the Philippines, seven newfound species of mice owe their recent discovery to DNA evidence and the Florida State University biologist who deciphered it.
By mapping various genomes onto an X-Y axis, a team comprised mostly of Kansas State University researchers has found that Charles Darwin and a fruit fly -- among other organisms -- have a lot in common genetically.
Palaeontologists have uncovered half-a-billion-year-old fossils demonstrating that primitive animals had excellent vision. An international team led by scientists from the South Australian Museum and the University of Adelaide found the exquisite fossils, which look like squashed eyes from a recently swatted fly.
A recent Kavli Futures Symposium focused on the progress, and promise, of evolving biological functions in the lab. Now, three Symposium participants discuss this remarkable research, and how it's drawing together diverse scientific fields.
Biologists worldwide subscribe to the healthy herds hypothesis, but could it be that predators can also make prey populations more susceptible to other predators or even parasites? Biologists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered at least one animal whose defenses against a predator make it a good target for one opportunistic parasite.
New research shows that in some structured communities, organisms increase their chances of survival if they evolve some level of restraint that allows competitors to survive as well, a sort of “survival of the weakest.”
A University of Arkansas professor and his colleagues have found the first direct evidence in the fossil record that Homo erectus ate a more diverse diet than its relative Homo habilis.
A new study provides support for Darwin’s hypothesis that the struggle for existence is stronger between more closely related species. While ecologists generally accept the premise, this new study contains the strongest direct experimental evidence yet to support its validity.
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