https://phys.org/biology-news/evolution en-us The latest science news on evolution New genetic research has revealed how British otters were able to recover from species loss in the 1950s with the help of their counterparts from Asia. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-uncovering-genetic-history-british-otters.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:56:03 EST news620643361 By studying the skull shapes of dipsadine snakes, researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington have found how these species of snakes in Central and South America have evolved and adapted to meet the demands of their habitats and food sources. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-snake-skulls-species-prey.html Evolution Ecology Thu, 30 Nov 2023 15:28:03 EST news620580481 In today's medical landscape, antibiotics are pivotal in combating bacterial infections. These potent compounds, produced by bacteria and fungi, act as natural defenses against microbial attacks. A team of researchers delved into the intricate world of glycopeptide antibiotics—a vital resource in countering drug-resistant pathogens—to uncover their evolutionary origins. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-reverse-evolution-ancient-glycopeptide-antibiotics.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:58:42 EST news620567920 Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are hot springs on the ocean floor. Sea water penetrates into the ocean crust, becomes heated, and rises to the seafloor surface carrying dissolved nutrients. Around these vents, far from any sunlight, vibrant biological communities are found. Here, microbes play the role of primary producers through chemosynthesis—similar to the role that plants play on land through photosynthesis. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-bacterial-species-hydrothermal-vent-microbial.html Evolution Cell & Microbiology Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:11:04 EST news620565061 Plants regulate their development with a distinct group of molecular players. ROP proteins, a group of plant-specific proteins, are known to control plant tissue formation. Now, Hugh Mulvey and Liam Dolan at the GMI show that ROP proteins evolved at the transition between unicellular and multicellular plant life. The findings were published on November 30 in the journal Current Biology. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-rop-exploring-dawn-multicellular-life.html Plants & Animals Evolution Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news620557073 An international team of researchers led by botanists at the University of Vienna, Austria, has analyzed the morphological diversity of fossilized flowers and compared it with the diversity of living species. They found that flowering plants had already produced a large number of different flower types shortly after their emergence in the Cretaceous period, and this earliest floral diversity was greater than that today. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-floral-diverse-million-years-today.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 30 Nov 2023 09:49:03 EST news620560141 Human aging may have been influenced by millions of years of dinosaur domination according to a new theory from a leading aging expert. The 'longevity bottleneck' hypothesis has been proposed by Professor Joao Pedro de Magalhaes from the University of Birmingham in a new study published in BioEssays. The hypothesis connects the role that dinosaurs played over 100 million years with the aging process in mammals. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-longevity-bottleneck-hypothesis-dinosaurs-human.html Evolution Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:28:14 EST news620483292 The Second Plague Pandemic of the mid-14th century, also known as the Black Death, killed 30–60% of the European population and profoundly changed the course of European history. New research led by Penn State and the University of Adelaide suggests that this plague, potentially through resulting changes in diet and hygiene, may also be associated with a shift in the composition of the human oral microbiome toward one that contributes to chronic diseases in modern-day humans. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-ancient-british-oral-microbiomes-reveals.html Evolution Cell & Microbiology Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:38:04 EST news620480281 Movement of rivers, mountains, oceans and sediment nutrients at the geological timescale are the central drivers of Earth's biodiversity, research published in Nature has revealed. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-landscape-dynamics-evolution-biodiversity-earth.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news620476404 Bees, wasps and ants belong to the Hymenoptera order and inject a whole cocktail of venomous ingredients when they sting. Despite their tremendous ecological and economic importance, little was previously known about the origins of their venom. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-genomic-bee-venom.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:29:18 EST news620476155 A new study from the University of Southampton sheds light on the impact climate change is having on marine environments in a relatively recent global phenomenon known as "tropicalization." https://phys.org/news/2023-11-global-marine-life-due-sea.html Evolution Ecology Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:04:04 EST news620413441 Researchers have provided new insights into how ancestral elephants developed their dextrous trunks. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-shifting-climates-early-elephants-trunks.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:34:08 EST news620397245 According to current knowledge, individuality is determined by either differences in genome or in the apparent environmental conditions. However, studies show, the paradigm of twin research is currently crumbling. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-clonal-fish-genes-environment.html Evolution Ecology Tue, 28 Nov 2023 09:25:03 EST news620385901 A recent study spearheaded by Prof. Sigal Ben Yehuda and her team at Hebrew University has unveiled a captivating facet of bacterial dormancy. Their research illuminates the mechanism through which dormant bacterial spores uphold and activate an enduring transcriptional program upon revival, showcasing an extraordinary genetic memory system. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-long-term-genetic-memory-dormant-bacterial.html Evolution Cell & Microbiology Mon, 27 Nov 2023 11:34:03 EST news620307241 Mayflies are ancient insects that possess a unique life stage not found in other winged insects: Their fully-grown nymphs develop into a winged subadult stage, the so-called subimago, which is not yet capable of reproduction and which, after a short time, sheds its skin along with its wings to become an adult insect. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-wing-characteristics-primitive-insects-unraveled.html Plants & Animals Evolution Fri, 24 Nov 2023 10:51:41 EST news620045498 Investigators from the laboratory of Ali Shilatifard, Ph.D., the Robert Francis Furchgott Professor and chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, have discovered a new repeat gene cluster sequence that is exclusively expressed in humans and non-human primates. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-human-gene-cluster-sequence.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 24 Nov 2023 09:49:57 EST news620041794 In a recent study, a team led by Würzburg botanist Kenji Fukushima investigated the genomic structure of the carnivorous pitcher plant Nepenthes gracilis and showed how polyploidy—the phenomenon of having more than two sets of chromosomes in cells—contributes to evolutionary innovation. Fukushima heads a working group at the Chair of Botany I at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU). https://phys.org/news/2023-11-gene-evolution-decaploid-pitcher-nepenthes.html Plants & Animals Evolution Fri, 24 Nov 2023 09:34:59 EST news620040896 E. coli bacteria may be far more capable of evolving antibiotic resistance than scientists previously thought, according to a new study published in Science on November 24. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-fresh-insights-antibiotic-resistance-landscapes.html Evolution Cell & Microbiology Thu, 23 Nov 2023 14:00:01 EST news619867636 Striped skunks are less likely to evolve with their famous and white markings where the threat of predation from mammals is low, scientists from the University of Bristol, Montana and Long Beach, California have discovered. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-skunks-stripes-prominent-predators-sparse.html Plants & Animals Evolution Wed, 22 Nov 2023 10:49:03 EST news619872541 At the end of the last Ice Age, many iconic species became extinct—including the steppe bison, the wooly rhinoceros, the Irish elk, and the dire wolf. However, one Ice Age relict, perfectly adapted to the harsh climate of the tundra environment, has survived until the present day. Muskox escaped the destiny of its Ice Age compatriots and appears to be thriving in the world of today. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-genomic-secrets-muskox-mastered-edge.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 22 Nov 2023 10:48:03 EST news619872481 LUCA, the "last universal common ancestor" of all living organisms, lived 4.32–4.52 billion years ago, according to a study from NIOZ biologists Tara Mahendrarajah and senior author Anja Spang, with collaborating partners from Universities in Bristol, Hungary, and Tokyo. Their research is published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-universal-common-ancestor.html Evolution Cell & Microbiology Tue, 21 Nov 2023 12:41:03 EST news619792862 An extensive study, published in Communications Biology, sheds new light on the complex evolution of our feet. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-complex-evolution-human-feet.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 21 Nov 2023 12:12:06 EST news619791124 Ten newly discovered species of trilobites, hidden for 490 million years in a little-studied part of Thailand, could be the missing pieces in an intricate puzzle of ancient world geography. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-trilobites-ashes-reveal-ancient.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 21 Nov 2023 10:14:36 EST news619784015 A study published in Diversity provides new insight into how toothed whales and dolphins came to navigate the underwater world using sound waves. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-reveals-clues-whales-dolphins-echolocation.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 20 Nov 2023 16:03:04 EST news619718582 Crocodiles have a deep and varied evolutionary past. Now researchers are peeling back the layers to find out how the surviving species came to be. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-unraveling-complex-history-crocodiles.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 20 Nov 2023 12:48:48 EST news619706922 When animals of two different species mate, their hybrid offspring can be unhealthy or sterile. Often, only one sex is affected. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-crossbred-butterflies-multiple-genes-involved.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 20 Nov 2023 10:19:52 EST news619697987 For more than 20 years, a research team at Lund University in Sweden has studied the common bluetail damselfly. Females occur in three different color forms—one with a male-like appearance, something that protects them from mating harassment. In a new study, an international research team found that this genetic color variation that is shared among several species arose through changes in a specific genomic region at least 5 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-scientists-damselfly-mystery.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 17 Nov 2023 09:31:03 EST news619435861 A study published in Science challenges the notion that only humans are capable of forming strong and strategic cooperative relationships and sharing resources across non-family groups. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-thy-neighbor-cooperation-group-wild.html Plants & Animals Evolution Thu, 16 Nov 2023 14:00:01 EST news619347653 New research from the Layden Lab at Lehigh has demonstrated that the gene mechanisms at work during neurogenesis in the brain actually predate the evolutionary development of the central nervous system. In other words, to build our brains, nature is borrowing the blueprints from much simpler creatures that predate us and other animals on the evolutionary timeline. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-brain-regulatory-predates-central-nervous.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 16 Nov 2023 09:58:03 EST news619351081 For centuries, humans pursued the "fountain of youth" in the quest for longer lives. More recently, curiosity has been reignited among the scientific community thanks to genome sequencing technologies that are facilitating a deeper look into the genetic mechanisms underlying aging and extended lifespans. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-bivalve-mollusks-secret-longer-life.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 15 Nov 2023 11:02:04 EST news619268521