evolution

Humans are often referred to as “hairless apes.” But how did this trait evolve given that fur provides significant advantages to many mammals?

New techniques to quantify what lived in and on preserved animals throw light on how parasite abundance has changed over time.

Unlike other fast-growing cells, regenerating tadpole cells fuel growth using the pentose phosphate pathway rather than glycolysis, a study indicates.

An engineered methylation pattern persisted for four generations of mice, demonstrating transgenerational epigenetic inheritance can occur in mammals.

By analyzing the genomes of 23 remarkably long-lived fish species, a study found two metabolic pathways associated with longevity.

A study sheds light on the tiny genes that have evolved in human genomes since we split from our mammalian ancestors.

Forced to respond to a climate that’s changing faster than it ever has, it remains unclear whether species’ adaptations can keep pace.

Researchers identified mutations in genes that may be involved in fat regulation, fur growth, and morphology.

A decade-long, multicontinent study suggests that acoustic defense strategies are more common among moths than previously imagined.

The molting fluid of ant pupae functions as “metabolic currency” in the ant colony and may have enabled the evolution of eusociality. 

A tiny pilot study found that so-called chameleon vines mimicked plastic leaves, but experts say poor study design and conflicts of interest undermine the report.

Bats are known for staying healthy even while harboring viral infections. Now, research sheds light on how their unusual immune system evolved.

Researchers find so-called integrons, previously known only in bacteria, in their distantly related microbial relatives. 

Study authors say the teeth, dated around 780,000 years old, push back the date humans are known to have engaged in cooking by more than 600,000 years. 

Meet the grasshopper that has reproduced asexually for a quarter of a million years—without acquiring undue numbers of harmful mutations.

Although epigenetic changes were long thought to largely act on the genome, rather than as part of it, research is now showing that these patterns can, directly or indirectly, change the genetic code.

Evidence is mounting that epigenetic marks on DNA can influence future generations in a variety of ways. But how such phenomena might affect large-scale evolutionary processes is hotly debated.

Sounds made by more than 50 vertebrates previously thought to be mute push back the origin of this type of communication by at least 100 million years, a study finds.

Mammals that give birth to live young may have evolved to make use of the remnants of viruses in their genomes to ward off pathogens, a study suggests.