Evolution News and Research

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Open Sesame: Can Plants Acquire Genes from the Species They Parasitize On?

A new study shows how Cuscuta plants acquire and repurpose a functional gene from a host species through horizontal gene transfer, thereby enhancing metabolic diversity.

8 Sep 2026

High Resolution Chemical Maps Reveal Internal Manufacturing Layout of Herbs

Plants produce flavonoids-bioactive compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and osteoprotective properties-through complex modification pathways.

8 Sep 2026

Homolog Gene Regulation Alters Cell-Cycle Progression for Sprouting Trichomes

Trichomes-tiny hair‑like structures on leaves-serve as physical barriers that protect plants from insect herbivores, UV radiation, excessive water loss, and toxic chemicals.

8 Sep 2026

First Chromosome-Level Genome Unveils Blueprints of Valued Medicinal Compounds

Spuriopimpinella brachycarpa, known locally as Dayeqin or Shanqincai, has long been used in traditional medicine to treat colds, indigestion, abdominal pain, and cough.

8 Sep 2026

Why Not Every Ant Helps

Why do some ants help nestmates in distress while others don't? A research team from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and Tel Aviv University has addressed this question in a new study.

7 Sep 2026

Genetic Differences In Neural Pathways Determine Which Ants Save Nestmates

Why do some ants help nestmates in distress while others don't? A research team from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and Tel Aviv University has addressed this question in a new study.

7 Sep 2026

Historic Parchment Unlocks Ancient Genetic History of Sheeppox Virus

Some of Europe's most well-known historic manuscripts, including the York Gospels, have proven to be biological time capsules for uncovering the 3,500-year history of the sheeppox virus (SPPV).

4 Sep 2026

Genetic Prediction Tools May Misjudge Mutation Risks, Study Finds

When a patient has their DNA read, it gets compared against a reference version of the human genome. It allows geneticists and rare disease experts to look at a list of places where the patient's DNA differs.

4 Sep 2026

Study Reveals Hidden Mutational Process in Colorectal Cancer

The discovery of SBS111 in colorectal cancer offers new perspectives on mutational processes and DNA repair, emphasizing its significance in tumor biology.

3 Sep 2026

Bees See the World in More Ways Than Previously Thought

Honey bees have long been the model species for studying insect vision.

3 Sep 2026

Gut Tethering Explains Right-Handed Coils in Growing Snake Embryos

An international team led by Canadian researchers has found evidence for why snake embryos form a curious spiral. This ability to coil in the embryo is why snakes are able to hatch with the longest body of all vertebrate animals.

1 Sep 2026

Genetically Engineered Marine Bacteria Accelerate Global Carbon Dioxide Removal Efforts

Rock weathering, the breakdown and dissolving of rocks and minerals caused by their exposure to water, air, and biological life, is a major regulator of Earth's atmospheric CO2 levels and climate.

31 Aug 2026

Genetic Toolkit Helps Researchers Map Single Neurons in Fruit Flies

Our brains constantly integrate information about both our internal state and our surroundings to determine how we behave.

28 Aug 2026

Study Traces How Animals Tap into a Microbial Energy Reserve Believed to Be Inaccessible

This study reveals widespread enzymatic capabilities in animals to break down microbial storage compounds, impacting our understanding of carbon cycling.

27 Aug 2026

Bat DNA Offers Insights Into Longevity and Cancer Resistance

Bats are anomalies in the mammalian world-they fly, have long lifespans, and rarely get cancer. Scientists now suspect the bat immune system enables them to live longer without disease, according to a new study published today in Nature.

27 Aug 2026

New Agentex Tool Synthesizes Molecules Without Damaging Natural Machinery

Scientists have been hard at work for more than 20 years to instruct biological systems, such as E. coli cells, to produce proteins they don't naturally do.

27 Aug 2026

Scientists Reconstruct Prehistoric Mammalian Peptides to Combat Global Antibiotic-Resistance

University of Oregon biologists have resurrected prehistoric proteins up to 160 million years old that carry natural antimicrobial properties.

26 Aug 2026

Study Traces Animal DNA Along Irreversible Evolutionary Highways

A human, an octopus, and a coral could hardly look more different - yet deep inside their cells, their chromosomes still carry recognizable pieces of a genome inherited from an animal ancestor that lived more than 600 million years ago.

21 Aug 2026

Scientists Discover Diverse Evolutionary Paths for Breaking Embryonic Symmetry

One of the most important milestones in the early life of an organism is when the embryo breaks symmetry and arranges itself to form the head (anterior) at one end and tail (posterior) at the other end.

19 Aug 2026

New Chromosome-Level Pangenome Graph Maps Apricot's Genetic Diversity

Cultivated apricot, Prunus armeniaca, emerged through at least two domestication routes from Central Asia before spreading toward China and the Mediterranean.

17 Aug 2026