Evolution News and Research

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Genetic speciation method to make new hybrid species

The evolution of a new species by hybridization from two already described species without a change in chromosome number is very rare in the animal kingdom.

12 Oct 2022

Distinct roles of aging and genetics on expression phenotypes

Research conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, found that individual distinctions in human DNA matter less as people age and become more susceptible to aging disorders like diabetes and cancer.

10 Oct 2022

Insights into the evolution of banana domestication

People on the island of New Guinea are said to have domesticated bananas 7,000 years ago. However, the history of banana domestication is convoluted, and their categorization is widely discussed, as the boundaries between species and subspecies are frequently ambiguous.

10 Oct 2022

New insight into human genome evolution

Researchers discovered that in one out of every 4,000 births, some of the genetic code from the mitochondria—the “batteries” that power human cells—inserts itself into the DNA, giving a startling new insight into how humans evolve.

6 Oct 2022

Machine learning can predict the biological properties of Earth's most abundant enzyme

A Newcastle University study has for the first time shown that machine learning can predict the biological properties of the most abundant enzyme on Earth - Rubisco.

From Newcastle University 3 Oct 2022

Study helps understand how animals adapt and survive in freshwater

The ability to regulate salt and water balance is a significant challenge for animals living in freshwater habitats worldwide.

3 Oct 2022

Newly isolated Bacteroides likely to be present in mammals beyond mice

In the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1182 “Origin and Function of Metaorganisms,” scientists from Kiel University and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön (MPI-EB) are investigating the evolutionary history and function of Bacteroides.

From The Max Planck Institute 30 Sep 2022

Researchers use zebrafish larvae to study how the brain reacts to warmer temperatures

Which organisms survive and which succumb when the climate changes? A small larval fish is providing surprising insight into how the brain reacts when the temperature rises.

30 Sep 2022

Genome of the earliest common ancestor of all mammals identified

From a platypus to a blue whale, all living mammals today are derived from a single ancestor that existed around 180 million years ago. Although nothing much is known about this species, an international team of experts has now computationally rebuilt how its DNA is organized.

From The University of California, Davis 28 Sep 2022

Cryo-EM solves the decades-old mystery of bacterial movement

Scientists from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and their colleagues have discovered a decades-old mystery regarding how E. coli and other bacteria move.

28 Sep 2022

Structure of family groups gives animals an incentive to help or harm as they age

The structure of family groups gives animals an incentive to help or harm their social group as they age, new research shows.

From University of Exeter 27 Sep 2022

Carp virus provides significant insights into immunology

In an article published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research, the team led by Prof. Alain Vanderplasschen, a virologist and immunologist at the University of Liège, describes 10 years of research on how a carp virus uses a protein domain called Zalpha (Zα) to inhibit the host cell’s defense mechanisms.

26 Sep 2022

An analysis of old genes’ influence on sea anemones

For the neuronal cell types’ categorization as more complicated creatures, the genetic fingerprint of Nematostella vectensis—the sea anemone—reveals that the members of this evolutionarily very ancient animal phylum employ identical gene cascades.

22 Sep 2022

Researchers analyze how clusters of molecules meet inside cells

A developing area studies how clusters of molecules gather inside of cells, similar to how oil droplets form and separate from the water in a vinaigrette.

From New York University (NYU) 15 Sep 2022

Human-specific gene involves in neocortical expansion during evolution

Great ape animal experiments have long been prohibited in Europe due to ethical concerns. An alternative to using animals in investigations is the use of organoids, which are three-dimensional cell structures that can be generated in the lab and are only a few millimeters in size.

From The Max Planck Institute 14 Sep 2022

The influence of mitochondria on evolution, food security, and climate change

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced that it will support the work of a cooperative team of researchers, led by Elizabeth Vierling, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who intend to spend the next four years researching the function of mitochondria in plant productivity.

13 Sep 2022