Evolution News and Research

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Octoploids help switchgrass to thrive in new environments

Roughly half of all flowering plants are "polyploid," meaning that they have more than two sets of chromosomes, which contain the plants' genes and DNA.

12 Jul 2022

Rochester biologists show a selfish “supergene” using population genomics

There are several “selfish genetic elements” in the human genome that do not appear to benefit their hosts but instead appear to exist only to reproduce themselves.

8 Jul 2022

Healthy people can reap mental health benefits from gardening

Many longtime gardeners will tell you that the garden is their happy place. New research suggests that many people may indeed reap mental health benefits from working with plants -; even if they've never gardened before.

7 Jul 2022

Study highlights evolutionary links between two kinds of ancient invertebrates

There are two phyla of tiny aquatic invertebrates: Kamptozoa and Bryozoa. They are related to ribbon worms (Nemertea), bristle worms, earthworms, and leeches (all of which are classified as annelids), as well as snails, clams, and other mollusks.

5 Jul 2022

Crucial gene in maize modulates specific chemical processes that contribute to flowering time, study finds

North Carolina State University researchers revealed that a crucial gene in maize called HPC1 modulates some chemical processes that contribute to flowering time.

4 Jul 2022

Researchers examine ancient microbes to find life beyond earth

Researchers have reproduced what life was like for some of the oldest species on Earth using light-capturing proteins found in living microorganisms. These initiatives may enable everyone to spot life in distant worlds, whose atmospheres mirror the pre-oxygen planet more closely.

1 Jul 2022

Study identifies the crucial activity of transposable elements in the evolution of the octopus genomes

The octopus is an extraordinary organism with exceptional brain complexity and cognitive abilities that are unmatched by other invertebrates. So much so that it resembles vertebrates in certain ways more than it does invertebrates.

1 Jul 2022

Genetic sequencing reveals clues to the sea dragons’ distinctive features

Even with plenty of fish in the sea, sea dragons stand out from the crowd. The funky, fabulous fish are bedecked with ruffly leaf-like adornments. Their spines are kinked.

29 Jun 2022

Study reveals how amphioxus model analyze the genesis and vertebrates evolution

The two rounds of whole-genome duplication that occurred throughout the evolution of vertebrates were followed by functional divergence in terms of regulatory circuits as well as gene expression patterns.

27 Jun 2022

Study confirms the second-ever documented case of a plant creating blue berries

On a beautiful fall day in 2019, Miranda Sinnott-Armstrong was walking down Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado when something caught her eye: a small, particularly shiny blue fruit, on a shrub known as Lantana strigocamara.

15 Jun 2022

Origin of chromatin in ancient microbes happened 1–2 billion years ago, study reveals

Nature’s storage solution originally emerged in ancient microbes living on Earth around one and two billion years ago, according to researchers at the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG).

10 Jun 2022

Gene expression analysis helps identify genes that cause endocrine resistance in breast cancer

The most prevalent type of cancer detected in women is breast cancer (BC). BC is the second biggest cause of death among female cancer patients globally.

9 Jun 2022

Vienna researchers aim to solve a great mystery of human evolution

Using the latest scientific methods, Tom Higham and Katerina Douka from the University of Vienna want to solve a great mystery of human evolution: Why are we the only humans left? Higham and Douka were the first ones to find a first-generation offspring of two different types of human. They continuously publish new results in high impact journals, most recently in Science Advances.

3 Jun 2022

Endogenous retroviruses in the human genome are likely to pose a risk in regenerative medicine

Scientists from Kumamoto University used next-generation sequencing to analyze human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) integration sites and found that these primitive retroviruses can retrotranspose (DNA sequence insertion with RNA mediation) into iPS cells.

31 May 2022

Research reveals the origins of microbiomes and their current evolution

According to a recent study by University of British Columbia (UBC) scientists, even the tiniest marine invertebrates are host to unique and diverse microbial communities or microbiomes.

30 May 2022

Researchers analyze gut microbiome with dietary fiber through ecological model

Dietary fiber is known to be beneficial to gut health. However, it has a wide range of effects on the composition and metabolic activity of the gut microbiome.

27 May 2022

Researchers devise a new treatment approach to cure aggressive brain tumors

Glioblastomas (GBMs) are cancerous tumors of the brain and spinal cord that are incredibly aggressive.

23 May 2022

Research sheds light on new options for organ cultivation in vitro

How do human cells organize themselves to give the organs their ultimate shape? The solution is morphogenesis, a collection of systems that controls their spatial distribution throughout embryonic development. In this sector, a team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) recently discovered an unexpected discovery: when a tissue curves, the volume of the cells that makes it up grows rather than decreases.

18 May 2022

Researchers identify jellyfish’s stinging cells to promote new cell function

According to a recent Cornell study, the cnidocytes—or stinging cells—that are found in sea anemones, hydrae, corals, and jellyfish and make us cautious while wading in the ocean are also an ideal way of understanding the creation of new cell types.

18 May 2022