Biologists are closing in on a puzzle that seems to turn classic evolutionary logic inside out, yet may be so common that it ...

Evolution has been known as survival of the fittest, however the fittest may also have been simply the luckiest. Though genetics are a driving force of evolution, many evolutionary changes were a ...

Over the past 500 million years, nearly all evolutionary changes in octopuses and squids occurred in rapid bursts during the emergence of new species, according to research from the University of ...

The evolutionary blueprint for hands was borrowed in part from a much older genetic plan for our nether regions, a new study suggests. Researchers armed with CRISPR looked to the embryos of zebrafish ...

Even a single gene, reshuffled or regulated in new ways, can fuel repeated bursts of evolutionary innovation, according to a recent study of wheatear birds. A study was recently published in the ...

The biodiversity of the Earth’s oceans is disproportionately concentrated in coral reefs — the vibrant undersea ecosystems where thousands of known marine species reside. A new Yale-led study offers ...

The downstream consequences of religion, politics and war can have far-reaching effects on the environment and on the evolutionary processes affecting urban organisms, according to a new analysis from ...

A groundbreaking study sheds light on the extraordinary evolution of anglerfish, a group of deep-sea dwellers whose bizarre adaptations have captivated scientists and the public alike. The research ...

Scientists have developed a theoretical model that uncovers the dual role of polyploidy -- organisms carrying extra genome copies -- in evolution. Their findings reveal that polyploidy can stabilize ...

Jonathan Waters receives funding from the RSNZ Marsden Fund. Graham McCulloch receives funding from the RSNZ Marsden Fund University of Otago provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.