Evolutionary Biology News (56 articles) by Insciences

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MicroRNA: a glimpse into the past
Small molecules give EMBL scientists bigger picture of animal evolution.The last ancestor we shared with worms, which roamed the seas around 600 million years ago, may already have had a sophisticated brain that released hormones into the blood and was connected to various sensory organs. The...

Published on 1 February 2010, 06:48

Categories: Animal evolution Evolutionary Biology microRNAs Platynereis dumerilii

New study suggests theory for insect colonies as‘superorganisms’
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A team of researchers including scientists from the University of Florida has shown insect colonies follow some of the same biological “rules” as individuals, a finding that suggests insect societies operate like a single “superorganism” in terms of their physiology...

Published on 19 January 2010, 09:59

Categories: Ants Bees Evolutionary Biology Insect colonies Insects Superorganisms Wasps

Genetic Analysis Gives Hope That Extinct Tortoise Species May Live Again
New Haven, Conn. — Thanks to genetic data gleaned from the bones found in a several museum collections, an international team of researchers led by scientists from Yale believes it may be possible to resurrect a tortoise species hunted to extinction by whalers visiting the Galapagos Islands...

Published on 15 January 2010, 13:32

Categories: Chelonoidis elephantopus Evolutionary Biology Tortoise Species Tortoises Turtles

Yale Researchers Reveal Secrets of Duck Sex: It’s All Screwed Up
New Haven, Conn. — Female ducks have evolved an intriguing way to avoid becoming impregnated by undesirable but aggressive males endowed with large corkscrew-shaped penises: vaginas with clockwise spirals that thwart oppositely spiraled males.More details of this evolutionary battle of the...

Published on 23 December 2009, 06:30

Categories: Duck Sex Ducks Evolutionary Biology

DNA study sheds new light on horse evolution
Ancient DNA retrieved from extinct horse species from around the world has challenged one of the textbook examples of evolution - the fossil record of the horse family Equidae over the past 55 million years.The study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,...

Published on 10 December 2009, 05:18

Categories: DNA Horses Horse Species Equidae Evolutionary Biology Zebra

Research Backs Theory on Autism, Schizophrenia
New research by Simon Fraser University evolutionary biologist Bernard Crespi reinforces his theory that autism and schizophrenia are diametric or opposite conditions based on genes.His latest study, Comparative Genomics of Autism and Schizophrenia, is published (Nov. 30) in the Proceedings of...

Published on 1 December 2009, 07:06

Categories: Autism Schizophrenia Genes Evolutionary Biology Genomics

Opposites attract: Monkeys choose mating partners with different genes
The world’s largest species of monkey ‘chooses’ mates with genes that are different from their own to guarantee healthy and strong offspring, according to a new research study.The results obtained from mandrills, a species closely related to humans, support the disputed theory that humans...

Published on 25 November 2009, 03:51

Categories: Monkeys Species Mandrills Evolutionary Biology Smell Genetics Major Histocompatibility Complex MHC

Funny, you don't look related
UCLA biologists, colleagues solve mystery contemplated by Charles Darwin.When Charles Darwin visited the Falkland Islands during the voyage of the Beagle in 1835, he saw a wolf-like species, wrote about it in his diaries and correctly commented that it was being hunted in such large numbers that...

Published on 12 November 2009, 18:21

Categories: Bush dog Evolutionary Biology Falkland Islands wolf Falklands Mammals Maned wolf Wolf

Why do animals, especially males, have so many different colors?
Why do so many animal species — including fish, birds and insects — display such rich diversity in coloration and other traits? In new research, Gregory Grether, UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and Christopher Anderson, who recently earned his doctorate...

Published on 31 October 2009, 09:41

Categories: Animals Animals Species Colors Coloration Evolutionary Biology Fish Birds Insects

When ants attack: Researchers recreate chemicals that trigger aggression in Argentine ants
BERKELEY — Experiments led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have demonstrated that normally friendly ants can turn against each other by exploiting the chemical cues they use to distinguish colony-mates from rivals.The new study, to be published Wednesday, Oct. 28, in...

Published on 27 October 2009, 18:54

Categories: Ants Chemicals Linepithema humile Ants social behavior Argentine ants Insects Chemical recognition Evolutionary Biology

Why sex with a partner is better
University of Oregon research shows why a mate provides an evolutionary advantage over self-fertilizationEUGENE, Ore. -- (Oct. 21, 2009) -- OK, it takes two for human reproduction, and now it seems that plants and animals that can rely on either a partner or go alone by self-fertilization give...

Published on 21 October 2009, 13:06

Categories: Self-fertilization Evolutionary Biology Worms Caenorhabditis elegans Selfing

Sexual Conflict in Fish Led to Evolution of New Sex Chromosomes
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- University of Maryland biologists have genetically mapped the sex chromosomes of several species of cichlid fish from Lake Malawi, East Africa, and identified a mechanism by which new sex chromosomes may evolve. In research published in the journal Science (October 1, 2009),...

Published on 1 October 2009, 17:58

Categories: Cichlid fish Evolutionary Biology Fish Sex chromosomes Sex determination Species

Research Team Finds First Evolutionary Branching for Bilateral Animals
In the most computationally intensive phylogenetic analysis to date, an international research team led by Brown University has found the first evolutionary branching for bilateral animals. The researchers determined that the flatworm group Acoelomorpha is a product of the deepest split within...

Published on 23 September 2009, 16:17

Categories: Acoelomorpha Bilateral Animals Cycliophora Deuterostomia Evolutionary Biology Worms Xenoturbella

Genetic Sex Determination Let Ancient Species Adapt to Ocean Life
Live birth -- key to much marine life -- depends upon evolution of chromosomal sex determination.Cambridge, Mass. -  A new analysis of extinct sea creatures suggests that the transition from egg-laying to live-born young opened up evolutionary pathways that allowed these ancient species to...

Published on 17 September 2009, 09:42

Categories: Genetics Sex Determination Marine Science Evolutionary Biology Marine reptiles

Scientists Use MicroRNAs to Track Evolutionary History for First Time
New Haven, Conn. — The large group of segmented worms known as annelids, which includes earthworms, leeches and bristle worms, evolved millions of years ago and can be found in every corner of the world. Although annelids are one of the most abundant animal groups on the planet, scientists...

Published on 9 September 2009, 11:28

Categories: MicroRNAs Annelids Worms Evolutionary Biology

TCD Scientists Discover Original Human Specific Genes
Discovery of Novel Genes Could Unlock Mystery of What Makes Us Uniquely Human.Six million years since we shared a common ancestor with  the chimpanzee,  researchers at Trinity College Dublin have made the first discovery of original human-specific genes.  The DNA of human and...

Published on 2 September 2009, 04:51

Categories: Chimpanzees Evolutionary Biology Genes Genetics Human

Yale Researchers Find Key ‘Conductor’ of Nature’s Synchronicity
New Haven, Conn. — Synchronicity in nature is seen in beating hearts, the flashing of fireflies’ lights, the ebb and flow of infectious disease—and the simultaneous rise and fall of populations across vast reaches of space. While scientists have identified some factors that...

Published on 23 July 2009, 14:04

Categories: Ecology Evolutionary Biology Nature’s Synchronicity Synchronicity

A global model for the origin of species independent of geographical isolation
During the 150th anniversary of the "Origin of Species," a modern approach to the formation of diverse species is developed without boundaries and ecosystem niches.The tremendous diversity of life continues to puzzle scientists, long after the 200 years since Charles Darwin’s...

Published on 17 July 2009, 13:27

Categories: Evolutionary Biology Speciation Species

Researchers Discover Evolutionary Event Underlying the Origin of Dachshunds, Other Dogs With Short Legs
Surprising Findings May Yield Insights Into Human Developmental Disorders. A single evolutionary event appears to explain the short, curved legs that characterize all of today’s dachshunds, corgis, basset hounds and at least 16 other breeds of dogs, a team led by the National Human Genome...

Published on 16 July 2009, 13:49

Categories: Dachshunds Dogs Evolutionary Biology FGF4 Genomics Short-legged dogs

Battle of the sexes ends in stalemate over bringing up the kids
Parents compensate for a lazy partner by working harder to bring up their offspring, but not enough to completely make up for the lack of parenting, says research by bird biologists at the University of Bath and Bristol.In nature, it is quite rare for both parents to be involved in raising young,...

Published on 6 July 2009, 08:20

Categories: Birds Evolutionary Biology Parental care Sexual conflict

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