Plants are fast-tracking their own evolution by "plugging in" genetic code stolen from their neighbors, according to new research that reveals the secret to their own successful genetic engineering.

From epic poetry to game shows, from Stone Age axes to spaceflight, humans have the most complex cultures of any species on Earth. Since the time of Darwin, scientists have suspected that this culture ...

Discover the latest news, features and articles about the origin of the human species and what makes us different from our ...

Findings suggest that new genes can form by repurposing fragments of ancestral genes while incorporating entirely new coding regions (the protein-coding parts of the DNA). This innovative concept ...

Centromeres play virtually the same central role across the entire tree of life: They ensure the faithful segregation of chromosomes during cell division. Yet the striking diversity in centromere ...

Researchers Gregory Goldman, Gregory Fournier, and Betul Kacar have identified a rare class of ancient gene families, called ...

Tree genome evolution is a fascinating area in the study of biodiversity and ecosystem stability. Trees, with their distinctive life history traits, such as ...

Study argues to move beyond ‘reading genes’ — focus on conserved neural-development networks in humans to improve early screening and identify therapeutic leads.

Evolution of the mouse [Beta] globin complex locus / M.H. Edgell, S.C. Hardies, B. Brown, C. Voliva, A. Hill, S. Phillips, M. Comer, F. Burton, S. Weaver, and C.A ...