One of the defining features of human evolution is the steady expansion of our brains. New findings suggest this growth may be partly linked to higher levels of estrogen before birth. Surprisingly, a ...

In one of the largest genetic studies of its kind, they have traced the origins of the potato blight to the Andes. The findings not only settle one of the darkest long-standing debates but also reveal ...

Coffee wilt disease has continually devastated farms around the world. Understanding the fungus’s genetics can help protect ...

In 1871, a farmer stepped off a volcanic rock in the southern Indian Ocean. For seven months, he had tried to grow crops and ...

Biologists have debated the reason why Homo sapiens evolved a prominent lower jaw, but this unique feature may actually be a by-product of other traits shaped by natural selection ...

Fragments of DNA from long-extinct human relatives still circulate in modern genomes, and in some cases they do more than ...

Your DNA is constantly changing. And if it weren’t for genetic mutations, evolution wouldn’t exist. So, what would life be like if that stopped? What causes your DNA to change? How would your life ...

Sexual selection, which can create diverse speciation as males develop attributes in competition with other males, can change the course of evolution. A 40-year-long experiment analyzed the sexual ...

With climate change steadily dismantling the icy habitat essential to their existence, new research suggests polar bears are rapidly rewiring their own genetics in a bid to survive. The species is ...

MPN-BP transformation is driven by sequential mutations disrupting genomic stability, with TP53 mutations being strong predictors of progression. TP53 mutations confer a selective growth advantage, ...

New research has uncovered the ancient origins of an urban mosquito species, Culex pipiens form molestus, also known as the 'London Underground mosquito' – disproving a long-held theory of when it ...