Evolution

The first animal genus defined purely by genetic characters represents a new era for the sorting and naming of animals.

How much stock should we put in mathematical models of evolution that have not been validated by rigorous empirical data?

Gene-sequence data is changing the way that botanists think about their classification schemes. A recent name-change for a common houseplant resulted from the discovery that it belonged in an overlooked genus.

Evolutionary stories like the grandmother hypothesis are easy to construct from mathematical models, but how well do they reflect reality?

Evolution may have coopted an ancient metabolic mechanism to set social insects on the path toward one of the most puzzling behaviors found in nature.

Some species have the equivalent of many more than two sexes, but most do not. A new model suggests the reason depends on how often they mate.

New results emerging from graph theory prove that the way a population is organized can guarantee the eventual triumph of natural selection — or permanently thwart it.

Elastic springs help tiny animals stay fast and strong. New work is finding what size critters must be to benefit from the springs.

Life needs more than water alone. Recent discoveries suggest that plate tectonics has played a critical role in nourishing life on Earth. The findings carry major consequences for the search for life elsewhere in the universe.