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evolution

Abstractions blog

The Mystery of Mistletoe’s Missing Genes

By Christie Wilcox
December 21, 2020
Read Later

Mistletoes have all but shut down the powerhouses of their cells. Scientists are still trying to understand the plants’ unorthodox survival strategy.

Illustration of a blue tiger.
Abstractions blog

How Neutral Theory Altered Ideas About Biodiversity

By Christie Wilcox
December 8, 2020
Read Later

The simple insight that most changes are random had a profound effect on genetics, evolution and ecology.

Looping video that shows transformations between African cichlid species.
Abstractions blog

New Fish Data Reveal How Evolutionary Bursts Create Species

By Elena Renken
December 1, 2020
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In three bursts of adaptive change, one species of cichlid fish in Lake Tanganyika gave rise to hundreds.

Colorized micrograph of a cell’s nucleus, showing euchromatin and heterochromatin.
Abstractions blog

Scientists Find Vital Genes Evolving in Genome’s Junkyard

By Viviane Callier
November 16, 2020
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Even genes essential for life can be caught in an evolutionary arms race that forces them to change or be replaced.

ecology

A Physicist’s Approach to Biology Brings Ecological Insights

By Gabriel Popkin
October 13, 2020
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The physicist Jeff Gore tests theories about microbe communities experimentally and finds new rules governing ecological stability.

Close-up photo of a carpenter ant queen carrying eggs.
evolution

How Two Became One: Origins of a Mysterious Symbiosis Found

By Viviane Callier
September 9, 2020
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Carpenter ants need endosymbiotic bacteria to guide the early development of their embryos. New work has reconstructed how this deep partnership evolved.

Illustration of two fantastical creatures. One lifts an urn in its arms. The other lacks arms but lifts the urn on its tail.
evolution

By Losing Genes, Life Often Evolved More Complexity

By Viviane Callier
September 1, 2020
Read Later

Recent major surveys show that reductions in genomic complexity — including the loss of key genes — have successfully shaped the evolution of life throughout history.

Photo of 12 petri dishes holding brightly colored fungi.
Abstractions blog

‘Zombie’ Microbes Redefine Life’s Energy Limits

By Jordana Cepelewicz
August 12, 2020
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A new model shows that the denizens of a vast, ancient biome beneath the seafloor use barely enough energy to stay alive — and broadens understanding of what life can look like.

Photo of one of the Russian sturgeon-paddlefish hybrids called sturddlefish.
Abstractions blog

Extra DNA May Make Unlikely Hybrid Fish Possible

By Christie Wilcox
August 5, 2020
Read Later

The unintentional creation of “sturddlefish” hybrids may illuminate the genomic mechanisms that govern whether species can interbreed.


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