A new University of California San Diego study published in Cell challenges a long-standing assumption about how animal viruses become capable of sparking human epidemics and pandemics. Using a ...

Evolution is traditionally associated with a process of increasing complexity and gaining new genes. However, the explosion of the genomic era shows that gene loss and simplification is a much more ...

The ability to tolerate toxic substances can help animals find new food sources and thrive in certain ecological niches. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena have now ...

This volume is based on the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium of the National Academy of Sciences, “In the Light of Evolution I: Adaptation and Complex Design,” held December 1-2, 2006, at the Arnold and ...

Humans are fundamentally technological creatures. We depend on the manufacture and use of tools for our survival to a degree qualitatively greater than any other species. Therefore, an understanding ...

Migratory birds embody some of the most intricate evolutionary adaptations in the animal kingdom, without which their journeys would be impossible. Here’s how the Pfeilstorch taught us this. In the ...

Most people know only two things about the appendix: You don’t need it – and if it bursts, you need surgery fast. That basic ...