Evolution in Biological News

Climate-caused biodiversity booms and busts in ancient plants and mammals

... said Stucky, who is curator of paleoecology and evolution at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Some 30 ... climate continued to influence mammal and plant evolution as savanna habitats began to emerge. Until ... played only a background role in supporting the evolution of mammals during the Paleocene and Eocene (65 ...

Beautiful plumage: Feather color and sex start the species revolution

... highlighted research providing evidence for the evolution of a new species. Birds use plumage colour to ... genetic difference can potentially lead to the evolution of new species. Two Monarcha castaneiventris ... of incipient speciation: the beginning of the evolution of new species. Other flycatchers in the Solomon ...

Freshwater fish at the top of the food chain evolve more slowly

... to ask was: What is the interplay between the evolution of diet and the evolution of form?" says Collar. To find out, the ... were published in the June 2009 issue of evolution . ...

Earliest animals lived in a lake environment, research shows

... Conventional wisdom has it that animal evolution began in the ocean, with animal life adapting ... and raises the exciting possibility that animal evolution first occurred in lakes and is tied to some ... other, there may have been significant parallel evolution of organisms. Now we must wait and see if ...

Ben-Gurion U. researchers reveal connection between cancer and human evolution

... "The concept that the same principles that drive evolution toward the emergence of new species govern the ... Genome Research , "We show, strikingly, that evolution repeated itself in cancer. If we better understand how evolution moved, we can understand the genetic basis of ...

7th annual [BC]2 Basel Computational Biology Conference 'Molecular Evolution' June 18-19, 2009

... of Cambridge, UK, will present on "The antigenic evolution of influenza viruses". He will describe the study ... about the "Dynamics of Phenotypic and Genomic evolution During a 40,000-Generation Experiment with E. ... He is best-known for his long-term experimental evolution project on E. coli. In his address, Professor ...

Biologists devise unifying framework to explain evolutionary puzzles

... Many scientists are trying to understand how evolution leads to this phenomenon called "extra-pair ... and cells, and the behavior of individuals. evolution looks at how organisms change over time. "These ... with Akay, is co-organizing the Function and evolution Working Group at NIMBioS. One of the world's most ...

Biologists consider unifying framework to explain evolutionary puzzles

... Many scientists are trying to understand how evolution leads to this phenomenon called "extra-pair ... and cells, and the behavior of individuals. evolution looks at how organisms change over time. "These ... with Akay, is co-organizing the Function and evolution Working Group at NIMBioS. One of the world's most ...

Saved by junk DNA

... to be useless 'junk' DNA play a vital role in the evolution of our genome. They found that unstable pieces of ... survival in the endless evolutionary race. evolution in test tubes To further test their theory, the ... when the repeat region was removed, this fast evolution was impossible. 'If this was the real world' the ...

The evolution of gene regulation

... a useful basis for more detailed studies of the evolution of regulatory systems." ( PNAS Early Edition, 22 ... whether other factors that can affect the evolution of microorganisms play a role. "Our results ... into play with minimal use of the proteins. "The evolution of regulatory systems is still barely ...

New book suggests Earth perhaps not such a benevolent mother after all

... in somewhat the same way. For example: The evolution of oxygen-producing organisms twice plunged Earth ... was stripped from the atmosphere. The evolution of the first true animals caused extinction of ... a vastly smaller volume of living matter. The evolution of the first forests 400 million years ago is ...

100 reasons to change the way we think about genetics

... thinking and leads to notions of heredity and evolution that incorporate development," they write. ... Jean Baptiste Lamarck. Lamarck, whose writings on evolution predated Charles Darwin's, believed that evolution was driven in part by the inheritance of acquired ...

Public lecture at UC Riverside to discuss origin and fate of universe

... of a second of the life of the universe to its evolution to the present time and its eventual fate will ... universe. Mobasher studies the formation and evolution of galaxies using ground based telescopes, as ... is one of the founders and leaders of the Cosmic evolution Survey (COSMOS) projects, which is the largest ...

U of Minnesota study finds high school teachers influence student views of evolution & creationism

... College students' views about evolution and creationism are often shaped by what they ... of Minnesota to learn how biology majors view evolution compared to non-majors. Results showed that the ... majors and non-majors college students accept evolution or question it based on creationism. About two ...

Darwin in a test tube

... way to do this because it allows the forces of evolution to work over the course of mere days, with a ... different species a classic concept in Darwinian evolution known as "niche partitioning," which holds that ... evolve in the test tube. The basis of this evolution comes from the fact that each time one of the ...

Unifying the animate and the inanimate designs of nature

... biologists," Bejan said. "The idea that organic evolution is analogous to the way form evolves in inanimate ... what animals would look like if you started evolution over on Earth, or it happened on another planet ... and technology evolution. "When thinking of evolution and Darwin, most people think of animals or ...

Remembrance of things past influences how female field crickets select mates

... therefore be given greater attention in models of evolution in species ranging from insects to humans." ... invertebrates the outcome of male ornament evolution may depend much more on the ability of females to ... University, N.Y., where his research covered the evolution of pollinator-host relationships in yucca plants. ...

When every photon counts

... levels. It also provides new insights into the evolution of the mammalian retina and furthers our ... the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research. evolution solved the problem by using a physical property ... rod nuclei provides new insights into the early evolution of mammals. This special arrangement of genetic ...

The story of X -- evolution of a sex chromosome

... first time the flip side of the sex chromosome evolution puzzle: The X chromosome undergoes periods of ... have opposite effects in males and females, and evolution is a tug of war between males jettisoning genes ... the male. In search of more insights into the evolution of the X chromosome, Bachtrog said she is looking ...

April 2009 Geology and GSA Today media highlights

... the region and, therefore, controlled the overall evolution of the reef complex. Understanding how ancient ... containing lead and zinc. Hydrologic evolution of the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone (Balcones ... study of its kind linking the biological evolution of endemic cave fauna with the ...

UF scientist tapped by Howard Hughes Medical Institute to pursue 'best ideas'

... whose interest in embryonic development and evolution led him to discover the molecular building blocks ... scientists." Cohn became interested in the evolution of limbs while an undergraduate at the University ... molecular basis for loss of limbs during snake evolution and the role of Hox genes in the origin of jaws ...

Texas Board of Education vote on the way evolution is taught could set national trend

... on a new science curriculum that outlines the way evolution is taught in Texas public schools. At issue is whether a teacher should raise doubts about evolution when teaching biology and other science classes. ... Intelligent Design should be taught alongside evolution in a biology classroom. ...

Optimum running speed is stride toward understanding human body form

... online March 18 in the Journal of Human evolution , shows that the efficiency of human running ... mechanics of running may also hold clues to the evolution of the modern human body form: tall and ... walking or running was more important in the evolution of the body form of the genus Homo." ...

Elephant shark genome sequence leads to discovery of color perception in deep-sea fish

... has acquired the traits for color vision during evolution in parallel with humans," said Byrappa Venkatesh, ... published in the journal Molecular Biology and evolution in March 2009, the research team reported that ... in Genome Research and Molecular Biology and evolution were generated less than two years after IMCB ...

'Undesirable' evolution can be reversed in fish, Stony Brook University scientists show

... STONY BROOK, NY, March 3, 2009 "Undesirable" evolution in fish which makes their bodies grow smaller ... Although Charles Darwin showed 150 years ago that evolution equips life forms to be better adapted to prosper in their environment, unnatural evolution caused by man's size-selective fishing is causing ...

World's top minds to celebrate 'the birth and life of beginnings'

... finest scholars have to say about the history and evolution of ideas in fields ranging from the life sciences ... creationism, the theological concept that rejects evolution as the fundamental theory of life. Numbers will speak on "The evolution of Creationism in America" on March 26. Don ...

Evolution education for K-12 teachers needs beefing up, says CU-Boulder professor

... that only about one third of Americans believe evolution is supported by scientific evidence, said ... of students regarding their understanding of evolution and natural selection, genes and traits, ... chemistry curriculum using the emergence and evolution of life as a springboard to introduce and explain ...

Biologist receives the 2008 AAAS Public Understanding of Science and Technology Award

... power of science in general, and the validity of evolution in particular, to explain the natural world," ... especially notable for its articulate emphasis on evolution as an underlying principle in the life sciences. ... the AAAS award. "Miller wrote my favorite book on evolution science and, to me, the most persuasive synthesis ...

Darwin's seminal impact on biology, anthropology, philosophy and psychology

... professors can comment on how the Father of evolution influenced biology to anthropology and philosophy ... teaches a class on the impact of the theory of evolution on philosophical thought. "Darwin demonstrated ... than based on a divine plan." The theory of evolution has a long future ahead of it and it isn't ...

Darwin's legacy in 21st century biology

... Darwin, the originator of the modern theory of evolution of species by means of natural selection. ... of Biology Dr. Rick Grosberg, Professor of evolution and Ecology, University of California Davis will ... R. Miller, Ph.D., author of Only a Theory? evolution and the Battle for America's Soul. Public lecture ...

US science education organization updates analysis

... design in the courts, and more. The evolution wars are over, right? Scopes was finally ... science to its rightful place". Wrong. evolution education is being battered every day in school ... United States the only country where teaching evolution is so controversial? Why are scientists so sure ...

Dinosaur fossils fit perfectly into the evolutionary tree of life

... has found that scientists' knowledge of the evolution of dinosaurs is remarkably complete. Evolutionary biologists use two ways to study the evolution of prehistoric plants and animals: firstly they ... tree, meaning that the current view of evolution of these creatures is very accurate. Dr ...

The Evolution of Human Aggression: Feb. 25-27 conference

... the University of Utah Feb. 25-27 to debate how evolution has shaped human aggression and violence, from ... of Utah. The conference titled "The evolution of Human Aggression: Lessons for Today's ... highlights include keynote lectures on the evolution of peacemaking among primates and the ...

Evolutionary process more detailed than previously believed, study shows

... them, Kao said. "Essentially, we were watching evolution in action," Kao said. "We're watching evolution in real time. We're actually seeing a mutation ... and expand from this adaptation. This is how evolution works. "In one of our experiments we were able ...

January-February GSA Bulletin media highlights

... the K-T extinction. Paleogene landscape evolution of the central North American Cordillera: ... for comparative analysis of the origin and evolution of similar zones in other carbonate aquifers, as ... of minibasin subsidence into salt: Clues to the evolution of crustal basins Michael R. Hudec et al., ...

Reverse evolution in real-time

... us that it wouldn't look the same the outcome of evolution is contingent on everything that came before. ... for 50 generations, to impose reverse evolution on the flies, and then looked at the genetic ... flies. Says Henrique, 'In 2001 we showed that evolution is reversible in as far as phenotypes are ...

Scripps scientists develop first examples of RNA that replicates itself indefinitely

... RNA that also could copy themselves. In Vitro evolution A few years after Tracey Lincoln arrived at ... to do the job, and carried out a test-tube evolution procedure to obtain those variants that were most ... life begins, at that key moment when Darwinian evolution starts." He is quick to point out that, while the ...

Avian flu becoming more resistant to antiviral drugs, says University of Colorado study

... on the mutations, combined with molecular evolution tests and a geographic visualization technique ... of globally distributed data to monitor the evolution of drug resistance," said Hill. The ... online in the journal Infection, Genetics and evolution . Co-authors included CU-Boulder Associate ...

Orangutan's spontaneous whistling opens new chapter in study of evolution of speech

... at Great Ape Trust of Iowa new insights into the evolution of speech and learning. In a paper published ... avenues to study certain aspects of human speech evolution in our closest relatives." Previous studies ... the main things we do not understand yet is the evolution of speech," Wich said. Wich will present the ...

Powerful online tool for protein analysis provided pro bono by Stanford geneticist

... the novel bioinformatics tool, which enlists evolution as the guide to determining the role different ... in an amino acid that has changed a lot in evolution is much less likely to be bad than a mutation that affects an amino acid in which evolution has not tolerated any change. "This type of ...