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By comparing variations in the coat colors of eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in Montreal city parks, researchers found that hyperlocal conditions appear to play a bigger role in shaping wildlife traits than previously thought.
Evolution is driven by changes in DNA that sometimes promote adaptation, altering traits like disease resistance or reproduction. Often, these changes are minuscule, modifying a single letter in the DNA code—somewhat like altering a single letter on one page of a long book.
How are species boundaries maintained in the face of environmental disturbance? This is not only a fundamental question in evolutionary biology but also an increasingly important one as human activities and climate change alter habitats and bring previously separated species into contact.
About 66 million years ago, the asteroid that ended the age of the dinosaurs paved the way for a spectacular expansion of new animal species. During this period, ants rose to ecological dominance. Today, they form the largest family of social insects, with more than 15,000 species worldwide.
In the first detailed chromosome map of the aardwolf, Texas A&M University researchers have discovered that, despite millions of years of separate evolution, the chromosomes of aardwolves, other hyenas and even domestic cats have remained remarkably similar.
As the climate changes, species face a critical question: Can they evolve quickly enough to keep pace with their changing environment?
Most primate species have relatively large brains with surfaces marked by pronounced bulges and furrows. This is not the case with common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). The brains of these small monkeys are smooth and virtually unfolded.
A spore is a bacterium's survival capsule: dried almost solid and wrapped in protein armor, with its chemical processes shut down. Bacteria enter this state of hibernation when environmental conditions are unfavorable. What's left is close to indestructible: It can survive boiling, desiccation, radiation and the vacuum
Scientists at Cornell University have found a human genetic element in a poxvirus and discovered that it is both an important gene for brain function and a jumping gene capable of moving and inserting itself into genomes. A study published in Science reports that the gene, called BC200, combines characteristics never b
Orangutan infants spend their first eight years with their mothers, and throughout this time, they can draw on their knowledge. After that, however, orangutans are entirely on their own. To fare well as independent orangutans, infants need to learn many survival skills, arguably the most important of which are feeding
Every time a cell divides, its chromosomes must be distributed correctly between the two daughter cells. Central to this process is the centromere, a specialized region of the chromosome. The centromere serves as the attachment site for the cellular machinery that pulls the chromosomes apart.
The development of treatment resistance is one of the key challenges in modern cancer and antibiotic therapy. New therapeutic approaches aim to curb the spread of resistance through the targeted timing of treatment cycles.
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