Gene duplication events in European eels have restored cell membrane permeability for urea and boric acid through mutated aquaporin genes. “The aromatic/arginine (ar/R) selectivity filter is a narrow ...

When cells divide and chromosomes are replicated for the daughter cells in a select type of cell called the germline, which is happening constantly in living things, sometimes things don’t go ...

A new study reveals how the duplication of the salivary amylase gene may not only have helped shape human adaptation to starchy foods, but may have occurred as far back as more than 800,000 years ago, ...

Data from a new study links a pair of duplicated genes to human brain features. The research provides a roadmap for scientists to gain a deeper understanding of brain function and evolution, as well ...

Scientists have uncovered a 400-million-year-old genetic secret that gave spiders the ability to produce silk and weave their webs. Spiders didn't begin their journey on Earth in the same way as they ...

Angiosperms, also known as flowering plants, represent the most diverse group of seed plants, and their origin and evolution have long been a central question in plant evolutionary biology.

A recent paper provides an updated perspective on the evolutionary history of chelicerates—a diverse and ecologically significant group of arthropods that includes spiders, scorpions, mites, and ...

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 ...