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How gene swapping helped build the planet's decomposers
How gene swapping helped build the planet's decomposers Sadie Harley Scientific Editor Alexander Pol Deputy Editor Decomposers are crucial for keeping Earth habitable, breaking down dead biomass and returning key nutrients, such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, to the ecosystem. Most decomposers, including fungi, survive through osmotrophy—a means of feeding by absorbing dissolved nutrients rather than engulfing prey. But how this method of feeding repeatedly arose across the eukaryotic...
A lack of sex held back life's diversity for millions of years, fossil study finds
A lack of sex held back life's diversity for millions of years, fossil study finds Sadie Harley Scientific Editor Robert Egan Associate Editor The way that Earth's first animals reproduced held back life's diversity for millions of years, until stress and competition led to the development of sexual reproduction, which in turn accelerated the pace of evolution. Researchers from the University of Cambridge studied fossils from the oldest-known animals on Earth, dating from 574 million years...
Epigenetic changes can be inherited without changing DNA in animals
Epigenetic changes can be inherited without changing DNA in animals Gaby Clark Scientific Editor Robert Egan Associate Editor Typically, the information encoded in DNA allows organisms to develop, function, and pass traits across generations. Yet DNA alone does not explain how genes are switched on and off in different cells and environments. This regulation is partly controlled by other factors called epigenetics, such as DNA methylation, a chemical modification that can influence gene...
Nine decades of changing insect diversity in Switzerland expose a striking divide
Nine decades of changing insect diversity in Switzerland expose a striking divide Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Robert Egan Associate Editor Thanks to a historical data archive, Swiss researchers are able to draw conclusions about the changes in the diversity of two insect groups over the past 90 years. The study, led by Agroscope, identified a significant decline in butterflies and deadwood beetle species around the middle of the 20th century. These groups live predominantly in agricultural...
Bird masturbation appears natural across 120 species, challenging long-held veterinary advice
Bird masturbation appears natural across 120 species, challenging long-held veterinary advice Sadie Harley Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor New research has found that masturbation among bird species, including parrots, is natural, despite prevailing assumptions that it is a harmful behavior in response to environmental factors. Published in Ecology and Evolution, the study is the first of its kind, and challenges current approaches among vets and animal practitioners. Masturbation...
Enemies, more than sex, shape butterfly post-mating odor evolution
Not all odors influencing mating behavior evolve as sex pheromones. Female butterflies' post-mating odors have been considered species-specific anti-aphrodisiac pheromones shaped by sexual selection but may also serve broader ecological roles shaped by natural selection. Males transfer odors to females that repel rivals, yet the widespread use of these compounds across phyla makes them targets for eavesdropping, such as by phoretic egg parasitoids.
Earth's first animals barely evolved until sex changed everything
Earth's first animals barely evolved until sex changed everything - Date: - June 10, 2026 - Source: - University of Cambridge - Summary: - Earth’s earliest animals may have held evolution back because they reproduced asexually, creating low-competition communities that changed very little over time. When environmental pressures pushed them toward sexual reproduction, biodiversity exploded and evolution accelerated dramatically.
Whole-genome duplication shaped cell-type evolution in the vertebrate brain
Abstract The complex brains of vertebrates have more cell types than those of their closest relatives. Whole-genome duplications (WGDs) occurred during early vertebrate evolution1, but it is unclear whether the duplicated genes (ohnologues) facilitated cell-type evolution. Here using brain single-cell transcriptomes from five chordates—human2, mouse3, lizard4, lamprey5 and amphioxus—we report that many cell-type families with conserved core transcription factors in vertebrates do not show...
Daddy longlegs may be capturing and devouring frogs in the tropical forests of South America
Daddy longlegs may be capturing and devouring frogs in the tropical forests of South America Daddy longlegs have been observed eating frogs in South America, suggesting that these arachnids may be predators of vertebrates. Daddy longlegs have been spotted devouring live frogs bigger than themselves in the tropical forests of South America, a new study reports. And this behavior might be more common than scientists expected.
These California wildflowers could save other plants
These California wildflowers could save other plants Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor As wildflowers go, the mountain jewelflower is demure, clever and quietly unbreakable. It has spread across many of California's iconic landscapes, from Sonoma wine country to the oak-dotted foothills, even over the Sierra Crest, where snow covers the ground during winter. "It seems at first glance like it could grow just about anywhere," said Jennifer Gremer, an associate professor in...