Evolution

Sublethal Antibiotic Doses Generate Multidrug Resistance Superbugs

When administered in lethal levels, antibiotics trigger a fatal chain reaction within  bacteria that shreds the cell's DNA. But, when the level of antibiotic is less than lethal the same reaction causes DNA mutations that are not only survivable, but ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 11 2010 - 3:54pm

Pegasus- A Load Of Horse Feathers?

Pegasus- A Load Of Horse Feathers? Evolution proceeds by producing variants of a life-form which may, or may not, thrive in their current environment.  An interesting question arises: "In an alternate history of Earth, could horses have evolved feath ...

Article - Patrick Lockerby - Feb 15 2010 - 5:54pm

Study May Solve Mystery Of Arthropod Origins

Biologists have struggled for many years to comprehend the relationships among the major groups of arthropods. Now, a team of researchers has completed new analysis of the evolutionary relationships among arthropods, which may answer many questions that de ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 8 2010 - 7:02pm

Biologists Say Natural Selection Acts On Gene Networks

Natural selection – the force that drives evolution – acts not only on whole organisms and individual genes, but also on gene networks, according to a new study appearing in Nature this week.The finding suggests that natural selection is both more powerful ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 17 2010 - 2:10pm

Darwinian Rock-Paper-Scissors Leads To New Lizard Species

A new study in PNAS of the side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana) may bolster the idea that 'morphs', morphologically distinct types often found within species, could be the raw material for speciation. Previous research has shown that competiti ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 18 2010 - 1:46pm

Confusions On Evolution, Creationism, And Falsifiability

Assorted creationists claim variously that creation theories are falsifiable and that evolutionary theories are not falsifiable. Here, I want to quickly point out a few flaws that I see in their arguments. I will discuss these issues in a more general mann ...

Article - Adam Retchless - Feb 22 2010 - 8:05pm

Gene Networks And Natural Selection

Life can be brutal for yeast in the wild. You don't know where your next meal is coming from or what form it's going to take. The key to being a successful yeast is to be metabolically agile, able to switch your metabolic state quickly based on t ...

Article - Michael White - Feb 22 2010 - 1:43pm

Scientists Quantify Beak Variation In Darwin's Finches

Writing in the Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, Harvard University researchers say they have demonstrated that simple changes in beak length and depth can explain the important morphological diversity of all beak shapes within the famous ge ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 8 2010 - 7:03pm

Study Confirms Red Queen Hypothesis, Biologists Say

Researchers who observed viruses as they evolved to infect bacteria say they have confirmed the Red Queen Hypothesis, the idea that competing species drive molecular evolution through natural selection for adaptation and counter-adaptation. The team used h ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 25 2010 - 11:51am

Promiscuous Females May Be Key To Species' Survival

Promiscuous females may be the key to a species' survival, according to new research published today in Current Biology. The study may explain why females of most species have multiple mates, despite this being more risky for the individual. Known as ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 8 2010 - 7:03pm