Evolution

Two newly described fossil whales---a pregnant female and a male of the same species--reveal how primitive whales gave birth and provide new insights into how whales made the transition from land to…

Show Me The Science Month Day 7 The birth of new species always involves a barrier to cross-breeding between two different groups of the same species. This barrier may start out as a geographical…

If you have not already chosen your new love, researchers suggest you stay away from those with big chins as they have a tendency to cheat. Researchers from four universities across the US and Canada…

Show Me The Science Month Day 6 Yesterday we discussed the discovery of a gene that keeps mouse subspecies from producing fertile hybrid offspring. In other words, a gene that is putting a…

Show Me The Science Month Day 5 Speciation Genetics is, in a sense, an oxymoron. Genetics is the study of heritable characteristics, but the researchers who study speciation genetics are looking for…

The alumni magazines that come to my house rarely get much more than a quick glance, but this month the Rochester Review has an interesting interview with H. Allen Orr, one of the leading…

Looking for more evolution blogging? Check out the eighth edition of Carnival of Evolution at Biochemical Soul. There is great stuff on fossils, genes, parasites, antibiotics, and Darwin, so head on…

Show Me The Science Month Day 4 How did we become human? You can ask the same question in a slightly different way: how did we become different from chimps?  Although the common ancestor that we…

On the bicentennial of Charles Darwin's birthday in February 2009, biology and medicine find themselves in crisis.  The promise of stem cell therapy has the potential to dramatically improve…

Show Me The Science Day 3 Reproduction involves some tricky trade-offs for all species, and anyone who has watched a David Attenborough film knows that you can find a wide range of reproductive…