Much of the genome is made up of repetitive DNA sequences that trace back to ancient mobile elements, many of which have lost ...

In the 1960s, Kimura’s neutral theory revolutionized molecular biology by arguing most DNA changes are random, not adaptive. A new study finds beneficial mutations are far more common than Kimura’s ...

A major research study is challenging one of evolution’s most influential ideas: that most genetic changes that become permanent are essentially neutral. Researchers at the University of Michigan ...

College students spend anywhere from 12 to 18 hours per week in a lecture hall. Their eyes wander across their computer. They sort their to-do list, complete the Wordle and text their friends. In the ...

Step into most college classrooms today and you will likely see a familiar scene: slides glowing at the front, a professor lecturing, students scribbling notes or staring at laptops. Despite decades ...

What can molecular data tell us about the history of life? This course provides a review of current knowledge in molecular evolution, with attention to evolutionary theory, the patterns and mechanisms ...

Even Charles Darwin was puzzled by the evolution of the vertebrate eye. New research suggests that it traces back to a cyclopean invertebrate with a single eye atop the head. By Carl Zimmer Look at ...

The molecular clock theory posits that genetic changes happen steadily and gradually, offering a reliable means for peering into the past and theorizing when complex life first emerged. However, there ...

This has been quite the wild year in human evolution stories. Our relatives, living and extinct, got a lot of attention—from new developments in ape cognition to an expanded perspective of a ...

A major evolutionary theory says most genetic changes don’t really matter, but new evidence suggests that’s not true. Researchers found that helpful mutations happen surprisingly often. The twist is ...