The present theory offers a unified solution to three closely related evolutionary problems. (1) Why does an evolving population explore only a small fraction of the accessible pathways in genotype ...

Conventional wisdom holds that sexual reproduction evolved because it enables organisms to shuffle, or recombine, different alleles (versions of a gene) in the next generation, producing the genetic ...

Evidence is mounting that epigenetic marks on DNA can influence future generations in a variety of ways. But how such phenomena might affect large-scale evolutionary processes is hotly debated. The ...

Understanding biological relationships is often critical when studying animal populations. Researchers have now developed a transformative approach that identifies stretches of DNA that two ...

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Why Trust Us? For years, scientists have split neoaves (which make up 95 percent of bird species) ...