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A green and white fish swimming underwater
Rockfish Genes Hold Clues to Human Longevity
By analyzing the genomes of 23 remarkably long-lived fish species, a study found two metabolic pathways associated with longevity.
Rockfish Genes Hold Clues to Human Longevity
Rockfish Genes Hold Clues to Human Longevity

By analyzing the genomes of 23 remarkably long-lived fish species, a study found two metabolic pathways associated with longevity.

By analyzing the genomes of 23 remarkably long-lived fish species, a study found two metabolic pathways associated with longevity.

phylogenetics

A mesquite tree in an arid environment
Climate Change May Favor Nitrogen-Fixing Plants
Andy Carstens | Oct 17, 2022 | 2 min read
Aridity appears to configure landscapes with a greater diversity of plant species that rely on symbiotic bacteria for nitrogen.
The structure of a biological cell (macro)
The Long and Winding Road to Eukaryotic Cells
Amanda Heidt | Oct 17, 2022 | 10+ min read
Despite recent advances in the study of eukaryogenesis, much remains unresolved about the origin and evolution of the most complex domain of life.
Illustration showing the path result of Eukaryogenesis
Infographic: Evolutionary Leaps Leading to Modern Eukaryotes
Amanda Heidt | Oct 17, 2022 | 2 min read
A lot happened in the hundreds of millions years separating the first and last eukaryotic common ancestors, but when and how most features arose remains a mystery.
Tree with many scattered branches.
Scientists Resurrect Ancient Rubiscos to Understand Their Evolution
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Oct 14, 2022 | 5 min read
A team proposes that the addition of a small accessory subunit to the carbon-fixing enzyme was key to improving its catalytic properties and specificity to CO2.
Green frog in trees with green leaves
For Frogs, Bigger Brains Mean Worse Camouflage
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Aug 23, 2022 | 3 min read
Frogs invest in cognitive capacity to avoid predators—up until there are too many hungry snakes around for the evolutionary strategy to pay off.
A yellow-orange, translucent artist's rendition of a yunnanozoan, an ancient wormlike fish, that highlights the arches that make up its cartilage skeleton.
This Simple Fish May Have Been One of the First Vertebrates
Dan Robitzski | Jul 7, 2022 | 5 min read
A fossil analysis suggests that the yunnanozoan, a wormlike fish that flourished around 520 million years ago, sported structures that were the precursors of the head and jaws of modern vertebrates.
scanning electron microscope image of clawlike microscopic organisms on a smoother surface
Phyla of Tiny Filter Feeders Find a New Spot on the Tree of Life
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Jul 6, 2022 | 5 min read
A new study using fairly complete genetic datasets of two phyla of small suspension feeders (Ectoprocta and Entoprocta) reopens the debate on the phylogenetic relationships between them and other animals.
Illustration of a DNA virus sneaking genetic material into a host’s nucleus
Infographic: Possible Mechanisms of Gene Transfer in Eukaryotes
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Jul 5, 2022 | 6 min read
Genetic studies have made it clear that eukaryotic horizontal gene transfer can and does happen. Exactly how, though, remains speculative.
Cow image
Slideshow: Examples of Eukaryotic Horizontal Gene Transfer
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Jul 5, 2022 | 4 min read
Horizontally transferred genes play significant roles in eukaryotic genomes
Landscape illustration
Horizontal Gene Transfer Happens More Often Than Anyone Thought
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Jul 5, 2022 | 10+ min read
DNA passed to and from all kinds of organisms, even across kingdoms, has helped shape the tree of life, to a large and undisputed degree in microbes and also unexpectedly in multicellular fungi, plants, and animals.
Black and white photo of excavation<br><br>
Black Death Likely Originated in Central Asia
Andy Carstens | Jun 15, 2022 | 5 min read
Genetic testing of people who died in Kyrgyzstan eight years before plague reached Europe reveals an ancient strain of the bacterium Yersinia pestis.
Photo of fish in the Haemulidae family
Fish Are Chattier Than Previously Thought
Connor Lynch | May 2, 2022 | 5 min read
Once thought to be silent, fish turn out to produce a range of vocalizations—so polluting the oceans with noise could pose a danger to them.
Close up photo of a wing
Unearthing the Evolutionary Origins of Insect Wings
Jef Akst | Apr 4, 2022 | 6 min read
A handful of new studies moves the needle toward a consensus on the long-disputed question of whether insect wings evolved from legs or from the body wall, but the devil is in the details.
Photo of a Jewel beetle <em>(Sternocera aequisignata)</em>.
Why Are Some Beetles Shiny? It’s Not What Researchers Thought
Connor Lynch | Mar 1, 2022 | 4 min read
The glossy shell of some beetles, it has long been speculated, helps hide the insects from predators. A recent paper put the hypothesis to the test—and found it wanting.
stone panel depicting a horselike animal led by ropes around the neck
Ancient Mesopotamians Bred Horselike Hybrids
Chris Baraniuk | Jan 14, 2022 | 4 min read
A genomics study reveals the parentage of a long-mysterious creature called a kunga, the earliest-known hybrid animal bred by humans.
5 images related to stories highlighted in the article, including DNA strand, insect, and dog
Our Favorite Genetics Stories of 2021
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Dec 23, 2021 | 4 min read
Studies The Scientist covered this year illustrate the expanding importance of genetic and genomic research in all aspects of life science, from ecology to medicine.
The man-of-war fish (Nomeus gronovii), a species of medusafish, near the tentacles of a siphonophore.
Medusafishes Are Grouped by Shared, Odd Traits: Study
Devin A. Reese, PhD | Dec 1, 2021 | 2 min read
Shared features, such as thick, slimy skin and a throat filled with teeth, suggest that medusafishes are all related.
a colorful ctenophore/comb jelly swimming
Genome Spotlight: California Sea Gooseberry (Hormiphora californensis)
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Nov 24, 2021 | 3 min read
The first chromosome-level genome assembly for a ctenophore may allow scientists to finally resolve the roots of the animal family tree.
A scanning electron micrograph of the picozoan Picomonas judraskeda
Picozoans Are Algae After All: Study
Christie Wilcox, PhD | May 6, 2021 | 5 min read
Phylogenomics data place the enigmatic plankton in the middle of the algal family tree, despite their apparent lack of plastids—an organelle characteristic of all other algae.
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