Evolution

Extra copies of genetic material appear to have boosted the survival of flowering plants during Earth's major environmental crises, including the event that wiped out the dinosaurs.

3 Mwezi wa tano, 2026 Imeripotiwa na AI

New research shows that malaria pushed early human populations away from high-risk areas in sub-Saharan Africa over the past 74,000 years. This fragmentation influenced genetic diversity and population structures. The study highlights disease as a key evolutionary force alongside climate.

More than 700 fossils from the Jiangchuan Biota in Yunnan Province, southwest China, dating 554-539 million years ago in the late Ediacaran, include early relatives of starfish, acorn worms, deuterostomes, and other bilaterians. Led by Dr. Gaorong Li of Yunnan University, the discovery—after nearly a decade of fieldwork—challenges the suddenness of the Cambrian explosion by showing diverse animal communities predated it. The results, published in Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.adu2291), feature exceptionally preserved carbonaceous films revealing fine details like digestive systems.

1 Mwezi wa nne, 2026 Imeripotiwa na AI

Researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology have revealed how squid and cuttlefish survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction by retreating to oxygen-rich deep-sea refuges. Their analysis of newly sequenced genomes shows these cephalopods originated in the deep ocean over 100 million years ago, followed by rapid diversification into shallow waters. The findings, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, provide the first comprehensive evolutionary tree for decapodiform cephalopods.