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Which animals are evolving fastest?The "fastest evolving vertebrate" title is hotly contested, but here are a few contenders.
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'I have never written of a stranger organ': The rise of the placenta and how it helped make us human"Human evolution has occurred both due to, and in spite of, the placenta. Every pregnancy, unthinkingly, must navigate a careful path through it. Every menstruation is testament to it. It is partly why menopause exists, to give individuals an escape from the energetic costs associated with its imposition."
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Ancient relative of 'living fossil' fish reveals that geological activity supercharges evolutionThe ancient coelacanth, which has existed for some 419 million years, never stopped evolving despite its reputation as a "living fossil." A new discovery reveals that it evolved faster when plate tectonics were most active.
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How fast does evolution happen?Measuring the pace of evolution is tricky, but some species can evolve as quickly as a few generations.
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Defense system common to all life came from 'Asgard'Defense systems found in all complex life, including the human body, came from primeval microbes known as 'Asgards.'
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What is the 'tree of life'?The tree of life maps out the relationships between all living things, and it's in constant flux.
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Continental collision 2.1 billion years ago may have sparked '1st attempt' at complex life on EarthResearchers have laid out the case for complex life evolving 2.1 billion years ago, but not everyone is convinced it started so early.
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Last Chance Lake: The unusual 'soda lake' with conditions that may have given rise to life on EarthScientists consider Last Chance Lake to be an analog for lakes that may have existed on Earth 4 billion years ago and contained the ingredients for early life on our planet.
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Y chromosome is evolving faster than the X, primate study revealsThe male Y chromosome in humans is evolving faster than the X. Scientists have now discovered the same trend in six species of primate.
