When Charles Darwin first proposed how evolution works in 1859, it seemed plausible. Tiny changes stack up over time, eventually leading a species to become something entirely different. Aside from ...

A giant DNA virus pulled from a Japanese freshwater pond is forcing scientists to rethink how complex cells first acquired their defining feature: the nucleus. Named ushikuvirus, the newly ...

From a century-old tooth in Egypt to genomic maps spanning continents, scientists are unlocking the hidden stories of human migration and evolution. Advances in ancient DNA extraction and ...

Some 4,000 years ago, as ancient civilizations such as the Minoans in Crete and the Neo-Sumerian Empire in Mesopotamia were shaping cultures in Europe and the Middle East, human biology itself was ...

Millions of tons of plastic waste accumulate in landfills and oceans every year. One promising response is to engineer ...

A tiny switch in DNA allows neurons to change their function depending on the environment and alter behavior in worms.

Scientists at the University of Vienna, Austria, have screened great ape specimens obtained from natural history museums to identify DNA viruses. This groundbreaking study provides unique insights ...