Biology

Our bodies are a genetic patchwork, possessing variation from cell to cell. Is that a good thing?

Despite swapping DNA through interbreeding, butterflies and other animals can maintain distinct species.

Bacteria may have helped single-celled organisms make the leap to multicellular animals.

Newly discovered patterns in evolution may help scientists make accurate short-term predictions.

Newly discovered specimens support a more ancient origin for viruses, perhaps all the way back to the origins of life.

An insight borrowed from computer science suggests that evolution values both fitness and diversity.

A new theory suggests that cooperation between a host and its microbes may be a significant evolutionary force.

Is the random noise inside a cell a nuisance, or have cells evolved ways to put it to work?

By comparing the genomes of social and solitary bees, scientists hope to uncover the basis for communal behavior.