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Evolution

04/30/2018 / By Edsel Cook

Genetic data shed light on how soil microbes survive nutrient-deficient environments

For the longest time, researchers have puzzled over the process that allows microbes to grow within the phosphorus-poor soil found in tropical rainforests. A recent study of their genetic data revealed that these microbes possess a higher amount of genes that specialize in getting the vital mineral, according to a NewsWise article. Tropical soils are […]

03/20/2018 / By Edsel Cook

Plants “adapt or die” too: Study finds botanical defense mechanisms evolve based on herbivores’ immunity to chemical toxins

“Adapt or die,” said the late Andy Grove, the founder of computer chip maker Intel who escaped Communist Hungary as a young man. A new study suggested plants adhere to the same dictum, adapting and discarding defenses according to what works best for the situation at hand, reported a ScienceDaily article. Researchers from the Academy […]

01/06/2018 / By Isabelle Z.

GM nightmare unfolds: Humans have created a MONSTER MOSQUITO that can now RESIST the pesticides meant to kill them

Getting bit by mosquitoes is never fun, and it can be downright deadly if they happen to be carrying diseases like malaria. Mankind’s quest to keep this nuisance under control, however well-meaning it may be, appears to have had the opposite of its intended effect as a new study shows how mosquitoes have evolved a […]

12/07/2017 / By Michelle Simmons

The evolution of body size: New study explores how height and weight of humans has changed over time

Have you ever wondered why people are of different heights and weights? A new large-scale study attempted to answer this by exploring the evolutionary patterns in humans. For the study, researchers from the University of Cambridge analyzed the height and weight of 311 hominin specimens, the ancestral lineage of which Homo sapiens alone still exist, dating from […]

11/27/2017 / By Frances Bloomfield

Scientists look at how human activity has altered evolution in the natural world: The consequences of exploding populations of rats, bedbugs, mosquitoes in cities

Nature may no longer be the primary force impacting evolution. A duo of researchers from the University of Toronto and Fordham University have put out a revolutionary new study on the evolutionary influence of urbanization. The study, which was published in Science, serves as a grim reminder on how far-reaching man’s power truly is. For […]

11/13/2017 / By Janine Acero

A “bat signal” for bees? Scientists have discovered that common garden flowers have an “invisible blue halo” for attracting bees

What was thought to be a disorder in petal surfaces of certain flowers turned out to be an ingenious adaptation to attract bumblebees which are usually found hanging around flowers with more blue and purple hues, scientists discovered. The discovery came as a shock to the scientists when they found out, after some tests, that […]

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