Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biology have discovered a remarkably streamlined strategy for developmental ...
Why, after millions of years of evolution, do organisms build structures that seemingly serve no purpose? A new study investigates the evolutionary reasons why organisms go through developmental ...
Life is ubiquitous on Earth and appears in a diversity of forms. But what characteristics do organisms have? What makes them alive? This activity explores that question. In the first part of the ...
Why, then, would you choose to have sex with another organism, a process that immediately cuts your genetic legacy by half? One answer is that sex, in which genes are mixed and reshuffled, gets rid of ...
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Nature is full of fascinating adaptations. Asexual reproduction—the ability to reproduce without a mate––is one of them. This process involves a single parent organism producing genetically identical ...
Everything in life is about sex and money. And now that I have your attention, let me explain. That phrase was one that I often used when presenting key concepts to my biology and marine science ...
If you’ve ever had a spiny leaf insect as a pet, or you’re considering getting one, hopefully someone has warned you about this: if you put one in your enclosure, you might come back some time later ...
Understanding the differences between bacteria and viruses is crucial for recognizing how these microorganisms impact our health. While both are microscopic and can cause infections, they differ ...
Snakes exhibit a fascinating diversity of reproductive strategies, including egg-laying (oviparity), live birth (viviparity), and a combination of both (ovoviviparity). They utilize pheromones for ...
A study on Lepraria lichens found they possess genes for sexual reproduction despite being thought entirely asexual. This challenges long-held beliefs and raises questions about their reproductive ...
Microorganisms — bacteria, viruses and other tiny life forms — may drive biological variation in visible life as much, if not more, than genetic mutations, creating new lineages and even new species ...