A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by scientists from Israel and Ghana shows that an evolutionarily significant mutation in the human APOL1 gene arises not ...

The model does not rely on the infinite sites approximation (that a specific mutation newly arises in only one cell at any instant) in contrast to related models. The results become increasingly ...

For a long time, evolutionary biologists have thought that the genetic mutations that drive the evolution of genes and proteins are largely neutral: they're neither good nor bad, but just ordinary ...

Multicopy plasmids are widespread in nature and compose a common strategy for spreading beneficial traits across microbes. However, the role of plasmids in supporting the evolution of encoded genes ...

How do cells know what they should become as the body develops? Biological development depends crucially on spatial patterns: the lines that eventually give rise to segments, organs, or markings like ...

Mitochondria are known as the body’s “energy factories,” and their function is essential for life. Inside mitochondria, a set of complexes called the oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) system ...

Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: In the 1960s, Kimura’s neutral theory revolutionized molecular biology by arguing most DNA changes are random, not adaptive. A new study finds ...

A major evolutionary theory says most genetic changes don’t really matter, but new evidence suggests that’s not true. Researchers found that helpful mutations happen surprisingly often. The twist is ...

Researchers published a new study, “Ongoing chromothripsis underpins osteosarcoma genome complexity and clonal evolution,” in Cell that they say solves the mystery of what drives the genomic ...

Researchers have found that a genetic mutation associated with a rare group of blood cancers does not always result in ...