All living organisms are known to inherit genes, DNA sequences that contain instructions for producing specific proteins and ...

Ancient genes from single-celled organisms have been used to reprogram mouse cells and influence embryonic development, ...

Biologists group animals with similar traits into broad categories called orders. Despite their similarities, animal species ...

A badly crushed cranium unearthed decades ago from a riverbank in central China that once defied classification is now shaking up the human family tree, according to a new analysis. Scientists ...

UniFrac (unweighted) can be simply described as unique branches that differ two samples over shared branches (see original UniFrac paper here). Here, each sample has ...

Researchers merged genetic data from 9,239 bird species (from nearly 300 studies) plus 1,000 curated entries to build a complete, shareable evolutionary tree. Published in PNAS and integrated into the ...

Accurate phylogenetic reconstruction is crucial for understanding evolutionary relationships and biodiversity. Despite advances in molecular systematics, the relationships within Pandanales—which ...

Left, a fossilized thecamoebian believed to have lived 720-635 mya. Right, a specimen from a group of modern amoebozoan testate amoebae (images: Luana Morais and João Alcino) According to the ...

Microbial communities are found throughout the biosphere, from human guts to glaciers, from soil to activated sludge. Understanding the statistical properties of such diverse communities can pave the ...

Phylogenetic placement refers to a family of tools and methods to analyze, visualize, and interpret the tsunami of metagenomic sequencing data generated by high-throughput sequencing. Compared to ...

Biodiversity is declining globally, but its different taxonomic, functional, and evolutionary attributes are doing so at a different pace. Understanding how these attributes influence ecosystem ...