Article
|
Open Access
Featured
-
-
Research Highlight |
The secret sex lives of ‘celibate’ stick insects
Genetic analysis shows that some stick insects that supposedly reproduce without sex are actually pairing off to have offspring.
-
News |
A new human species? Mystery surrounds 300,000-year-old fossil
A chinless jawbone from eastern China that displays both modern and archaic features could represent a new branch of the human family tree.
- Dyani Lewis
-
News |
Ancient-human fossils sent to space: scientists slam ‘publicity stunt’
The decision to send hominin bones on a commercial spaceflight has raised eyebrows among human-evolution researchers.
- Ewen Callaway
-
Article
| Open AccessUncovering new families and folds in the natural protein universe
The extent to which the AlphaFold database has structurally illuminated proteins that are challenging to annotate for function or putative biological role using standard homology-based approaches at high predicted accuracy is investigated.
- Janani Durairaj
- , Andrew M. Waterhouse
- & Joana Pereira
-
Article |
A cross-species proteomic map reveals neoteny of human synapse development
A study presents a cross-species proteomic map of synapse development in neocortex and reveals that the human postsynaptic density assembly develops two to three times slower than that in macaques and mice.
- Li Wang
- , Kaifang Pang
- & Arnold R. Kriegstein
-
Matters Arising |
Amniote metabolism and the evolution of endothermy
- Ryosuke Motani
- , David A. Gold
- & Geerat J. Vermeij
-
Matters Arising |
Reply to: Amniote metabolism and the evolution of endothermy
- Jasmina Wiemann
- , Iris Menéndez
- & Derek E. G. Briggs
-
News |
‘Weird’ dinosaur prompts rethink of bird evolution
The fossil is as old as the ‘first bird’, Archaeopteryx, and might have specialized in running or wading instead of flying.
- Jude Coleman
-
Article |
A new avialan theropod from an emerging Jurassic terrestrial fauna
An avialan species from the Zhenghe Fauna—a collection of vertebrate fossils from the Late Jurassic of China—had an unusual combination of features, including very long hindlimbs, suggesting that it had a terrestrial or wading lifestyle.
- Liming Xu
- , Min Wang
- & Zhonghe Zhou
-
News |
Human ancestors nearly went extinct 900,000 years ago
A new technique analysing modern genetic data suggests that pre-humans survived in a group of only 1,280 individuals.
- Anna Ikarashi
-
Research Highlight |
The DNA in a sea sponge’s pores shows what lives nearby
Fragments of DNA extracted from these aquatic animals record the diversity of their neighbours.
-
Matters Arising |
Reply to: Palaeospondylus and the early evolution of gnathostomes
- Tatsuya Hirasawa
- & Shigeru Kuratani
-
-
Article |
Assembly of 43 human Y chromosomes reveals extensive complexity and variation
De novo assemblies of 43 Y chromosomes spanning 182,900 years of human evolution reveal considerable diversity in the size and structure of the human Y chromosome.
- Pille Hallast
- , Peter Ebert
- & Charles Lee
-
Article |
New reptile shows dinosaurs and pterosaurs evolved among diverse precursors
A well-preserved partial skeleton (Upper Triassic, Brazil) of the new lagerpetid Venetoraptor gassenae gen. et sp. nov. offers a more comprehensive look into the skull and ecology of dinosaur and pterosaur precursors.
- Rodrigo T. Müller
- , Martín D. Ezcurra
- & Sterling J. Nesbitt
-
Research Highlight |
Which birds are drab and which dazzle? Predators have a say
An analysis of almost 10,000 species identifies the life-history traits that explain why some birds flaunt a rainbow of ornamental colours.
-
Research Highlight |
This ancient reptile wanted to be a whale
Fossils suggests that a dog-sized swimmer sifted prey with plates similar to baleen, in an example of convergent evolution.
-
Nature Index |
How China is capturing attention with landmark research
From ancient sea species to clues on comets, papers by the country’s talented scientists are regularly making headlines.
- Gemma Conroy
- , Pratik Pawar
- & Sian Powell
-
News & Views |
Replication study casts doubt on magnetic sensing in flies
It has long been thought that the fly Drosophila melanogaster can detect Earth’s magnetic field and offers an ideal system in which to examine this enigmatic sense. However, a rigorous replication of key studies fails to support this idea.
- Eric J. Warrant
-
News |
This moss survived 165 million years — and now it's under threat from climate change
Ancient plant survived the formation of the Himalayas, but might now be facing extinction.
- Jude Coleman
-
Article
| Open AccessDissecting human population variation in single-cell responses to SARS-CoV-2
Population differences in immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 can be explained by environmental exposures, but also by local adaptation acting through genetic variants acquired after admixture with archaic hominin forms.
- Yann Aquino
- , Aurélie Bisiaux
- & Lluis Quintana-Murci
-
News & Views |
A really big fossil whale
A newly discovered fossil of an extinct whale from Peru indicates that the animal’s skeleton was unexpectedly enormous. This finding challenges our understanding of body-size evolution.
- J. G. M. Thewissen
- & David A. Waugh
-
Research Briefing |
Evolutionary history of world’s oldest domesticated crop
High-quality reference genomes of einkorn wheat, the world’s first domesticated crop, have now been sequenced. The contiguous wheat genome assemblies include gap-free centromeres (parts of the chromosome that are crucial for cell division). The genomes shed light on the evolution of einkorn wheat and provide opportunities for improving wheat and other cereals.
-
News |
Could this ancient whale be the heaviest animal ever?
Massive vertebrae and other fossilized remains found in Peru point to an Eocene-epoch beast of colossal proportions.
- Emma Marris
-
Article |
A heavyweight early whale pushes the boundaries of vertebrate morphology
Perucetus colossus, a basilosaurid whale from the middle Eocene epoch of Peru with an extremely pachyosteosclerotic postcranium, is estimated to have a greater skeletal mass than any known mammal or aquatic vertebrate.
- Giovanni Bianucci
- , Olivier Lambert
- & Eli Amson
-
Article
| Open AccessEinkorn genomics sheds light on history of the oldest domesticated wheat
Around 1% of the A subgenome of modern bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) originates from einkorn (Triticum monococcum), the first domesticated wheat species.
- Hanin Ibrahim Ahmed
- , Matthias Heuberger
- & Simon G. Krattinger
-
News |
‘Virgin birth’ genetically engineered into female animals for the first time
Scientists alter the genomes of female fruit flies, allowing them to reproduce without any contribution from a male.
- Anil Oza
-
Article
| Open AccessExtensive pedigrees reveal the social organization of a Neolithic community
The burial community at Gurgy ‘les Noisats’ (France) was genetically connected by two main pedigrees, spanning seven generations, that were patrilocal and patrilineal, with evidence for female exogamy and exchange with genetically close neighbouring groups.
- Maïté Rivollat
- , Adam Benjamin Rohrlach
- & Wolfgang Haak
-
Matters Arising
| Open AccessReply to: Re-evaluating evidence for adaptive mutation rate variation
- J. Grey Monroe
- , Kevin D. Murray
- & Detlef Weigel
-
Matters Arising
| Open AccessRe-evaluating evidence for adaptive mutation rate variation
- Long Wang
- , Alexander T. Ho
- & Sihai Yang
-
Article
| Open AccessEvolutionary histories of breast cancer and related clones
By using phylogenetic analyses of multiple microdissected samples from both cancer and non-cancer lesions, unique evolutionary histories of breast cancers harbouring a common driver alteration are shown, providing new insight into how breast cancer evolves.
- Tomomi Nishimura
- , Nobuyuki Kakiuchi
- & Seishi Ogawa
-
News & Views |
From the archive: pollination, and Charles Darwin ponders scared ants
Snippets from Nature’s past.
-
News |
Sharp criticism of controversial ancient-human claims tests eLife’s revamped peer-review model
High-profile researchers say small-brained Homo naledi exhibited advanced behaviours such as burials, but peer reviewers say there’s no evidence.
- Ewen Callaway
-
News |
Short arms and lanky legs: the genetic basis of walking on two legs
Genome-wide map reveals regions associated with skeletal changes that enabled humans to walk upright.
- Dyani Lewis
-
News Feature |
Expeditions in post-war Colombia have found hundreds of new species. But rich ecosystems are now under threat
Since Colombia’s peace agreement opened the country up, scientists have been racing to study its riches before it’s too late.
- Aisling Irwin
-
Article |
Indirect effects shape species fitness in coevolved mutualistic networks
A numerical analysis of mutualistic interactions between species shows that indirect effects from species they do not interact with directly are the biggest source of variation and cause the largest decreases to species fitness.
- Leandro G. Cosmo
- , Ana Paula A. Assis
- & Paulo R. Guimarães Jr
-
Article
| Open AccessEarly contact between late farming and pastoralist societies in southeastern Europe
Archaeogenetic analysis of 135 individuals from the zone between southeastern Europe and the northwestern Black Sea region indicates contacts between farming and pastoralist populations at the end of the Copper Age.
- Sandra Penske
- , Adam B. Rohrlach
- & Wolfgang Haak
-
Article |
Molecular features driving cellular complexity of human brain evolution
A single-cell genomics analysis of humans, chimpanzees and rhesus macaques reveals the molecular features that drive cellular and regulatory complexity of human brain evolution.
- Emre Caglayan
- , Fatma Ayhan
- & Genevieve Konopka
-
Research Briefing |
A picture of plant functional diversity on an oceanic island
Extensive fieldwork reveals that island plants have similar functions to plants in other regions of the world, but that the island environment, along with biogeographical and evolutionary processes, filters the life-history characteristics and strategies of the plants, rendering the island flora functionally and ecologically distinct from others.
-
News & Views |
From the archive: infant mortality, and a guidebook about fossils
Snippets from Nature’s past.
-
News |
Oldest genetic data from a human relative found in 2-million-year-old teeth
Ancient protein sequences identify the sex of Paranthropus robustus fossils and hint at evolutionary relationships.
- Ewen Callaway
-
Nature Podcast |
Even a ‘minimal cell’ can grow stronger, thanks to evolution
Exploring evolution in a ‘minimal cell’, and Galaxy-wide gravitational waves.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Shamini Bundell
-
Article
| Open AccessEvolution of a minimal cell
An engineered minimal cell evolves to escape the negative consequences of genome streamlining.
- R. Z. Moger-Reischer
- , J. I. Glass
- & J. T. Lennon
-
Research Highlight |
How ancient monkeys rode the waves to the Americas — and survived
Analysis suggests that three types of primate made the transoceanic journey to South America from Africa millions of years ago.
-
News |
Ancient-DNA researcher fired for ‘serious misconduct’ lands new role
Former co-workers have expressed shock that Charles Sturt University in southeastern Australia has appointed Alan Cooper to its faculty.
- Dyani Lewis
-
Article |
Cancer aneuploidies are shaped primarily by effects on tumour fitness
A study reports the development of an algorithm, BISCUT, that detects genomic loci under selective pressure by relying on the distribution of breakpoints across chromosome arms, and uses it to explore how aneuploidies affect tumorigenesis.
- Juliann Shih
- , Shahab Sarmashghi
- & Rameen Beroukhim
-
News |
Did our human ancestors eat each other? Carved-up bone offers clues
A fossilized hominin leg shows gashes that were probably made by stone tools.
- Lilly Tozer
-
Article
| Open AccessOrigin and evolutionary malleability of T cell receptor α diversity
TCRα repertoire diversity is best explained by species-specific extents of sequence microhomologies marking the ends of recombining elements, and germline sequence composition of rearranging elements determines the degree of diversity of somatically generated antigen receptors.
- Orlando B. Giorgetti
- , Connor P. O’Meara
- & Thomas Boehm
-
News |
Prized dinosaur fossil returned to Brazil after controversy
The one-of-a-kind specimen will be housed at a museum in Santana do Cariri, near where it was found.
- Meghie Rodrigues
Browse broader subjects
Browse narrower subjects
- Anthropology
- Archaeology
- Coevolution
- Cultural evolution
- Evolutionary developmental biology
- Evolutionary genetics
- Evolutionary theory
- Experimental evolution
- Mimicry
- Molecular evolution
- Chemical origin of life
- Palaeontology
- Phylogenetics
- Population genetics
- Sexual selection
- Social evolution
- Speciation
- Taxonomy