The scarlet monkeyflower's ability to keep pace with a punishing drought signals some plants can adapt quickly to climate ...

In 2026, two tiny marsupials that were long written off as extinct were found alive in one of Earth's most remote and biodiverse regions.

In "The Descent of Man," he described the appendix as a vestige: a leftover from plant-eating ancestors with larger digestive organs. For more than a century, that interpretation shaped both textbook ...

Scientists discover webbed feet in land animals, challenging common assumptions. This trait, initially for swimming, also ...

One such molecule is known as bradykinin. It is shared by all vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, birds and fish. But it is also present in the venoms of some wasps and the toxic skin secretions ...

Evolution sometimes produces animals that look strikingly similar even when they are not closely related. This process, known as convergent evolution, occurs when different species adapt to the same ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more. This ...

Even a single gene, reshuffled or regulated in new ways, can fuel repeated bursts of evolutionary innovation, according to a recent study of wheatear birds. A study was recently published in the ...