Abrupt shifts in the evolution of animals – short periods of time when an organism rapidly changes size or form – have long been a challenge for theorists including Darwin. Now a newly published ...

Evolution doesn't follow a preordained, straight path. Yet images abound that suggest otherwise. From museum displays to editorial cartoons, evolution is depicted as a linear progression from ...

Scientists have developed a theoretical model that uncovers the dual role of polyploidy -- organisms carrying extra genome copies -- in evolution. Their findings reveal that polyploidy can stabilize ...

Over the past 500 million years, nearly all evolutionary changes in octopuses and squids occurred in rapid bursts during the emergence of new species, according to research from the University of ...

An updated evolutionary model shows that living systems evolve in a split-and-hit-the-gas dynamic, where new lineages appear in sudden bursts rather than during a long marathon of gradual changes.