evolution Archives

These high-resolution pre-catalysis RNA Pol II EC structures also define the reaction-ready configuration of a complete active site. The 1.96 Å cryo-EM map reveals an unambiguous density of Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) substrate with a chair-like triphosphate conformation that is precisely coordinated with two Mg2+ ions. [Full video] Molecular Cell

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Water Molecules Found To Actively Drive Gene Transcription ProcessUniversity of California – San Diego

by Keith CowingMay 1, 2026May 1, 2026

Researchers have uncovered a previously hidden layer of complexity in how genes are activated, showing that water molecules play a direct and essential role in one of the most fundamental […]

a, (i), Lepidodendron reconstruction; (ii), leaf and leaf scar of Lepidodendron; (iii), Lepidodendron strobile and sporangia; (iv), Lepidodendron sporophyll and sporangia; (v), Lepidodendron sporophyll. b, (i), Tomiostrobus reconstruction, modified after ref. 13; (ii) to (iv), Tomiostrobus (= Annalepis) sporophyll with sporangia from Permian–Triassic transitional Kayitou Formation in South China. c, (i), Pleuromeia reconstruction based on in situ Pleuromeia fossil from Middle Triassic Badong Formation in South China; (ii), Pleuromeia vegetative leaf from Middle Triassic Badong Formation in South China; (iii), Pleuromeia sanxiaensis sporophyll with sporangia from Middle Triassic Badong Formation in South China; (iv), Pleuromeia marginulata sporophyll with sporangia from Middle Triassic Badong Formation in South China. d, (i), One possible reconstruction of the Lepacyclotes (= Annalepis) based on in situ fossils from Middle Triassic Badong Formation in South China; (ii), adaxial side of the Lepacyclotes (= Annalepis) sporophyll with sporangia; (iii), abaxial side of the Lepacyclotes (= Annalepis) sporophyll. e, (i), Another possible reconstruction of the Lepacyclotes (= Annalepis) based on in situ fossils from Middle Triassic Badong Formation in South China; (ii), adaxial side of the Lepacyclotes (= Annalepis) zelleri sporophyll with sporangia from Middle Triassic Badong Formation in South China. f, Lepacyclotes (= Annalepis) zelleri sporophyll assemblage in circle from Middle Triassic Badong Formation in South China. g, adaxial side of the Lepacyclotes (= Annalepis) brevicystis sporophyll with sporangia from Middle Triassic Badong Formation in South China, modified after ref. 29. h, (i), Isoetes sketch; (ii) adaxial side of the Isoetes sporophyll with sporangia. The grey circle inside the sporophyll shows sporangium. -- Nature Ecology & Evolution

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Impact events, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology, Press Release

How Primitive Plants Evolved To Survive Earth’s Most Catastrophic Extinction Event

by Keith CowingApril 21, 2026April 21, 2026

How primitive plants evolved to survive Earth’s most catastrophic extinction event.

Down to the core. From left to right: When rebuilt outside of living cells, CorM forms dynamic filaments. Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) image of purified CorM filaments. Successive zoom-ins show the reconstructed 3D electron density map of the CorM filament, followed by the corresponding atomic model, illustrating the filaments’ assembly into a bipolar double-stranded filament. Credit© Springstein et al. / Science

Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release

Anabaena Learns A New Trick – Cyanobacteria Surprise Scientists With Evolutionary Shift

by Keith CowingApril 17, 2026April 17, 2026

Photosynthetic bacteria helped shape Planet Earth. Among them are cyanobacteria that produced the oxygen in our atmosphere and made complex life possible, captivating scientists for decades. Now, researchers at the […]

Community composition and functional profiles of 152 samples. a, The relative abundance of archaea and bacteria in 152 samples. b, The proportion of all archaea in all samples. Bars in different colors represented different classes of archaea. c, The proportion of all bacteria in all samples. Bars in different colors represented different phyla of bacteria. d, the relative abundance of KEGG standard categories (level B) in all samples. e-f, Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) of all RMAGs, archaea, bacteria, and KOs in different sites based on Bray–Curtis distances. -- biorxiv.org

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report

The Recovery Of 12,789 Genomes Revealed The Diversity, Function, And Microbial Interactions Of The Geothermal Spring Microbiome

by Keith CowingApril 12, 2026April 13, 2026

Geothermal springs, characterized by extreme physicochemical conditions, represent ecologically and evolutionarily significant habitats that foster unique microbial communities and drive adaptive evolutionary processes.

Correlations of Asgardarchaeota with other microbial lineages in DAN-LK4 microbial mats inferred by co-occurrence network analyses. a, Sankey plot showing positive correlations of Asgard archaeal orders based on normalized USCGs (RPKM) inferred by SparCC alongside their distribution across the redox gradient in the indigenous and mesocosm-maintained microbial mat. The size of boxes is proportional to the relative abundance of Asgard archaea (center) and the number of links with prokaryotic taxa (left) in co-occurrence networks. The relative abundance of the different asgardarchaeal orders is indicated by the thickness of links connecting with the different mat layers (right). -- biorxiv.org

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Sample Return, Status Report

Redox distribution Of Asgard Archaea And Co-occurring Taxa In Microbial Mats From An Early Proterozoic Ecosystem Analog

by Keith CowingApril 9, 2026April 9, 2026

Eukaryotes originated from the symbiosis of an Asgard archaeon, the alphaproteobacterial ancestor of mitochondria, and possibly additional bacterial contributions.

A deuterostome cambroernid fossil from the Jiangchuan Biota and artist’s reconstruction (IMAGE)

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Sample Return

Spectacular Fossil Treasure Trove Pushes Back Origins Of Complex Animals

by Keith CowingApril 8, 2026April 8, 2026

A newly discovered fossil site in southwest China has transformed our understanding of how complex animal life emerged on Earth, revealing that many key animal groups had already evolved before […]

Relationship between total group age T and crown group age tcg across various diversification rates λ − µ, equation 4. The heatmap represents the crown group age for a given rate and total group age (isolines are presented for reference). The orange dot-dashed line is the minimum value for T to fit the observed eukaryotic-grade fossil record of the late Palaeoproterozoic (1780 Ma), the red-dashed isoline is the minimum age for tcg fitting the observed crown-eukaryote fossil record from the end of the Mesoproterozoic (1050 Ma), and the grey interval is the range of possible tcg require to obtain the living diversity for a given rate and total age. The isolines for late LECA (tcg = 1200) or generous late LECA (tcg = 1400 Ma) are the red-dotted lines. -- biorxiv.org

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Sample Return, Status Report

Clade Dynamics Support An Early Origin Of Crown Eukaryotes

by Keith CowingApril 7, 2026April 7, 2026

The timing of the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA) remains a fundamental question in evolutionary biology and palaeontology. Unambiguous eukaryotic-grade fossils appear from 1780 Ma, but no crown-group supergroups are […]

Proteins — large molecules with a specific biological function — are created by stringing together smaller molecular building blocks (amino acids) into chains which fold into complex 3D shapes. Credit Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Identifying The Limits Of Protein Evolution

by Keith CowingApril 2, 2026April 2, 2026

The number of known proteins is infinitely small in comparison to the universe of possible proteins which could in theory be realized. Yet these known proteins are the only major […]

Protocell formation on a scoriaceous micrometeorite. A scanning electron microscope image section of the micrometeorite (left), fluorescence microscope micrograph of protocells on the surface of the micrometeorite (right). Phospholipid membranes in the fluorescence micrograph are composed of Escherichia coli (E.coli) and soybean plant lipids, labeled with 1 wt% ATTO 655-DOPE. Unilamellar vesicles have only a thin fluorescent rim, while multilamellar membrane reservoirs are onion shell vesicles composed of densely packed lipid membranes. -- Astrobiology

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

From Space Dust To Protocells: Micrometeorites In Early Cellular Evolution

by Keith CowingMarch 31, 2026March 31, 2026

Solid surfaces have long been considered catalysts in prebiotic chemistry, yet their physical energy has rarely been explored as a driver of protocell assembly.

Schematic of methods used to insert ancestral genes into the host A. vinelandii genome -- Nature Communications

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Resurrecting Ancient Enzymes in NASA’s Search For Life Beyond Earth

by Keith CowingMarch 27, 2026March 27, 2026

NASA-supported scientists have resurrected an enzyme first used by organisms on Earth 3.2-billion years ago and, in the process, have validated a chemical biosignature in rocks that is used to […]

evolution

Water Molecules Found To Actively Drive Gene Transcription ProcessUniversity of California – San Diego

How Primitive Plants Evolved To Survive Earth’s Most Catastrophic Extinction Event

Anabaena Learns A New Trick – Cyanobacteria Surprise Scientists With Evolutionary Shift

The Recovery Of 12,789 Genomes Revealed The Diversity, Function, And Microbial Interactions Of The Geothermal Spring Microbiome

Redox distribution Of Asgard Archaea And Co-occurring Taxa In Microbial Mats From An Early Proterozoic Ecosystem Analog

Spectacular Fossil Treasure Trove Pushes Back Origins Of Complex Animals

Clade Dynamics Support An Early Origin Of Crown Eukaryotes

Identifying The Limits Of Protein Evolution

From Space Dust To Protocells: Micrometeorites In Early Cellular Evolution

Resurrecting Ancient Enzymes in NASA’s Search For Life Beyond Earth

Curiosity Mars Rover Discovers A Field Of Honeycomb Textures

Viking Science

Constraining The Lives And Times Of Exoplanets Through Evolutionary Bayesian Retrievals

Project Hephaistos — III. Characterizing Anomalous Infrared Sources Identified As Dyson-sphere Candidates

SCoRE: The Surface Composition Of Rocky Exoplanets