Climatic effects of the impact and volcanism scenarios for the extinction of dinosaurs are investigated in a modelling paper.

A Cambrian fossil worm shows only minor differences from species still living, an example of family stasis.

Darwin saw evolution as a slow and steady process with species gradually transforming into new species over long time. He thought that the fossil record should provide evidence for his theory. However, the needed evidence proved to be elusive.

New nature documentary by Dr. Gordon Wilson premiers on March 6.

The "Cambrian explosion" is a term used to describe the abrupt appearance in the fossil record of major animal phyla, without intermediate forms in lower layers. This pattern of abrupt appearance can be observed for many groups of organisms, including crinoids (sea lilies).

Fossilized crane fly eyes discovered to be calcified and have melanin

Cnidarians appear to have recruited as toxins the same kinds of proteins recruited by many other venomous animals. However, toxin diversity within groups of organisms does not appear to be related to the alleged evolutionary history of the various groups.

The specific genes have been identified that cause a lizard to match the black rocks it lives on.

Humans have unique “developmental control genes” that distinguish them from chimpanzees and other animals

Is the genetic basis of loss of flight due to mutations in protein-coding genes or in regulatory genes?

Comparison of genomes of jellyfish and sea anemones highlights the importance of orphan genes in taxonomically close organisms.

Different populations of stickleback fish have parallel genetic adaptations to similar local habitats.

The abrupt appearance of trilobites in Cambrian strata and their absence in Precambrian sediments is a real feature of the rock record and not due to failure of preservation in Precambrian rocks.

The study of fossils and the associated rocks in which they are preserved gives us information about ancient conditions in which organisms lived, called paleoenvironments, and the pathways leading to their fossilization.

A jumping spider has been discovered to produce a kind of milk to nourish its babies, in a manner similar to what mammals do.

Hybridization among wood warblers suggests “filling the earth” through dispersal, speciation and adaptation to local habitats.

Much effort has been expended in attempts to arrange living organisms in a pattern based on genealogy. However, a tree-like pattern is not as evident as evolutionary theory would predict.

In recent decades, epigenetics has been shown to be a promising field of research, since it describes changes in inheritance patterns that do not involve DNA modifications and are related to interactions between the organism and the environment. Epigenetic marks are chemical changes that occur in chromosomes and result in the silencing or activation of specific genes in different tissues. It has been…

EDITORIAL. Those who study historical topics such as origins often face questions for which no easy answers are evident. Nevertheless, there are some things that can be known, and these should not be overlooked. Published in Origins, n. 65.

During one of my frequent visits to the office of my high school headmaster, his individual tutelage yielded a life lesson that I’ve never forgotten. His exact words were, “You think you’re right!” Of course I thought I was right, wouldn’t anyone who thought they were wrong change their mind and then immediately think they are right? Now that I’m an adult biologist, I still think that I’m right. Inevitably…