The evolution of psychiatric disorders and human personality traits

In a new paper published in Evolution Letters, a research team from Tohoku University reveal the evolution of a gene related to human-unique psychiatric traits. Here, authors Daiki Sato and Masakado Kawata tell us more about their findings. How and why unique human characteristics, such as highly social behavior, languages, and complex cultures, have evolved …

The influence of the beginning of life on the end: A silver-spoon for senescence?

Why do individuals vary in how quickly they age? Eve Cooper explains what her new research tells us about the effect of developmental environment on senescence. As humans, the process of senescence - experiencing physiological declines as we age - is a seemingly inescapable constraint of our own biology. But why is it that we …

Does sexual selection help or hinder population performance?

A new study published today in Evolution Letters shows that populations with an evolutionary history of strong sexual selection are able to invade competitor populations more rapidly. Here, lead author Dr Joanne Godwin tells us more. Costs: sexual selection vs. natural selection No discussion of sexual selection is complete without the clichéd picture of a …

Speciation on the beach: solving the mystery of the most misidentified marine organism in the world

In our latest author blog, Rui Faria, Kerstin Johannesson, Mark Ravinet, and Roger Butlin explain how their intensive study of an intertidal hybrid zone has shed new light on the processes of divergence and speciation. The rough periwinkle, Littorina saxatilis, is a world champion when it comes to complicating the life of a biologist trying …

Taking tests of the predictability of evolution one step further

Recent evidence suggests that if we replayed evolution from the same starting point, in the same environment, it would proceed in a predictable manner, with certain genes being repeatedly selected. But what about in a more realistic world, where environments differ? Dr Caroline Turner provides new insights from her experimental study published today in Evolution …