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Khabre desk
Recent reporting, analysis and explainers from the evolution desk.
science
A fossil from southeastern China represents a newly described Late Jurassic avialan with a mix of bird-like and troodontid-like features. Its short forelimbs and comparative anatomy support a terrestrial, flightless lifestyle.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that nonsense-mediated decay suppresses many RNA isoforms created when transposable-element sequences become part of genes. The findings suggest this cellular quality-control system helps regulate a pool of potential evolutionary novelty.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that a butterfly population’s female-heavy sex ratio returned to near parity in 2024–2025 as the frequency of feminizing Wolbachia fell. The population had reached 93.1% females in 2022.
science
A genome-scale analysis combining bat DNA with fossil anatomy identifies Europe as the probable origin of bats, and therefore powered flight, in the late Palaeocene. The study also revises relationships among bat families and places laryngeal echolocation before the diversification of living bats.
science
A 57-centimetre fossil from China has been named Norellraptor barsboldi, a new feathered microraptorine dinosaur. Comparing its anatomy with birds, the researchers conclude that many similar aerial adaptations evolved in different sequences in the two lineages.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports genome-pattern evidence for an ancient whole-genome duplication shared by bryozoans. Few duplicate genes remain, but retained copies are enriched for cilia-related genes.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that dermal bone thickens through invading osteoblasts that deposit new mineralised matrix inside older bone. The finding challenges the conventional view that growth relies mainly on bone-forming cells adding matrix at the surface.
science
A Nature essay examines zoologist Paul Kammerer’s controversial experiments on inherited traits, the specimen-tampering accusation that damaged his reputation and why his scientific questions still resonate with modern biology.
science
A bioRxiv preprint tracking seven Burkholderia multivorans strains from chronic infections in eight cystic fibrosis patients found that the emergence of a dominant bacterial lineage was associated with faster lung-function decline. The study also identified repeated evolutionary changes affecting bacterial functions linked to persistence in the airways.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that synthetic, taxonomically complex bacterial communities rapidly evolved after adapting to novel plant hosts. The changes improved colonisation fitness while preserving the stability of the root microbiota.
science
A chromosome-level reference genome and resequencing data from 80 Saimaa ringed seals show extremely limited Y-chromosomal diversity compared with other ringed seals. The bioRxiv preprint estimates that the population retains about 1% of the broader Y-chromosomal diversity and 5% of mitochondrial diversity.
science
Researchers are culturing Asgard archaea, rare microbes whose genomes link them to the ancestors of eukaryotic cells. Microscopy is revealing cell protrusions, movement and possible partnerships that may illuminate how complex life began.