Ant-eater pseudogenes point to ongoing evolution

In our pair of studies [1, 2] on genes associated with the evolution of ant- and termite-eating (myrmecophagy), we not only looked at the examples of pangolins and anteaters, but also a number of species that exhibit less extreme manifestations of this dietary habit. One example is that of the aardvark (Orycteropus afer). This species, …

Pseudogenes suggest an ant-eating ancestry for sloths?

Building off what I discussed in my last post, we looked at species very similar to pangolins: anteaters. Unlike pangolins, which are found in Africa and Asia and covered in scales, anteaters are found in Central and South America and covered in hair. However, very much like pangolins, anteaters are specialized at eating social insects, …

Pseudogenes point to evolution in ant-eating mammals: Pangolins

I'm going to diverge from my recent theme of posts to focus on a couple of papers that my colleagues and I published recently [1, 2], covering a theme near and dear to my heart: pseudogenes. Sometimes evolution produces very similar organisms, despite descending from very different ancestors. This phenomenon, known as convergent evolution, has …

Understand evolution before picking a ‘side’

One of the interesting things about a topic like evolution is that lots of people have an opinion on it. Many Christians, for instance, disbelieve it entirely or in part. This is almost certainly due in part from the accounts in the book of Genesis, and is also reinforced by certain pastors and others in …

Are scientists anti-religion?

One of the issues that can be a stumbling block for some religious individuals to accept evolution is that there is sometimes a general distrust of the scientists that promote it. The reality is that many scientists are indeed atheists or agnostics, and some certainly find religion to be fanciful, illogical and not in any …

Evolution and Religion

After a long time away from this blog, I have decided to make my return by introducing a new theme close to my heart: how does one accept evolution and maintain their religion? In other words, does believing that evolution is a real phenomenon that explains life's diversity necessitate 'deconversion' into an atheist, or at …

How broken melatonin genes hint at the weirdness of evolution

Sometimes evolution produces results that are stranger than expected. In fact, they might seem so confusing that one might suppose that instead these organisms were indeed created. However, through science we can still investigate these oddities and discover evidence that indeed evolution is responsible for them. So far in this blog, I've discussed how there …

Loss of bird coloration genes points to evolution

Coloration in birds is produced by a number of mechanisms, one of which includes the ability to harness molecules called carotenoids. These are found in a number of plants, and quite often give the yellows, oranges and reds that you can see in fruits. By feeding on such plants, birds can actually sequester these carotenoids …

The earliest plants in Earth’s history

Plants cover our planet, providing us with much of the oxygen we breathe, producing fruits and timber, and helping to stabilize and provide the basis for nearly all of the terrestrial environments that we admire across the world. They range from the smallest of the mossess, to the giant sequoias, blanketing so much of our …

Genetics suggests unexpected origins of hummingbirds

Caprimulgiformes is a group of night- and twilight-active (nocturnal–crepuscular), mostly insectivorous birds found on every continent except Antarctica. It includes birds with such colorful names as nightjars, oilbirds, potoos, frogmouths and owlet-nightjars. In addition to their activity times and diet, they tend to have weak legs and some species can even echolocate, using sonar to …