Evolution has long been viewed as a rather random process, with the traits of species shaped by chance mutations and environmental events — and therefore largely unpredictable. But an international ...

The “prickles,” as botanists call them, evolved in roses and other plants thanks to a single gene, a new study found. Prickles likely arose in many plants as a defense against animals that would ...

A new discovery from researchers at Northeastern University has uncovered previously unknown aspects of plant evolution, with major implications for creating new lifesaving drugs. Subscribe to our ...

Plants with more complex water transport structures are more resistant to drought conditions, making them more likely to survive and pass this characteristic on to their offspring. That’s the ...

Scientists have discovered the oldest evidence of plant self-defense in wood in a 360-million-year-old fossil from south-eastern Ireland. Plants can protect their wood from infection and water loss by ...

Lipstick vines in Taiwan look different from their red-flowered relatives. When scientists dug into the family tree, they uncovered an evolutionary mystery.

Maddy has a degree in biochemistry from the University of York and specializes in reporting on health, medicine, and genetics. Maddy has a degree in biochemistry from the University of York and ...

With the extinction of large, non-flying dinosaurs 66 million years ago, large herbivores were missing on Earth for the subsequent 25 million years. Since plants and herbivorous animals influence each ...