Some single-celled organisms are known to transition to multicellularity during their lifetimes, usually either by cloning themselves or when many similar cells come together to form a larger ...

Scientists at MIT have found compelling chemical evidence that Earth’s earliest animals were likely ancient sea sponges.

Earth’s oxygen-rich atmosphere, the very thing that allows complex life to exist, may not last forever. Coupled ...

New research reveals how oxygen-fueled organisms from the deep sea may hold the key to understanding how complex life evolved on Earth.

Innovations in imaging and genetic engineering are coming together to probe the biophysics of cytoplasm inside living animals.

Researchers reveal Prototaxites, a giant Devonian fossil, was not a fungus or plant but a unique extinct lineage.

Scientists discover hidden DNA scaffolding that forms before genes activate, revealing life’s blueprint is built before it begins.

The deep sea is a dark, cold place. It's just a few degrees above freezing, subject to immense pressure, and beyond the reach ...

Even in the ultra-dry Atacama Desert, tiny soil-dwelling nematodes are thriving in surprising diversity. Scientists found ...

This important study implicates that changes in cell regulation may contribute to the evolution of multicellularity. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing, with rigorous methods used ...

Eukaryotes—the building blocks of complex life—appeared on Earth 1.7 billion years ago, and now scientists have solved a longstanding riddle about their origin.