Stories by Viviane Callier

The octopus sex chromosome appears to have been maintained over hundreds of millions of years, making it the most ancient of such chromosomes in animals

Several marsupial species, including sugar gliders, independently evolved a way to make membranes that allow them to glide through the air

The humble vacuole, a garbage dump inside cells, turns out to play an important role in the aging process

By locking together traits that work well together, supergenes provide striking evolutionary advantages. But they can also be costly because they make it nearly impossible to purge bad mutations

Developmental biologist Alfonso Martinez Arias believes that the emergent properties of cells, rather than the “instructions” written by genes, are the key to understanding how bodies are built

The evolution of a chemical defense gland allowed the most diverse group of beetles to repel predators and go on to conquer wholly new environments

A debate has been settled over the earliest animal ancestor—a free-swimming creature with a well-developed nervous system

By tuning the enzymes that control the breakdown or storage of sugars, hummingbirds and cavefish adapt their metabolism to meet the demands of the vastly different environments in which they live

The BCG vaccine might assist in preventing a range of major diseases

A way to map the ancestry of dog breeds reveals the genetic basis of stereotypical dog behaviors

Acquaintances, more than close friends, show the strength of “weak ties” when it comes to employment

Pasty cave fish seem to repurpose a melanin-making molecule to better survive famine

New work explains “one of nature’s most exquisite biological micro-machines”

These avian tree drillers do tricks to protect their noggin. Meanwhile snapping shrimp avoid the problem with external eye goggles

Were mitochondria a driving evolutionary force or just a late addition?

A new study offers a possible answer to the question “Why me?”

The sea squirt relative demonstrates that sometimes less is more: losing genes can be adaptive

A new model could help model disease transmission and urban planning

New blood tests help to track disease-causing Plasmodium strains

By answering the question posed in Molyneux’s problem, the invertebrates may have demonstrated an ability to internally represent objects

Enjoy and loop on

A slick coating, inspired by the carnivorous pitcher plant, could halve the liquid needed for flushing

An infectious disease model shows that ideas from prestigious institutions are more likely to spread farthest 

Elastic springs help tiny animals stay fast and strong. New work is finding what size critters must be to benefit from the springs