Evolution articles from across Nature Portfolio

Genetic analyses of koala pedigrees help to suss out virus-induced genome changes that affect cancer risk and reproductive success.

Fossils reveal that at least four types of hominin, including Paranthropus, were present in northern Ethiopia between 3 million and 2.4 million years ago.

Eyes on a face’s front or side enable a brain to perceive images. Fossil evidence suggests that two light-sensitive organs on top of ancient vertebrate heads generated images, too.

De novo gene evolution entails the birth of new genes from previously non-coding DNA. In this Review, Bornberg-Bauer and Eicholt overview how protein-coding de novo genes are identified, the mechanistic and evolutionary processes underlying their emergence and evolution, and the patterns in their encoded protein structures.

The Huayuan biota exhibits extraordinary biodiversity, illuminating the impact of the Phanerozoic mass extinction around 513 million years ago and offering critical insights into the transformation of global ecosystems in the early Cambrian.

Genetic analyses of koala pedigrees help to suss out virus-induced genome changes that affect cancer risk and reproductive success.

For almost two decades, scientists have debated whether sponges or comb jellies are the first animal lineage. Now some are calling for a more harmonious approach.

Fossils reveal that at least four types of hominin, including Paranthropus, were present in northern Ethiopia between 3 million and 2.4 million years ago.

Eyes on a face’s front or side enable a brain to perceive images. Fossil evidence suggests that two light-sensitive organs on top of ancient vertebrate heads generated images, too.

Neurons in the bird eye’s inner retina lack a blood supply. Finding how these neurons function without oxygen reveals a role for an enigmatic eye structure.

The accuracy of eyewitness evidence is questioned, and a fossil collection examined when a geological society moves its London home in this week’s pick from the Nature archive.