Life depends on genes being switched on and off at exactly the right time. Even the simplest living organisms do this, but usually over short distances across the DNA sequence, with the on/off switch ...

In the world of phylogenetics, there's team sponge and team comb jelly. Which creature roots the animal tree of life—the simple sponge or the more complex comb jelly—has stirred fierce debate among ...

The ctenophore, Mnemiopsis leidyi, can make its own coelenterazine to create this beautiful bioluminescent display. Credit: Manabu Bessho-Uehara In the pitch-black environment of the deep sea, light ...

Scientists have discovered which animal was the first to branch off from our collective common ancestor. For years, debate had raged over whether the first to diverge was the sea sponge or the comb ...

In the world of phylogenetics, there’s team sponge and team comb jelly. Which creature roots the animal tree of life — the simple sponge or the more complex comb jelly — has stirred fierce debate ...