Black widow virus results from evolution, not genetic engineering - December, 2016
This fall researchers announced a surprising discovery: a virus carrying genes for a toxin from black widow spider venom. How did this creepy mash-up occur in the first place? A black widow virus might sound like the product of genetic engineering — like strawberries bearing fish genes or goats that make spider-silk proteins — but it is actually the result of evolution.
A Place for Life:
A special astronomy exhibit of Understanding Evolution
Biology and paleontology provide an increasingly detailed picture of the evolution of life. Natural selection has resulted in a huge range of organisms living in a multitude of environments, and the geological record shows us how the Earth as a whole has changed over time. To understand the stage on which the evolution of life plays out, however, we must turn to astronomy.
Evo Connection slide sets
This series of short slide sets explain several basic biology topics in evolutionary terms. Each set includes notes to help you present every slide.
A fisheye view of the tree of life
Explore our interactive fish evolutionary tree to learn about amazing innovations that have evolved in the different lineages.
This site was created by the University of California Museum of Paleontology with support provided by the National Science Foundation (grant no. 0096613) and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (grant no. 51003439).