Genetics
Genomes, inheritance, and changes in genetic information.
13 problemsEvolution
The origins and diversification of living systems.
Explore Evolution
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Browse collectionsOrigins and complexity
From the first living systems to complex cells and multicellular organisms, explore several transitions in life’s history.
10 problemsGenes and development
How do genomes and regulatory systems shape traits, reliable development, and repair?
32 problemsGenomes and inheritance
How genomes change, DNA copying begins and inherited silencing persists.
12 problemsA few problems to explore
32 totalEukaryogenesis
Complex cells with nuclei descended from simpler ancestors. How did their internal compartments, mitochondria, and distinctive cellular organization come together?
Evolution of multicellularity
Cells have repeatedly evolved into organisms that live and reproduce together. What turns a group of cells into a coherent evolutionary individual?
Sex chromosome evolution
Some lineages keep the same sex chromosomes for vast spans of time; others replace them repeatedly. Why do their evolutionary paths differ so much?
Origin of the genetic code
Cells translate genetic sequences into proteins. How did a code and the machinery that reads it arise together?
Origin of viruses
Viruses have remarkably different genomes and structures. Did their major lineages emerge independently, and from what ancestors?
Flowering plant origins
Fossils and DNA offer different timelines for the earliest living flowering-plant lineages. Why do their estimated beginnings still disagree?