The vast majority of dog breeds have emerged only in the last several centuries as a result of artificial selection. As new breeds are regularly developed, the many potential varieties within the dog kind are revealed. One distinction among breeds is their unique coats. Recent genetics analysis found that a huge range of dog fur textures are specified almost entirely by just three genes.

Sea urchins are spiny marine animals. Some of them like to hide in holes that they dig out of limestone in the ocean floor, using teeth that are ground down and yet remain sharp. What makes these teeth so special that they can drill through rock and not go blunt?

New research has uncovered a tiny protein that, when it breaks down, leads to cancer. This useful protein attaches to DNA in certain places and serves as a marker or “fence post.” These fence posts keep certain zones of DNA accessible to the cell regulatory mechanisms that activate gene expression to produce other proteins.

Certain gecko lizards can see color in dim light. That means these geckos’ eyes are about 350 times more sensitive than human eyes, which see only black and white in the same conditions. Can evolution account for the origin of the remarkable machinery that enables these nocturnal creatures to see so well?

Salmonella bacteria became a health threat relatively recently, when chicken eggs were infected by the migration of the bacteria from chickens’ digestive organs to their reproductive organs. Geneticists are working to characterize differences between the harmful and innocuous strains of Salmonella.