DNA and RNA are similar molecules but have small, very important differences. These differences allow them to serve distinct functions in the cell.

Are your genes working in harmony or is there genetic conflict? Here you’ll learn the surprising hoops your genome must jump through to stay functional.

An Endogenous Retrovirus is a genetic scar left by certain types of virus infections. We can use Endogenous Retroviruses to build evolutionary trees.

Genes are the smallest things capable of evolution. Understanding how they evolve helps us solve tough mysteries in evolutionary biology.

Find out what the study of cellular metabolism is teaching us about the origin of life, and what a deeper study of metabolism might reveal.

The invention of the microscope transformed science forever. Here we explore what microscopes have revealed and what the best microscopes today can do.

Learn how viruses differ from other microbes, why most viruses only infect one type of host organism, and how viruses evolve to infect new hosts!

In plants and animals, most genes are passed from parent to child. Sometimes, however, genes can spread between unrelated individuals.

Symbiosis is the “long-term living together of unlike organisms”. Here we explore how symbiotic relationships evolve over time.

Here you will see how scientists define “fossil” and you will get an overview of how fossils form.

An allele is an alternate version of a gene within a population. Here we look at examples of exactly what that means.

Here we look at what the phrase “Survival of the fittest” really means.

A molecule can be roughly thought of as any group of atoms stuck together. Here you will learn some important details.

Here you will learn about cellular metabolism and the Krebs cycle.

While we used to think atoms were fundamental particles, we now know they are made of smaller parts still.

Ever wonder how we actually know that atoms exist? Here we’ll learn what atoms are and exactly how scientists went about figuring all of this out.

What exactly is life and how could we know if we ever spotted an alien? NASA has some ideas!

Did scientists really discover soft tissue inside a dinosaur bone? Find out here, and learn what this might mean!

Ever confuse DNA, Genes, and Chromosomes? If so, don’t worry, we straighten all of this out right here!

You may have read online that dinosaurs once lived alongside humans. Here we look at what the real scientific observations suggest.

Explore the fascinating transition from early cells to multi-celled animals and see the experiments that helped us understand how it happened.

The RNA World Hypothesis proposes that chains of RNA were the first living things on Earth. Here you’ll find out why.

If evolution is all about “survival of the fittest”, how does cooperation evolve?

Here we see how new genetic information evolves via gene duplications followed by point mutations.

If the origin of life happened before scientists were around to observe it, how can our origin be studied with the scientific method? This question is answered in our overview of the Miller-Urey experiment.

Point mutations are the simplest natural mechanisms known to increase the genetic information of a population.

The origin of life is still a mystery, but the careful study of chemical evolution is beginning to provide us with possible answers.

Biologists teach that all living things on earth are related. Is there any solid evidence to back this claim? Join us as we explore the facts!

Here you will follow three scientists as they use evolutionary theory to solve mysteries in food production, medicine, and environmental protection.

The theory of evolution tells us how life diversified after it got started, but how did the first evolving creatures come about?

Here we look at the basics of what biological evolution is, and how it works.

You hear about genes all the time in the news and in the movies, but what exactly is a gene? Here we learn what genes are and how they evolve.

Ever wish you understood genetics? It’s way easier than you think. Mastering the basics only takes 5 minutes.