Researchers recreated a 450-million-year-old protein using X-ray crystallography and mapped its structure. They found that only seven mutations were needed to evolve the ancient receptor into its modern form, with some 'permissive' changes paving the way for more significant transformations.
Researchers created a global family tree of metabolic protein architecture using phylogenetic analysis techniques. The study found that many metabolic protein folds are quite ancient, with some common in all species analyzed, while others are more recent.
Researchers have successfully sequenced tiny pieces of collagen protein from a 68 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex fossil, closely matching amino acid sequences found in present-day chickens. The findings support the long-debated proposal that birds and dinosaurs are evolutionarily related.
Biological clocks are reset by slow action of White Collar-1 and White Collar-2 proteins; these proteins work in the dark without light stimulation. Their discovery provides a link between light perception and circadian rhythms, opening an evolutionary window into clock mechanisms.