Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

What is Evolutionary History?

What is Evolutionary History?

Scientists record evolutionary history by analyzing fossil, morphological, and genetic data. The fossil record documents the history of life on Earth and provides evidence for evolution. However, both fossil and living organisms offer evidence that outlines Earth’s evolutionary history.

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the...

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...

Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses

Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses

The circadian—or biological—clock is an intrinsic, timekeeping, molecular mechanism that allows plants to coordinate physiological activities over 24-hour cycles called circadian rhythms. Photoperiodism is a collective term for the biological responses of plants to variations in the relative lengths of dark and light periods. The period of light-exposure is called the photoperiod.

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...

Molecular Models

Molecular Models

Physical models representing molecular architectures of chemical compounds play essential roles in understanding chemistry. The use of molecular models makes it easier to visualize the structures and shapes of atoms and molecules.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Multitrophic interaction networks mediate biodiversity effects on ecosystem multifunctionality.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Integrative systematics reveal the deep evolutionary origin and familial placements of the wirrahs (Teleostei: Acanthistiidae: Acanthistius) and the toadstool grouper (Teleostei: Trachypomatidae fam. nov.: Trachypoma).

Molecular phylogenetics and evolution·2026

Same author

Uncovering thousands of endosymbiont DNA transfer events within single cockroach genomes.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

Mutation rate estimate and population genomic analysis reveals decline of koalas prior to human arrival.

Molecular biology and evolution·2026

Same author

Evolutionary Prevalence of the Electrostatic Switch Mechanism in P-type ATPases.

The Journal of membrane biology·2026

Same author

Population Genomics Reveals Genetic Diversity, Introgression, and Genetic Differentiation in Tianshan Mountains Western Honeybees (<i>Apis mellifera</i>).

Evolutionary applications·2026

Same journal

TDP-43 proteinopathy as a biomarker and therapeutic target in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Biochemical Society transactions·2026

Same journal

Advancing the monitoring of organelle contact sites in vitro and in vivo.

Biochemical Society transactions·2026

Same journal

Mechanisms influencing transient cytoplasmic protein targeting to intracellular lipid droplets.

Biochemical Society transactions·2026

Same journal

Replication associated nuclear DNA mismatch repair across kingdoms.

Biochemical Society transactions·2026

Same journal

Phosphatases of regenerating liver downregulate PTEN to promote tumorigenesis.

Biochemical Society transactions·2026

Same journal

Implications of Rho GTPase signaling in cancer immunotherapy.

Biochemical Society transactions·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 6, 2026

The Use of Mouse Splenocytes to Assess Pathogen-associated Molecular Pattern Influence on Clock Gene Expression

The Use of Mouse Splenocytes to Assess Pathogen-associated Molecular Pattern Influence on Clock Gene Expression

Published on: July 24, 2018

The molecular clock and evolutionary timescales.

Arong Luo^1,2, Simon Y W Ho³

¹School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

Biochemical Society Transactions

|August 30, 2018

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The molecular clock estimates evolutionary timescales using genetic data. Despite challenges like varying rates, it remains crucial for understanding life's evolutionary history.

Keywords:

Tree of Life evolutionary rate genomics molecular dating molecular evolution timescale

More Related Videos

Clock Scan Protocol for Image Analysis: ImageJ Plugins

Clock Scan Protocol for Image Analysis: ImageJ Plugins

Published on: June 19, 2017

15N CPMG Relaxation Dispersion for the Investigation of Protein Conformational Dynamics on the µs-ms Timescale

15N CPMG Relaxation Dispersion for the Investigation of Protein Conformational Dynamics on the µs-ms Timescale

Published on: April 19, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 6, 2026

The Use of Mouse Splenocytes to Assess Pathogen-associated Molecular Pattern Influence on Clock Gene Expression

The Use of Mouse Splenocytes to Assess Pathogen-associated Molecular Pattern Influence on Clock Gene Expression

Published on: July 24, 2018

Clock Scan Protocol for Image Analysis: ImageJ Plugins

Clock Scan Protocol for Image Analysis: ImageJ Plugins

Published on: June 19, 2017

15N CPMG Relaxation Dispersion for the Investigation of Protein Conformational Dynamics on the µs-ms Timescale

15N CPMG Relaxation Dispersion for the Investigation of Protein Conformational Dynamics on the µs-ms Timescale

Published on: April 19, 2021

Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Genomics
Molecular Biology

Background:

The molecular clock concept, proposed in the 1960s, uses genetic and biochemical data to estimate evolutionary timescales.
Initially applied to amino acid sequences and immunological data, its relevance persists in the genomic era.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the history and development of the molecular clock.
To discuss its impact on evolutionary theory and challenges posed by rate variation.
To highlight statistical models and key findings from genomic applications.

Main Methods:

Historical review of the molecular clock concept and its applications.
Discussion of statistical models for heterogeneous evolutionary rates.
Analysis of findings from applying molecular clocks to genomic data.

Main Results:

The molecular clock has evolved significantly since its inception.
Evidence of evolutionary rate variation presents challenges but has spurred statistical model development.
Genomic data applications have yielded key insights into evolutionary timescales.

Conclusions:

The molecular clock remains the most effective method for resolving evolutionary timescales.
Continued development of statistical models addresses rate heterogeneity.
Its application to genomic data deepens our understanding of the Tree of Life.