Skip to Content

HyPhy: The Evolutionary Biology Tool You Didn’t Know You Needed

Whether you're deep into phylogenetics, exploring the evolution of viruses, or just trying to make sense of genetic sequences, there's a tool that researchers across the world trust: HyPhy — short for Hypothesis Testing Using Phylogenies.

In this blog post, we’ll explore what HyPhy is, why it matters, and how it’s helping scientists unlock the secrets of molecular evolution. If you're curious about how DNA, RNA, and proteins evolve over time — and how we can detect those changes — you're in the right place.


🧬 What Can You Do With HyPhy?

Here’s what makes HyPhy a go-to tool for researchers:

  • 🔍 Detect positive selection in genes (find out which parts of a gene are

 evolving fast!)

  • 🧪 Recombination analysis to detect genetic mixing events
  • 🌳 Build phylogenetic trees and compare evolutionary models
  • 🧠 Use machine learning algorithms for better biological predictions
  • ⚙️ Write your own workflows using the HyPhy scripting language

Oh, and it works with DNA, RNA, and protein sequences, so it’s incredibly versatile.