The selfish gene is an entity driven by an unadmitted teleological force to replicate itself in offspring. But horizontal gene transfer—hardly taken seriously the day before yesterday—features genes that simply end up on a different string. Is a relentless force of selfishness driving them to do tha
Month: November 2019
Design in the First Animals
Scientists debate whether ctenophores are the earliest animals to appear in the Cambrian explosion. If so, they arrived with multiple tissues, a nervous system, and a digestive system.
How ear bones evolved
A change in chewing liberated jaw bones to do something else
Humans co-evolved with immune-related diseases — and it’s still happening
Some of the same mutations allowing humans to fend off deadly infections also make us more prone to certain inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, such as Crohn’s disease. Researchers describe how ancestral origins impact the likelihood that people of African or Eurasian descent might develop immune-related diseases. The authors also share evidence that the human immune system is still evolving.
Source: Humans co-evolved with immune-related diseases — and it’s still happening — ScienceDaily
Laboratory-evolved bacteria switch to consuming carbon dioxide for growth
Over the course of several months, researchers created Escherichia coli strains that consume carbon dioxide for energy instead of organic compounds. This achievement in synthetic biology highlights the incredible plasticity of bacterial metabolism and could provide the framework for future carbon-neutral bioproduction.
Source: Laboratory-evolved bacteria switch to consuming carbon dioxide for growth — ScienceDaily
Animal embryos evolved before animals
Design in the First Animals
Scientists debate whether ctenophores are the earliest animals to appear in the Cambrian explosion. If so, they arrived with multiple tissues, a nervous system, and a digestive system.
Linkage between evolution of pregnancy and cancer spread explained
Scientists at Yale have explained a potentially important connection in the evolution of mammalian pregnancy and the spread of cancer.
Source: Linkage between evolution of pregnancy and cancer spread explained
The Evolution of Neanderthal Spin
If evolutionary theory is true, there were millions of intermediate hominids between our nearest fully ape-like ancestor and ourselves.
Darwin’s Origin of Species — Some Historical Reflections 160 Years Later
Surely the “iconic” status of Darwin’s book could never have been predicted by either the author or his publisher.
Source: Darwin’s Origin of Species — Some Historical Reflections 160 Years Later | Evolution News
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