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New Squid Genome Shines Light on Symbiotic Evolution
Researchers hope that the genes of a glowing squid can illuminate how animals evolved organs for beneficial bacteria.
Jellyfish Genome Hints That Complexity Isn’t Genetically Complex
Jellyfish didn’t need novel genes to take an evolutionary leap in complexity.
A ‘Self-Aware’ Fish Raises Doubts About a Cognitive Test
A report that a fish can pass the “mirror test” for self-awareness reignites debates about how to define and measure that elusive quality.
Should Evolution Treat Our Microbes as Part of Us?
How does evolution select the fittest “individuals” when they are ecosystems made up of hosts and their microbiomes? Biologist debate the need to revise theories.
Complex Animals Led to More Oxygen, Says Maverick Theory
For decades, researchers have commonly assumed that higher oxygen levels led to the sudden diversification of animal life 540 million years ago. But one iconoclast argues the opposite: that new animal behaviors raised oxygen levels and remade the environment.
Oxygen and Stem Cells May Have Reshaped Early Complex Animals
An unlikely team offers a controversial hypothesis about what enabled animal life to get more complex during the Cambrian explosion.
Hunger Game: Is Honesty Between Animals Always the Best Policy?
Game theorists have developed a new model of communication among animals. It suggests evolution will produce a situation in which members of a species are honest most of the time, but not always.