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natural selection

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Photograph of two female red deer, fighting with their front hooves.
evolution

Mating Contests Among Females, Long Ignored, May Shape Evolution

By Jake Buehler
August 2, 2021
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Showy male competitions over mating privileges have grabbed scientists’ attention more often, but new work hints that sexual selection is also widespread among females.

The zoologist Arik Kershenbaum of the University of Cambridge and his dog.
Q&A

Why Extraterrestrial Life May Not Seem Entirely Alien

By Dan Falk
March 18, 2021
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The zoologist Arik Kershenbaum argues that because some evolutionary challenges are truly universal, life throughout the cosmos may share certain features.

Illustration of a blue tiger.
Abstractions blog

How Neutral Theory Altered Ideas About Biodiversity

By Christie Wilcox
December 8, 2020
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The simple insight that most changes are random had a profound effect on genetics, evolution and ecology.

Art for "New Turmoil Over Weighing Genes’ Share of Complex Traits"
genomics

New Turmoil Over Predicting the Effects of Genes

By Jordana Cepelewicz
April 23, 2019
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Promising efforts at disentangling the effects of genes and the environment on complicated traits may have been confounded by statistical problems.

evolution

Should Evolution Treat Our Microbes as Part of Us?

By Jonathan Lambert
November 20, 2018
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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.

Abstractions blog

Why Nature Prefers Couples, Even for Yeast

By Jordana Cepelewicz
July 17, 2018
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Some species have the equivalent of many more than two sexes, but most do not. A new model suggests the reason depends on how often they mate.

Photo of ants holding larvae.
evolution

The Elusive Calculus of Insects’ Altruism and Kin Selection

By Jordana Cepelewicz
April 10, 2018
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How the ultra-cooperative behavior of ants, bees and other social insects could have evolved continues to challenge formal analysis. But a new theory about hedging bets against nature’s unpredictability may change the math and shift the debate.

evolution

The Surprising Origins of Life’s Complexity

By Carl Zimmer
July 16, 2013
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Scientists are exploring how organisms can evolve elaborate structures without Darwinian selection.

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