The nature of the last universal common ancestor and its impact on the early Earth system nature.com/articles/s4155… (read free: rdcu.be/dRPdk)

I guess mammals aren't the only one who have "fake thumb"...

Environmental complexity constrains evolutionary adaptation across taxa biorxiv.org/content/10.648… #biorxiv_evobio

Humans and chimpanzees last shared a common ancestor around 7 million years ago. Bison and buffalo, >10 million years ago.

This is probably the best essay I’ve read on the subject of mathematics in biology. (Gunawardena 2014)

Is natural selection the only driver of adaptation? 🧬 Introducing "Natural Induction": adaptation via structural reorganization in dynamical systems (like gene networks) under stress, functioning akin to associative learning. In this view, natural selection may act not as the

Out Now! Large-scale analysis of bacterial genomes reveals thousands of lytic phages nature.com/articles/s4156… #BacterialGenomes #LyticPhages #Microbiology

Another great short essay, by Paul Nurse, 2021: "Theorizing should be encouraged, and theories should be included in experimental papers to put data in context."

I've recently posted on the need for theory in biology, but here's a commentary on the need for evolutionary theory in cancer biology. Boddy, 2022.

Biologi kanker itu butuh teori evolusi

Tahukah kalian bahwa beberapa ikan seperti ikan mas (Carassius auratus) bisa bertahan hidup tanpa oksigen selama berbulan-bulan di musim dingin dengan mengubah asam piruvat menjadi etanol, bukan asam laktat. Ini mencegah penumpukan racun dalam tubuh. Referensi: Shoubridge, E.

The disease has spread so far that even Harvard does remedial math these days.

Powerful defense against a naturalistic, bottom-up and Darwinian approach to understand human consciousness, as opposed to other alternatives grounded on murky metaphyics (dualism, panpsychism, "top-down causation" etc.) journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10…

Another great essay on "Theory, models and biology" which is an even-handed treatise on why theory & biology don't easily mix. Shou, 2015. elifesciences.org/articles/07158

Today we're launching Issue 09 of Asimov Press. Our opening article is about how nature, the scientific journal, came to be considered "prestigious" by scientists and whether that designation is deserved or useful. We have many other excellent pieces coming over the next 3

Evolution doesn’t always take thousands or millions of years. Sometimes it happens right before our eyes. Such is the case with the Anna’s hummingbird, a species that has undergone a dramatic transformation in just a few generations, all thanks to the advent of hummingbird

Better artificial intelligence does not mean better models of biology Opinion by Drew Linsley (Drew Linsley), Pinyuan Feng (Pinyuan Feng), & Thomas Serre (Thomas Serre) Free access before Feb 11: tinyurl.com/2uvx445m

This video is one of the first times I thought biology was “cool.” It shows a neutrophil cell chasing a bacterium. Originally recorded in the 1950s by David Rogers at Vanderbilt University, the video gave me a deeper appreciation for life, even at the level of a single cell,

This is a good read on the history and basics of neuroplasticity. A sticking point for me: many of the best known types of neuroplasticity produce the opposite of plasticity per se ie they produce canalization (ie phenotypic resistance to change). I plan to write/publish on this

npj Complex.: The complexity of misinformation extends beyond virus and warfare analogies nature.com/articles/s4426…