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Vincent J Lynch 🐘🦣🦥 🦇🐋🐢🐍 @devoevomed.bsky.social · Aug 13

Friends don’t let friends be adaptationists; if the math doesn’t math maybe it’s a spandrel. Cool story @radiolab.bsky.social about menopause, an often overlooked aspect of women’s reproductive health…

www.wnycstudios.org/story/the-me...

The Menopause Mystery

What do orcas, chimps, and humans have in common? A puzzling pause.

www.wnycstudios.org

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Kevin Lala @kevinlala.bsky.social · Aug 13

I'm pleased to share this new article by @svenkasser.bsky.social, Laura Fortunato @anthrolog.bsky.social, Marc Feldman and myself.

The article extends gene-culture coevolution to recognize evolutionary effects of culture arising through drift and migration.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

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The Ramsey Lab @theramseylab.bsky.social · Aug 12

Advocates of @eesupdate.bsky.social claim that standard evolutionary theory leaves important explanatory gaps. In a recent paper, we ask what kind—data-based, implementation-based, or framework-based—and what each might mean for the EES debate 👇📃 link.springer.com/article/10.1... #HPBio #evosky #HPS

Screenshot of the title page of a Biology & Philosophy journal article (2024, volume 39, article 22) with DOI link. The title reads “Explanatory gaps in evolutionary theory,” authored by Bendik Hellem Aaby, Gianmaria Dani, and Grant Ramsey, each with an ORCID icon.

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Prof. Gillian Brown @gillianrbrown1.bsky.social · Aug 8

🚨 New, short article by myself, Clark Barrett and @kevinlala.bsky.social on the legacy of Wilson's 'Sociobiology: The New Synthesis', which was published 50 years ago.

@science.org #ehbea #histbiol #evobio #psyscisky

Revisiting the human sociobiology debate |Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Revisiting the human sociobiology debate

What have we learned 50 years on?

www.science.org

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Kevin Lala @kevinlala.bsky.social · Jul 30

Thanks to Tim Lewens for a wonderful review of our 'Evolution Evolving' book.

"In this exceptionally ambitious and impressive book, Lala and collaborators... show how an understanding of development is essential to an understanding of evolution"

Read it here: shorturl.at/mgGEm

#evolution #evodevo

Development developing - Biology & Philosophy

Lala et al.’s (2024) Evolution Evolving is an excellent book. It offers a compelling case for the relevance of development to the study of evolution. It takes a pluralistic stance on the forms of unde...

shorturl.at

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The Dissenter @thedissenteryt.bsky.social · Jul 26

In episode 458, I talk with Drs. Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson about their fascinating book, A Story of Us: A New Look at Human Evolution. #Anthropology #Science

youtu.be/RJEm7baBdTs

#458 Lesley Newson & Peter Richerson - A Story of Us: A New Look at Human Evolution

YouTube video by The Dissenter

youtu.be

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Kevin Lala @kevinlala.bsky.social · Jul 25

I'm happy to share our latest manuscript "Impediments to countering racist pseudoscience", coauthored with @gillianrbrown1.bsky.social @kztwyman.bsky.social & Marcus Feldman.

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Nancy Bird @nancybird1.bsky.social · Jul 26

Check out our recent review 'Power and Limitations of Inferring Genetic Ancestry'- what do we even mean by the term 'genetic ancestry' and what do commonly-used methods actually tell us?

Annals of Human Genetics @ahgeditor.bsky.social · Jul 16

An Early View: Dr @nancybird1.bsky.social , Prof @turiking.bsky.social, & Prof Hellenthal examine the methodological advances and interpretive limits of genetic ancestry inference. The authors emphasize the need for a stronger focus on conveying uncertainty to mitigate risks of over-interpretation.

Power and Limitations of Inferring Genetic Ancestry

Background The recent emergence of technologies that capture and analyse genetic variation patterns obtained from a person's DNA sample has led to numerous academic and commercial endeavours to infe...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Shai Carmi @shaicarmi.bsky.social · Jul 17

Two useful new reviews on ancestry inference in population genetics:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

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Andrej Spiridonov @andrejpaleo.bsky.social · Jul 20

Cool study. Shows low dispersal of mammals across continents. Most are continental scale endemics. Significant in understanding the modern structure of the Bretskyan hierarchy from mammalian perspective.
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio #EvoBio #Macroecology

Share of common mammalian species across continents

Ecological characteristics of species with different degrees of geodispersal.

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EES_update @eesupdate.bsky.social · Jun 23

Fascinating historical review of Lala et al's "Evolution Evolving" book by @cassandrazieyang.bsky.social

See BioScience doi.org/10.1093/bios...

#evolution

The causal role of constructive development in evolution

doi.org

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M. Alejandra Petino Zappala @petinozappala.bsky.social · Jun 21

I was thrilled to take part in the 43rd Altenberg workshop on Conrad Hal Waddington at the KLI! Thanks to @alejandrofabregastejeda.com and @fvergara-silva.bsky.social for being such great organizers! (pun very much intended)

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Kevin Lala @kevinlala.bsky.social · Jun 23

The extraordinary legacy of Conrad Waddington was the focus of a terrific workshop held at the KLI last week. Superb talks, a beautiful venue, and great discussion made for a lot of fun. Thanks to all the participants, and particularly organizers Alejandro Febregas Tejeda & Francisco Vergara-Silva.

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Kevin Lala @kevinlala.bsky.social · Jun 13

A terrific review of my recent book in this month's Biological Theory:

Enrico Petracca argues that "Evolution Evolving marks a tip-
ping point in the study of evolution".

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Evolution at a Tipping Point - Biological Theory

This is a review essay on Evolution Evolving, by Kevin Lala, Tobias Uller, Nathalie Feiner, Marcus Feldman, and Scott Gilbert. The review suggests that the book marks a tipping point in the debate ove...

link.springer.com

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Daniel Dunne @oduinn.bsky.social · Jun 10

Look what I got from my local library. I'm stoked! @kevinlala.bsky.social

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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · Jun 9

A powerful new approach to interpreting population-genetic data in evolution and ecology.

Noah A. Rosenberg's Mathematical Properties of Population-Genetic Statistics is out now.

Learn more and read a free sample: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb... #MathMonday

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Molecular Biology and Evolution @molbioevol.bsky.social · May 28

Policarpo et al. use phylogenetic and synteny data to identify 19 teleost-to-teleost horizontal gene transfers, involving genes linked to immunity or pore formation; this suggests eukaryote-to-eukaryote HGT has shaped teleost evolution.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf107

#evolbio #molbio #fish

Multiple Horizontal Transfers of Immune Genes Between Distantly Related Teleost Fishes

Abstract. Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is less frequent in eukaryotes than in prokaryotes, yet can have strong functional implications and was proposed a

doi.org

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Kenneth Becker @geophotographer.org · May 25

New research reveals that human teeth evolved from the sensory armor of ancient fish over 460 million years ago. This discovery links our dental origins to early vertebrate exoskeletons.
🧪⚒️
#Evolution
#Paleontology
#ToothOrigins
#Fossils
#EvolutionaryBiology
Paper
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our teeth evolved from fish 'body armor' over 460 million years, scientists discover

Teeth are sensitive because they evolved from sensory tissue in both ancient vertebrates and ancient arthropods.

www.livescience.com

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Kevin Lala @kevinlala.bsky.social · May 22

I am please to share my latest article "A developmentalist’s view of inheritance", just published in acta ethologica.

rdcu.be/em4wW

Inheritance is a time-distributed developmental process by which diverse developmental resources become available to the next generation.

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Cédric Girard-Buttoz @tozbu.bsky.social · May 9

🚨PAPER ALERT Chimpanzees expand the meanings of their single calls when combining them. They use a variety of mechanisms, analogous to those found in human language, to alter the meanings of single calls in their combinations. Photo by @lirsamuni.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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Cultural Evolution Society @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social · May 14

📢 CES launches Advancing Cultural Evolution (ACE) Course Design Awards! 🎉 $4000 award + global impact for your cultural evolution course materials. Course must be college/grad level with 10+ hrs content.

Application link: vuw.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... #CulturalEvolution #Education #Grants

Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management

The most powerful, simple and trusted way to gather experience data. Start your journey to experience management and try a free account today.

vuw.qualtrics.com

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Extinct blog @extinctblog.bsky.social · May 15

Burgess Shale fans! We've got a new post today about the taming of the Burgess oddballs, with a focus on the 5-eyed, clawed-proboscis-havin' Opabinia regalis. How did Burgess problematica go from being taxonomic orphans to evidence for body plan evolution? Read:
www.extinctblog.org/extinct/2025...

Ode to Opabinia, or Why You Don't Hear as Much About Problematic Fossils as you Used to — Extinct

In which Max examines the history of research on that Burgess oddball, Opabinia regalis , and asks why this problematic fossil is less problematic than it used to be

www.extinctblog.org

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EES_update @eesupdate.bsky.social · May 15

Review of John Odling-Smees new book "Niche Construction: How Life Contributes to its own Evolution" by Paco Majic in Human Ethology.

"Overall, I believe the book has many merits...the discussion of how organisms and environments coevolve is a timely contribution"

human-ethology.org/article/133702

Constructing a Niche: Between Epistemological Expansions and Distortions | Published in Human Ethology

By Paco Majic. A review of the book "Niche Construction: How Life Contributes to Its Own Evolution" by John Odling-Smee

human-ethology.org

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Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · May 2

New paper! Very happy to have been invited to join the effort led by @anaeg.bsky.social to bring together an impressive team to try and wreslte with the conservation implications of our findings about culture in Pacific sperm whales. Trabajo fenomenal Ana! 🐋🦑🧪

anaeg.bsky.social @anaeg.bsky.social · May 2

Comparto con mucha emoción nuestro artículo de libre acceso sobre los retos y oportunidades para incorporar la dimensión cultural a la conservación de los cachalotes del Océano Pacífico Este Tropical 🐳🌎! @lrendell.bsky.social @migratoryspecies.bsky.social doi.org/10.1098/rstb...

Integrating cultural dimensions in sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) conservation: threats, challenges and solutions | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Culture—socially transmitted behaviours shared within a community—can influence animal populations' structure, vulnerability and resilience. Clans of sperm whales in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP)...

doi.org

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · May 5

I'm a big fan of this paper on the shape of rose petals.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Geometrically frustrated rose petals

Growth and form are deeply interconnected, in a manner often mediated by mechanical instabilities arising from geometric incompatibilities. Although Gauss incompatibility has long been recognized as t...

www.science.org

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