Linus Björn
LightNews LightNews
linusb.bsky.social
Linus Björn
@linusb.bsky.social
380 followers 1.7K following 40 posts
Maps, evolution, geopolitics, … republishing what I find interesting.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Linus Björn
diazcarrete.bsky.social
"the flagellum, the only known example of a freely rotating propulsive system in biology" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotatin...
Evolution of flagella en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evoluti...
Natural selection therefore explains why wheels are an unlikely solution to the problem of locomotion: a partially evolved wheel, missing one or more key features, would probably not impart an advantage to an organism. The exception to this is the flagellum, the only known example of a freely rotating propulsive system in biology; in the evolution of flagella, individual components were recruited from older structures, where they performed tasks unrelated to propulsion. The basal body that is now the rotary motor, for instance, might have evolved from a structure used by the bacterium to inject toxins into other cells.[44][45][46] This recruitment of previously evolved structures to serve new functions is called exaptation.
September 7, 2025 at 7:06 AM