A fascinating look into the work of Sewall Wright, who used guinea pigs to explore Darwin’s theory of evolution. Zachary B. Hancock effectively distills complex processes into comprehensive and lucid writing. This piece will make you think, but it is so entertaining you will also sail through to the end.
There are a lot of ways to build an animal. The biodiversity of our planet is a testament to this. But if you imagine an organism as a fully constructed Lego toy, consider all the ways those individual bricks could be reassembled to build a wholly new thing. The entire range of possible assemblies is vast and yet the living world occupies only a tiny fraction of this design space. Nowhere does there exist a pig with wings, a bird with antlers, or a frog species with six legs.
One reason, first hinted at by Darwin, is that certain assemblies simply work better in their environment than others. These configurations allow organisms to survive and reproduce, passing on their specific Lego blueprint to the next generation. Once an organism has arrived at a structure that does well in its environment, randomly swapping some pieces are more likely to cause harm than further improvement.
More picks on evolution
The Geological Sublime
“Butterflies, deep time, and climate change.”
A Clever New Strategy for Treating Cancer, Thanks to Darwin
Robert Gatenby, a radiologist in Tampa, Florida, is rethinking cancer as a chronic illness: studying the link between cancer and Darwin’s principles and finding a way to “outsmart it rather than carpet-bomb it.”
Late in Life, Thoreau Became a Serious Darwinist
But he died before he could finish his book on natural history. As Emerson put it, Thoreau “depart[ed] out of Nature before… he has been really shown to his peers for what he is.”
What Does It Mean To Be Human?
How much of your DNA is Neanderthal? In Gibraltar, Gaia Vince analyzes the genetics of ancient humans.
