EES_update

The Importance of Biological Theory - Biological Theory Biological Theory -

I am happy to share this article, entitled "The importance of Biological Theory". It is my inaugural editorial as the new Editor-in-Chief of @biologicaltheory.bsky.social . In these complex and challenging times, theory is more important now than ever. Enjoy!

doi.org/10.1007/s137...

➡️New issue out!⬅️

Our special issue on "The Concept of Lineage in Biology" guest edited by Javier Suárez and Matthew Haber is now out.

See everything in the December issue here: link.springer.com/journal/1375...

Stuart Newman

From Jan 1 2026, I take over as Editor-in-Chief of Biological Theory. I would like to thank my predecessor, Stuart Newman, who has done a terrific job for 10 years. That is truly extraordinary service to the community, and the journal is in a great place thanks to his efforts.
Kevin Lala

The pitfalls of an impoverished approach to culture: Commentary on Baumard and André

📢 Here is my commentary about the pitfalls of taking an impoverished evolutionary approach to culture, which include 'the limitations of a unidirectional model of evolution' and 'the neglect of niche construction theory'. #ehbea #evolution #psychscisky 🧪

🧵 1/2

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

De novo rates of a Trypanosoma-resistant mutation in two human populations | PNAS Mutation rates have long been measured as averages across many genomic positions. Recently, a method to measure the rates of individual mutations w...

“Mutations are directed but not Lamarckian”. Exciting stuff! @eesupdate.bsky.social #philbio www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

A great review of my book "Evolution Evolving" by Simon Okholm in Metascience

"Evolving Evolution is no ordinary textbook, and that is part of its appeal, giving the reader a sense of cutting-edge discovery and intellectual adventure"

"Does development matter in evolution?" see shorturl.at/DxuK

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

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...

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/...

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.

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

Revisiting the human sociobiology debate What have we learned 50 years on?

🚨 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/...

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...

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

YouTube video by The Dissenter #458 Lesley Newson & Peter Richerson - A Story of Us: A New Look at Human Evolution

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

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

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?

Two useful new reviews on ancestry inference in population genetics:

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

Share of common mammalian species across continents

Ecological characteristics of species with different degrees of geodispersal.

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

The causal role of constructive development in evolution

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

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

#evolution

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)

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.

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...

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...

Cover of the book Evolution Evolving.

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

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

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

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

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.

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...

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.

🚨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/...

📢 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

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

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...

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

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! 🐋🦑🧪