Evolutionary loss of traits is common over evolutionary time and occurs in diverse taxa.
Sexual signals and other non-signal traits should differ in their likelihood of becoming lost …

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more common and sophisticated, its effects on human
lives and societies are attracting considerable attention. The question of how these new …

There is an important point I want to make clear that is key within my philosophy. I am an
avid—if not slightly obsessed—reader. I like to read; I wish I could know everything about …

Background Professional papers in evolutionary biology continue to host expressions in
agreement with the pre-evolutionary metaphor of the scala naturae (the great chain of …

Many microbes interact with one another, but the difficulty of directly observing these
interactions in nature makes interpreting their adaptive value complicated. The social …

The donkey's extraordinary capacity to endure substantial loads over long distances while
maintaining equilibrium suggests a distinctive cerebellar architecture specialized in balance …

Biological nomenclature is an essential tool for storing and retrieving biological information.
Yet traditional nomenclature poorly reflects evolutionary theory. Current biological …

We describe the ubiquity of teleological language and thinking throughout biology, as a
context for understanding how students think about evolution, as well. Examples can be …

The notion of scala naturae dates back to thinkers such as Aristotle, who placed plants
below animals and ranked the latter along a graded scale of complexity from 'lower'to …

The application of evolutionary biology addresses a wide range of practical problems in
medicine, agriculture, the environment, and society. Such cutting-edge applications are …