1
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Livnat A, Love AC. Mutation and evolution: Conceptual possibilities. Bioessays 2024; 46:e2300025. [PMID: 38254311 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202300025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Although random mutation is central to models of evolutionary change, a lack of clarity remains regarding the conceptual possibilities for thinking about the nature and role of mutation in evolution. We distinguish several claims at the intersection of mutation, evolution, and directionality and then characterize a previously unrecognized category: complex conditioned mutation. Empirical evidence in support of this category suggests that the historically famous fluctuation test should be revisited, and new experiments should be undertaken with emerging experimental techniques to facilitate detecting mutation rates within specific loci at an ultra-high, individual base pair resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adi Livnat
- Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy and Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota (Twin Cities), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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2
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Love AC, Wagner GP. Stress, harshness, and evolutionary history. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:903-904. [PMID: 37301667 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy and Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Günter P Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Yale Systems Biology Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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3
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Dresow M, Love AC. Teleonomy: Revisiting a Proposed Conceptual Replacement for Teleology. Biol Theory 2023; 18:101-113. [PMID: 37214193 PMCID: PMC10191995 DOI: 10.1007/s13752-022-00424-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The concept of teleonomy has been attracting renewed attention recently. This is based on the idea that teleonomy provides a useful conceptual replacement for teleology, and even that it constitutes an indispensable resource for thinking biologically about purposes. However, both these claims are open to question. We review the history of teleological thinking from Greek antiquity to the modern period to illuminate the tensions and ambiguities that emerged when forms of teleological reasoning interacted with major developments in biological thought. This sets the stage for an examination of Pittendrigh's (Adaptation, natural selection, and behavior. In: Roe A, Simpson GG (eds) Behavior and evolution. Yale University Press, New Haven, pp 390-416, 1958) introduction of "teleonomy" and its early uptake in the work of prominent biologists. We then explore why teleonomy subsequently foundered and consider whether the term may yet have significance for discussions of goal-directedness in evolutionary biology and philosophy of science. This involves clarifying the relationship between teleonomy and teleological explanation, as well as asking how the concept of teleonomy impinges on research at the frontiers of evolutionary theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Dresow
- Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA
| | - Alan C. Love
- Department of Philosophy & Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA
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4
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DiFrisco J, Love AC, Wagner GP. The hierarchical basis of serial homology and evolutionary novelty. J Morphol 2023; 284:e21531. [PMID: 36317664 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Given the pervasiveness of gene sharing in evolution and the extent of homology across the tree of life, why is everything not homologous with everything else? The continuity and overlapping genetic contributions to diverse traits across lineages seem to imply that no discrete determination of homology is possible. Although some argue that the widespread overlap in parts and processes should be acknowledged as "partial" homology, this threatens a broad base of presumed comparative morphological knowledge accepted by most biologists. Following a long scientific tradition, we advocate a strategy of "theoretical articulation" that introduces further distinctions to existing concepts to produce increased contrastive resolution among the labels used to represent biological phenomena. We pursue this strategy by drawing on successful patterns of reasoning from serial homology at the level of gene sequences to generate an enriched characterization of serial homology as a hierarchical, phylogenetic concept. Specifically, we propose that the concept of serial homology should be applied primarily to repeated but developmentally individualized body parts, such as cell types, differentiated body segments, or epidermal appendages. For these characters, a phylogenetic history can be reconstructed, similar to families of paralogous genes, endowing the notion of serial homology with a hierarchical, phylogenetic interpretation. On this basis, we propose a five-fold theoretical classification that permits a more fine-grained mapping of diverse trait-types. This facilitates answering the question of why everything is not homologous with everything else, as well as how novelty is possible given that any new character possesses evolutionary precursors. We illustrate the fecundity of our account by reference to debates over insect wing serial homologs and vertebrate paired appendages.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.,Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Günter P Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,Yale Systems Biology Institute, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale Medical School, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA
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5
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Love AC, Wagner GP. Phenotypic Plasticity & Evolution: Causes, Consequences, ControversiesDavid W.Pfennig (ed). xxxi +404 pp.,index. Evolutionary Cell Biology.Boca Raton, FL:CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group,2021. $230 (hardback); Open Access (pdf). Evol Dev 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ede.12420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alan C. Love
- Department of Philosophy, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science University of Minnesota Minneapolis Minnesota USA
| | - Günter P. Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale Systems Biology Institute Yale University New Haven Connecticut USA
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6
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Love AC, Dresow M. Corrigendum: Organizing Interdisciplinary Research on Purpose. Bioscience 2022; 72:708. [PMID: 35769501 PMCID: PMC9236872 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biac041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alan C Love
- University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
| | - Max Dresow
- University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
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7
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DiFrisco J, Wagner GP, Love AC. Reframing research on evolutionary novelty and co-option: Character identity mechanisms versus deep homology. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2022; 145:3-12. [PMID: 35400563 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.03.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
A central topic in research at the intersection of development and evolution is the origin of novel traits. Despite progress on understanding how developmental mechanisms underlie patterns of diversity in the history of life, the problem of novelty continues to challenge researchers. Here we argue that research on evolutionary novelty and the closely associated phenomenon of co-option can be reframed fruitfully by: (1) specifying a conceptual model of mechanisms that underwrite character identity, (2) providing a richer and more empirically precise notion of co-option that goes beyond common appeals to "deep homology", and (3) attending to the nature of experimental interventions that can determine whether and how the co-option of identity mechanisms can help to explain novel character origins. This reframing has the potential to channel future investigation to make substantive progress on the problem of evolutionary novelty. To illustrate this potential, we apply our reframing to two case studies: treehopper helmets and beetle horns.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Günter P Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Yale Systems Biology Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale Medical School, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
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8
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Love AC, Dreso w M. Organizing Interdisciplinary Research on Purpose. Bioscience 2022; 72:321-323. [PMID: 35370479 PMCID: PMC8970812 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biab128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alan C Love
- University of Minne sota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
| | - Max Dreso w
- University of Minne sota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
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9
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Love AC. Evolution evolving? Reflections on big questions. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol 2019; 332:315-320. [PMID: 31613422 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2019] [Revised: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 09/07/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
John Bonner managed a long and productive career that balanced specialized inquiry into cellular slime molds with general investigations of big questions in evolutionary biology, such as the origins of multicellular development and the evolution of complexity. This commentary engages with his final paper ("The evolution of evolution"), which argues that the evolutionary process has changed through the history of life. In particular, Bonner emphasizes the possibility that natural selection plays different roles at different size scales. I identify some underlying assumptions in his argument and evaluate its cogency to both foster future discussion and emulate the intellectual example set by Bonner over a lifetime. This endeavor is important beyond Bonner's own theoretical disposition because similar issues are visible in controversies about the possibility of an extended evolutionary synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy & Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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10
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Brigandt I, Katz LA, Nanjundiah V, Gilbert SF, Grant PR, Grant BR, Love AC, Newman SA, West-Eberhard MJ. John Tyler Bonner: Remembering a scientific pioneer. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol 2019; 332:365-370. [PMID: 31742864 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Revised: 11/02/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Throughout his life, John Tyler Bonner contributed to major transformations in the fields of developmental and evolutionary biology. He pondered the evolution of complexity and the significance of randomness in evolution, and was instrumental in the formation of evolutionary developmental biology. His contributions were vast, ranging from highly technical scientific articles to numerous books written for a broad audience. This historical vignette gathers reflections by several prominent researchers on the greatness of John Bonner and the implications of his work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ingo Brigandt
- Department of Philosophy, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Laura A Katz
- Department of Biological Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts.,Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
| | - Vidyanand Nanjundiah
- Centre for Human Genetics, BioTech Park, Bangalore, India.,Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), Wallenberg Research Centre at Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Scott F Gilbert
- Department of Biology, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
| | - Peter R Grant
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
| | - B Rosemary Grant
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
| | - Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy and Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Stuart A Newman
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York
| | - Mary J West-Eberhard
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute at the Escuela de Biologia, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.,Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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11
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Abstract
A better understanding of the nature and causes of failure in research could inform policies to improve the reproducibility of biomedical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Guttinger
- Center for Philosophy of Natural and Social ScienceLondon School of EconomicsLondonUK
| | - Alan C Love
- Department of PhilosophyUniversity of MinnesotaMinneapolisMNUSA
- Minnesota Center for Philosophy of ScienceUniversity of MinnesotaMinneapolisMNUSA
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12
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Wagner GP, Erkenbrack EM, Love AC. Stress-Induced Evolutionary Innovation: A Mechanism for the Origin of Cell Types. Bioessays 2019; 41:e1800188. [PMID: 30919472 PMCID: PMC7202399 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201800188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2018] [Revised: 01/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the evolutionary role of environmentally induced phenotypic variation (i.e., plasticity) is an important issue in developmental evolution. A major physiological response to environmental change is cellular stress, which is counteracted by generic stress reactions detoxifying the cell. A model, stress-induced evolutionary innovation (SIEI), whereby ancestral stress reactions and their corresponding pathways can be transformed into novel structural components of body plans, such as new cell types, is described. Previous findings suggest that the cell differentiation cascade of a cell type critical to pregnancy in humans, the decidual stromal cell, evolved from a cellular stress reaction. It is hypothesized that the stress reaction in these cells was elicited ancestrally via inflammation caused by embryo attachment. The present study proposes that SIEI is a distinct form of plasticity-based evolutionary change leading to the origin of novel structures rather than adaptive transformation of pre-existing characters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Günter P. Wagner
- Yale Systems Biology Institute, West Haven, CT 06516
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale Medical School, New Haven, CT 06510
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201
| | - Eric M. Erkenbrack
- Yale Systems Biology Institute, West Haven, CT 06516
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520
| | - Alan C. Love
- Department of Philosophy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
- Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,MN 55455
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13
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Abstract
This chapter reflects on and makes explicit the distinctiveness of reasoning practices associated with model organisms in the context of evolutionary developmental research. Model organisms in evo-devo instantiate a unique synthesis of model systems strategies from developmental biology and comparative strategies from evolutionary biology that negotiate a tension between developmental conservation and evolutionary change to address scientific questions about the evolution of development and the developmental basis of evolutionary change. We review different categories of model systems that have been advanced to understand practices found in the life sciences in order to comprehend how evo-devo model organisms instantiate this synthesis in the context of three examples: the starlet sea anemone and the evolution of bilateral symmetry, leeches and the origins of segmentation in bilaterians, and the corn snake to understand major evolutionary change in axial and appendicular morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy and Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
| | - Yoshinari Yoshida
- Department of Philosophy and Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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14
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Lidgard S, Love AC. Corrigendum: Rethinking Living Fossils. Bioscience 2018; 68:926. [PMID: 30464354 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biy129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biy084.].
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott Lidgard
- Integrative Research Center at the Field Museum, in Chicago, Illinois
| | - Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy and the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis
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15
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Willoughby EA, Love AC, McGue M, Iacono WG, Quigley J, Lee JJ. Free Will, Determinism, and Intuitive Judgments About the Heritability of Behavior. Behav Genet 2018; 49:136-153. [PMID: 30315376 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-018-9931-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Accepted: 10/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The fact that genes and environment contribute differentially to variation in human behaviors, traits and attitudes is central to the field of behavior genetics. Perceptions about these differential contributions may affect ideas about human agency. We surveyed two independent samples (N = 301 and N = 740) to assess beliefs about free will, determinism, political orientation, and the relative contribution of genes and environment to 21 human traits. We find that lay estimates of genetic influence on these traits cluster into four distinct groups, which differentially predict beliefs about human agency, political orientation, and religiosity. Despite apparent ideological associations with these beliefs, the correspondence between mean lay estimates and published heritability estimates for the surveyed traits is large (r = .77). Belief in genetic determinism emerges as a modest predictor of accuracy in these lay estimates. Additionally, educated mothers with multiple children emerge as particularly accurate in their estimates of the genetic contribution to these traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily A Willoughby
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Rd., Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
| | - Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Matt McGue
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Rd., Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - William G Iacono
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Rd., Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Jack Quigley
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Rd., Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - James J Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Rd., Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
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16
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Abstract
Biologists would be mistaken if they relegated living fossils to paleontological inquiry or assumed that the concept is dead. It is now used to describe entities ranging from viruses to higher taxa, despite recent warnings of misleading inferences. Current work on character evolution illustrates how analyzing living fossils and stasis in terms of parts (characters) and wholes (e.g., organisms and lineages) advances our understanding of prolonged stasis at many hierarchical levels. Instead of viewing the concept's task as categorizing living fossils, we show how its primary role is to mark out what is in need of explanation, accounting for the persistence of both molecular and morphological traits. Rethinking different conceptions of living fossils as specific hypotheses reveals novel avenues for research that integrate phylogenetics, ecological and evolutionary modeling, and evo-devo to produce a more unified theoretical outlook.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott Lidgard
- Integrative Research Center, Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy and the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
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17
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Redish AD, Kummerfeld E, Morris RL, Love AC. Opinion: Reproducibility failures are essential to scientific inquiry. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:5042-5046. [PMID: 29765001 PMCID: PMC5960342 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1806370115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- A David Redish
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455;
| | - Erich Kummerfeld
- Institute for Health Informatics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | | | - Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
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18
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Love AC, Stewart TA, Wagner GP, Newman SA. Perspectives on Integrating Genetic and Physical Explanations of Evolution and Development: An Introduction to the Symposium. Integr Comp Biol 2017; 57:1258-1268. [DOI: 10.1093/icb/icx121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
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19
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Moczek AP, Sears KE, Stollewerk A, Wittkopp PJ, Diggle P, Dworkin I, Ledon-Rettig C, Matus DQ, Roth S, Abouheif E, Brown FD, Chiu CH, Cohen CS, Tomaso AWD, Gilbert SF, Hall B, Love AC, Lyons DC, Sanger TJ, Smith J, Specht C, Vallejo-Marin M, Extavour CG. The significance and scope of evolutionary developmental biology: a vision for the 21st century. Evol Dev 2015; 17:198-219. [PMID: 25963198 DOI: 10.1111/ede.12125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) has undergone dramatic transformations since its emergence as a distinct discipline. This paper aims to highlight the scope, power, and future promise of evo-devo to transform and unify diverse aspects of biology. We articulate key questions at the core of eleven biological disciplines-from Evolution, Development, Paleontology, and Neurobiology to Cellular and Molecular Biology, Quantitative Genetics, Human Diseases, Ecology, Agriculture and Science Education, and lastly, Evolutionary Developmental Biology itself-and discuss why evo-devo is uniquely situated to substantially improve our ability to find meaningful answers to these fundamental questions. We posit that the tools, concepts, and ways of thinking developed by evo-devo have profound potential to advance, integrate, and unify biological sciences as well as inform policy decisions and illuminate science education. We look to the next generation of evolutionary developmental biologists to help shape this process as we confront the scientific challenges of the 21st century.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armin P Moczek
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, 915 East 3rd Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Karen E Sears
- School of Integrative Biology and Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, 505 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Angelika Stollewerk
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, UK
| | - Patricia J Wittkopp
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Pamela Diggle
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA
| | - Ian Dworkin
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. West Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Cristina Ledon-Rettig
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, 915 East 3rd Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - David Q Matus
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook University, 412 Life Sciences Building, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-5215, USA
| | - Siegfried Roth
- University of Cologne, Institute of Developmental Biology, Biocenter, Zülpicher Straße 47b, D-50674, Cologne, Germany
| | - Ehab Abouheif
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Avenue Docteur Penfield, Montréal Québec, H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Federico D Brown
- Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, Travessa 14, no. 101, 05508-090, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Chi-Hua Chiu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, OH, USA
| | - C Sarah Cohen
- Biology Department, Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, San Francisco State University, 3150 Paradise Drive, Tiburon, CA, 94920, USA
| | | | - Scott F Gilbert
- Department of Biology, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081, USA and Biotechnology Institute, University of Helsinki, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Brian Hall
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CA, B3H 4R2, USA
| | - Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, USA
| | - Deirdre C Lyons
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Thomas J Sanger
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, P.O. Box 103610, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA
| | - Joel Smith
- Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA
| | - Chelsea Specht
- Plant and Microbial Biology, Department of Integrative Biology, University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Mario Vallejo-Marin
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK
| | - Cassandra G Extavour
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, BioLabs 4103, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
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20
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Love AC. Collaborative explanation, explanatory roles, and scientific explaining in practice. Stud Hist Philos Sci 2015; 52:88-94. [PMID: 26193791 DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2015.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2015] [Accepted: 03/30/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Scientific explanation is a perennial topic in philosophy of science, but the literature has fragmented into specialized discussions in different scientific disciplines. An increasing attention to scientific practice by philosophers is (in part) responsible for this fragmentation and has put pressure on criteria of adequacy for philosophical accounts of explanation, usually demanding some form of pluralism. This commentary examines the arguments offered by Fagan and Woody with respect to explanation and understanding in scientific practice. I begin by scrutinizing Fagan's concept of collaborative explanation, highlighting its distinctive advantages and expressing concern about several of its assumptions. Then I analyze Woody's attempt to reorient discussions of scientific explanation around functional considerations, elaborating on the wider implications of this methodological recommendation. I conclude with reflections on synergies and tensions that emerge when the two papers are juxtaposed and how these draw attention to critical issues that confront ongoing philosophical analyses of scientific explanation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan C Love
- University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Department of Philosophy, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, 831 Heller Hall, 271 19th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0310, United States.
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Abstract
Many philosophers of biology have embraced a version of pluralism in response to the failure of theory reduction but overlook how concepts, methods, and explanatory resources are in fact coordinated, such as in interdisciplinary research where the aim is to integrate different strands into an articulated whole. This is observable for the origin of evolutionary novelty-a complex problem that requires a synthesis of intellectual resources from different fields to arrive at robust answers to multiple allied questions. It is an apt locus for exploring new dimensions of explanatory integration because it necessitates coordination among historical and experimental disciplines (e.g., geology and molecular biology). These coordination issues are widespread for the origin of novel morphologies observed in the Cambrian Explosion. Despite an explicit commitment to an integrated, interdisciplinary explanation, some potential disciplinary contributors are excluded. Notable among these exclusions is the physics of ontogeny. We argue that two different dimensions of integration-data and standards-have been insufficiently distinguished. This distinction accounts for why physics-based explanatory contributions to the origin of novelty have been resisted: they do not integrate certain types of data and differ in how they conceptualize the standard of uniformitarianism in historical, causal explanations. Our analysis of these different dimensions of integration contributes to the development of more adequate and integrated explanatory frameworks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, 831 Heller Hall, 271 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States.
| | - Gary L Lugar
- Archives of Scientific Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh, 347 Hillman Library, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, United States.
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Love AC. From ArabidopsisandAntirrhinumto Arabia and Antioch: a review ofcells to civilizations: the principles of change that shape life. Evol Dev 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/ede.12024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alan C. Love
- Department of Philosophy, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science; University of Minnesota; Minneapolis, MN; 55455; USA
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Brigandt I, Love AC. Conceptualizing Evolutionary Novelty: Moving Beyond Definitional Debates. J Exp Zool (Mol Dev Evol ) 2012; 318:417-27. [DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2012] [Revised: 05/22/2012] [Accepted: 05/28/2012] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ingo Brigandt
- Department of Philosophy; University of Alberta; Edmonton; Alberta; Canada
| | - Alan C. Love
- Department of Philosophy and Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science; University of Minnesota; Minneapolis; Minnesota
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Abstract
The ubiquity of top-down causal explanations within and across the sciences is prima facie evidence for the existence of top-down causation. Much debate has been focused on whether top-down causation is coherent or in conflict with reductionism. Less attention has been given to the question of whether these representations of hierarchical relations pick out a single, common hierarchy. A negative answer to this question undermines a commonplace view that the world is divided into stratified 'levels' of organization and suggests that attributions of causal responsibility in different hierarchical representations may not have a meaningful basis for comparison. Representations used in top-down and bottom-up explanations are primarily 'local' and tied to distinct domains of science, illustrated here by protein structure and folding. This locality suggests that no single metaphysical account of hierarchy for causal relations to obtain within emerges from the epistemology of scientific explanation. Instead, a pluralist perspective is recommended-many different kinds of top-down causation (explanation) can exist alongside many different kinds of bottom-up causation (explanation). Pluralism makes plausible why different senses of top-down causation can be coherent and not in conflict with reductionism, thereby illustrating a productive interface between philosophical analysis and scientific inquiry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan C. Love
- Department of Philosophy, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, 831 Heller Hall, 271 19th Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0310, USA
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Love AC. Idealization in evolutionary developmental investigation: a tension between phenotypic plasticity and normal stages. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2010; 365:679-90. [PMID: 20083642 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2009.0262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Idealization is a reasoning strategy that biologists use to describe, model and explain that purposefully departs from features known to be present in nature. Similar to other strategies of scientific reasoning, idealization combines distinctive strengths alongside of latent weaknesses. The study of ontogeny in model organisms is usually executed by establishing a set of normal stages for embryonic development, which enables researchers in different laboratory contexts to have standardized comparisons of experimental results. Normal stages are a form of idealization because they intentionally ignore known variation in development, including variation associated with phenotypic plasticity (e.g. via strict control of environmental variables). This is a tension between the phenomenon of plasticity and the practice of staging that has consequences for evolutionary developmental investigation because variation is conceptually removed as a part of rendering model organisms experimentally tractable. Two compensatory tactics for mitigating these consequences are discussed: employing a diversity of model organisms and adopting alternative periodizations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, 831 Heller Hall, 271 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
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Love AC. Typology reconfigured: from the metaphysics of essentialism to the epistemology of representation. Acta Biotheor 2009; 57:51-75. [PMID: 18827974 DOI: 10.1007/s10441-008-9059-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2008] [Accepted: 09/10/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The goal of this paper is to encourage a reconfiguration of the discussion about typology in biology away from the metaphysics of essentialism and toward the epistemology of classifying natural phenomena for the purposes of empirical inquiry. First, I briefly review arguments concerning 'typological thinking', essentialism, species, and natural kinds, highlighting their predominantly metaphysical nature. Second, I use a distinction between the aims, strategies, and tactics of science to suggest how a shift from metaphysics to epistemology might be accomplished. Typological thinking can be understood as a scientific tactic that involves representing natural phenomena using idealizations and approximations, which facilitates explanation, investigation, and theorizing via abstraction and generalization. Third, a variety of typologies from different areas of biology are introduced to emphasize the diversity of this representational reasoning. One particular example is used to examine how there can be epistemological conflict between typology and evolutionary analysis. This demonstrates that alternative strategies of typological thinking arise due to the divergent explanatory goals of researchers working in different disciplines with disparate methodologies. I conclude with several research questions that emerge from an epistemological reconfiguration of typology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan C. Love
- The reviewer is in the Department of Philosophy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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Abstract
The larval arms of echinoid plutei are used for locomotion and feeding. They are composed of internal calcite skeletal rods covered by an ectoderm layer bearing a ciliary band. Skeletogenesis includes an autonomous molecular differentiation program in primary mesenchyme cells (PMCs), initiated when PMCs leave the vegetal plate for the blastocoel, and a patterning of the differentiated skeletal units that requires molecular cues from the overlaying ectoderm. The arms represent a larval feature that arose in the echinoid lineage during the Paleozoic and offers a subject for the study of gene co-option in the evolution of novel larval features. We isolated new molecular markers in two closely related but differently developing species, Heliocidaris tuberculata and Heliocidaris erythrogramma. We report the expression of a larval arm-associated ectoderm gene tetraspanin, as well as two new PMC markers, advillin and carbonic anhydrase. Tetraspanin localizes to the animal half of blastula stage H. tuberculata and then undergoes a restriction into the putative oral ectoderm and future location of the postoral arms, where it continues to be expressed at the leading edge of both the postoral and anterolateral arms. In H. erythrogramma, its expression initiates in the animal half of blastulae and expands over the entire ectoderm from gastrulation onward. Advillin and carbonic anhydrase are upregulated in the PMCs postgastrulation and localized to the leading edge of the growing larval arms of H. tuberculata but do not exhibit coordinated expression in H. erythrogramma larvae. The tight spatiotemporal regulation of these genes in H. tuberculata along with other ontogenetic and phylogenetic evidence suggest that pluteus arms are novel larval organs, distinguishable from the processes of skeletogenesis per se. The dissociation of expression control in H. erythrogramma suggest that coordinate gene expression in H. tuberculata evolved as part of the evolution of pluteus arms, and is not required for larval or adult development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan C Love
- Department of Biology, Indiana Molecular Biology Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
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Abstract
Although the role of morphology in evolutionary theory remains a subject of debate, assessing the contributions of morphological investigation to evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-devo) is a more circumscribed issue of direct relevance to ongoing research. Historical studies of morphologically oriented researchers and the formation of the Modern Synthesis in the Anglo-American context identify a recurring theme: the synthetic theory of evolution did not capture multiple levels of biological organization. When this feature is incorporated into a philosophical framework for explaining the origin of evolutionary innovations and novelties (a core domain of inquiry in Evo-devo) two specific roles for morphology can be described: (1) the conceptualization and operational identification of the targets of explanation; and (2) the elucidation of causal interactions at higher levels of organization during ontogeny and through evolutionary time. These roles are critical components of any adequate explanation of innovation and novelty though not exhaustive of the parts played by morphology in evolutionary investigation. They also invite reflection on what counts as an evolutionary cause in contemporary evolutionary biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
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Abstract
Comprehending the origin of marine invertebrate larvae remains a key domain of research for evolutionary biologists, including the repeated origin of direct developmental modes in echinoids. In order to address the latter question, we surveyed existing evidence on relationships of homology between the ectoderm territories of two closely related sea urchin species in the genus Heliocidaris that differ in their developmental mode. Additionally, we explored a recently articulated idea about homology called 'organizational homology' (Müller 2003. In: Müller GB, Newman SA, editors. Origination of organismal form: beyond the gene in developmental and evolutionary biology. Cambridge, MA: A Bradford Book, The MIT Press. p 51-69. ) in the context of this specific empirical case study. Applying the perspective of organizational homology to our experimental system of congeneric echinoids has led us to a new hypothesis concerning the ectoderm evolution in these species. The extravestibular ectoderm of the direct developer Heliocidaris erythrogramma is a novel developmental territory that arose as a fusion of the oral and aboral ectoderm territories found in indirect developing echinoids such as Heliocidaris tuberculata. This hypothesis instantiates a theoretical principle concerning the origin of developmental modules, 'integration', which has been neglected because the opposite theoretical principle, 'parcellation', is more readily observable in events such as gene duplication and divergence (Wagner 1996. Am Zool 36:36-43).
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan C Love
- Indiana Molecular Biology Institute and Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
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Abstract
Alexander Kowalevsky was one of the most significant 19th century biologists working at the intersection of evolution and embryology. The reinstatement of the Alexander Kowalevsky Medal by the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists for outstanding contributions to understanding evolutionary relationships in the animal kingdom, evolutionary developmental biology, and comparative zoology is timely now that Evo-devo has emerged as a major research discipline in contemporary biology. Consideration of the intellectual lineage of comparative evolutionary embryology explicitly forces a reconsideration of some current conceptions of the modern emergence of Evo-devo, which has tended to exist in the shadow of experimental embryology throughout the 20th century, especially with respect to the recent success of developmental biology and developmental genetics. In particular we advocate a sharper distinction between the heritage of problems and the heritage of tools for contemporary Evo-devo. We provide brief overviews of the work of N. J. Berrill and D. T. Anderson to illustrate comparative evolutionary embryology in the 20th century, which provides an appropriate contextualization for a conceptual review of our research on the sea urchin genus Heliocidaris over the past two decades. We conclude that keeping research questions rather than experimental capabilities at the forefront of Evo-devo may be an antidote to any repeat of the stagnation experienced by the first group of evolutionary developmental biologists over one hundred years ago and acknowledges Kowalevsky's legacy in evolutionary embryology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rudolf A Raff
- Indiana Molecular Biology Institute and Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan C Love
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
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Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare the progress of clients attending two substance misuse treatment agencies. A wide range of problems were recorded at 1, 3-6, and 12 month intervals; these included measures of substance misuse and dependence together with social problems and physical and mental health problems. Differences in outcome between the two agencies were entirely attributable to the number and severity of a range of problems rather than simply to severity of dependence or differences between the agencies themselves. This raised questions of how treatment outcomes are understood and explained, and the usefulness of therapeutic models per se.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Keene
- School of Social Work, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
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Gallagher S, Hamrick CA, Love AC, Marras WS. Dynamic biomechanical modelling of symmetric and asymmetric lifting tasks in restricted postures. Ergonomics 1994; 37:1289-1310. [PMID: 7925254 DOI: 10.1080/00140139408964909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
This article describes investigations of dynamic biomechanical stresses associated with lifting in stooping and kneeling postures. Twelve subjects volunteered to participate in two lifting experiments each having two levels of posture (stooped or kneeling), two levels of lifting height (350 or 700 mm), and three levels of weight (15, 20, or 25 kg). One study examined sagitally symmetric lifting, the other examined an asymmetric task. In each study, subjects lifted and lowered a box every 10 s for a period of 2 min in each treatment combination. Electromyography (EMG) of eight trunk muscles was collected during a specified lift. The EMG data, normalized to maximum extension and flexion exertions in each posture, was used to predict compression and shear forces at the L3 level of the lumbar spine. A comparison of symmetric and asymmetric lifting indicated that the average lumbar compression was greater in sagittal plane tasks; however, both anterior-posterior and lateral shear forces acting on the lumbar spine were increased with asymmetric lifts. Analysis of muscle recruitment indicated that the demands of lifting asymmetrically are shifted to ancillary muscles possessing smaller cross-sectional areas, which may be at greater risk of injury during manual materials handling (MMH) tasks. Model estimates indicated increased compression when kneeling, but increased shear forces when stooping. Increasing box weight and lifting height both significantly increased compressive and shear loading on the lumbar spine. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated complex muscle recruitment schemes--each treatment combination elicited a unique pattern of muscle recruitment. The results of this investigation will help to evaluate safe loads for lifting in these restricted postures.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Gallagher
- US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh Research Center, PA 15236
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