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Red Queen's Hypothesis
The Red Queen hypothesis is a hypothesis in evolutionary biology proposed in 1973, that species must constantly adapt, evolve, and proliferate in order to survive while pitted against ever-evolving opposing species. The hypothesis was intended to explain the constant (age-independent) extinction probability as observed in the paleontological record caused by co-evolution between competing species; however, it has also been suggested that the Red Queen hypothesis explains the advantage of sexual reproduction (as opposed to asexual reproduction) at the level of individuals,Bell, G. (1982). The Masterpiece Of Nature: The Evolution and Genetics of Sexuality. University of California Press, Berkeley, 378 pp. and the positive correlation between speciation and extinction rates in most higher taxa. Origin In 1973, Leigh Van Valen proposed the hypothesis as an "explanatory tangent" to explain the "law of extinction" known as "Van Valen's law", which states that the probability of ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypothesis
A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous observations that cannot satisfactorily be explained with the available scientific theories. Even though the words "hypothesis" and "theory" are often used interchangeably, a scientific hypothesis is not the same as a scientific theory. A working hypothesis is a provisionally accepted hypothesis proposed for further research in a process beginning with an educated guess or thought. A different meaning of the term ''hypothesis'' is used in formal logic, to denote the antecedent of a proposition; thus in the proposition "If ''P'', then ''Q''", ''P'' denotes the hypothesis (or antecedent); ''Q'' can be called a consequent. ''P'' is the assumption in a (possibly counterfactual) ''What If'' question. The adjective ''hypothetical'', meaning ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Queen (Through The Looking-Glass)
The Red Queen is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Lewis Carroll's fantasy 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass''. She is often confused with the Queen of Hearts from the previous book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865), although the two are very different. Overview With a motif of ''Through the Looking-Glass'' being a representation of the game of chess, the Red Queen could be viewed as an antagonist in the story as she is the queen for the side opposing Alice. Despite this, their initial encounter is a cordial one, with the Red Queen explaining the rules of chess concerning promotion—specifically that Alice is able to become a queen by starting out as a pawn and reaching the eighth square at the opposite end of the board. As a queen in the game of chess, the Red Queen is able to move swiftly and effortlessly. Later, in Chapter 9, the Red Queen appears with the White Queen, posing a series of typical Wonderland/Looking-Glass questions ("Divide a lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vicar Of Bray (scientific Hypothesis)
The "Vicar of Bray" hypothesis (or Fisher-Muller Model) attempts to explain why sexual reproduction might have advantages over asexual reproduction. Reproduction is the process by which organisms give rise to offspring. Asexual reproduction involves a single parent and results in offspring that are genetically identical to each other and to the parent. In contrast to asexual reproduction, sexual reproduction involves two parents. Both the parents produce gametes through meiosis, a special type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number by half. During an early stage of meiosis, before the chromosomes are separated in the two daughter cells, the chromosomes undergo genetic recombination. This allows them to exchange some of their genetic information. Therefore, the gametes from a single organism are all genetically different from each other. The process in which the two gametes from the two parents unite is called fertilization. Half of the genetic information from both pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Red Queen (1993 Book)
''The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature'' is a popular science book by Matt Ridley exploring the evolutionary psychology of sexual selection. ''The Red Queen'' was one of seven books shortlisted for the 1994 Rhône-Poulenc Prize (now known as the Royal Society Prizes for Science Books), that was eventually won by Steve Jones' '' The Language of the Genes''. The Royal Society website The title is in reference to the in evolutionary biology. Ridley argues that few, if any, aspects of human nature can be understood apart from sex, since human nature is a product of |
Matt Ridley
Matthew White Ridley, 5th Viscount Ridley, (born 7 February 1958), is a British science writer, journalist and businessman. He is known for his writings on science, the environment, and economics and has been a regular contributor to ''The Times'' newspaper. Ridley was chairman of the UK bank Northern Rock from 2004 to 2007, during which period it experienced the first run on a British bank in 130 years. He resigned, and the bank was bailed out by the UK government; this led to its nationalisation. Ridley is a libertarian, and a staunch supporter of Brexit. He inherited the viscountcy in February 2012 and was a Conservative hereditary peer from February 2013, with an elected seat in the House of Lords, until his retirement in December 2021. Early life and education Ridley's parents were Matthew White Ridley, 4th Viscount Ridley (1925–2012), and Lady Anne Katharine Gabrielle Lumley (1928–2006), the daughter of Roger Lumley, 11th Earl of Scarbrough. He is the nephew o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Advances
''Science Advances'' is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary open-access scientific journal established in early 2015 and published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The journal's scope includes all areas of science, including life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, computer sciences, and environmental sciences. History The journal was announced in February 2014, and the first articles were published in early 2015. In 2019, ''Science Advances'' surpassed ''Science magazine'' in the number of monthly submissions, becoming the largest member in the Science family of journals. It is the only member of that family where all papers are gold open access. Editorial structure Editorial decisions are made by the editorial board. The board is divided into editorial groups, each of which is led by a deputy editor and composed of a group of associate editors. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scientific Reports
''Scientific Reports'' is a peer-reviewed open-access scientific mega journal published by Nature Portfolio, covering all areas of the natural sciences. The journal was established in 2011. The journal states that their aim is to assess solely the scientific validity of a submitted paper, rather than its perceived importance, significance, or impact. In September 2016, the journal became the largest in the world by number of articles, overtaking '' PLOS ONE''. Abstracting and indexing The journal is abstracted and indexed in the Chemical Abstracts Service, the Science Citation Index Expanded, and selectively in Index Medicus/MEDLINE/PubMed. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2021 impact factor 4.996. Reviewing policy The ''Guide to Referees'' states that to be published, "a paper must be scientifically valid and technically sound in methodology and analysis", and reviewers have to ensure manuscripts "are not assessed based on their perceived ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genotype Frequencies
Genetic variation in populations can be analyzed and quantified by the frequency of alleles. Two fundamental calculations are central to population genetics: allele frequencies and genotype frequencies. Genotype frequency in a population is the number of individuals with a given genotype divided by the total number of individuals in the population. In population genetics, the genotype frequency is the frequency or proportion (i.e., 0 < ''f'' < 1) of genotypes in a population. Although allele and genotype frequencies are related, it is important to clearly distinguish them. Genotype frequency may also be used in the future (for "genomic profiling") to predict someone's having a disease or even a birth defect. It can also be used to determine ethnic diversity. Genotype frequencies may be represented by a De Finetti diagram. Numerical example As an example, ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sexual Selection
Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex (intrasexual selection). These two forms of selection mean that some individuals have greater reproductive success than others within a population, for example because they are more attractive or prefer more attractive partners to produce offspring. Successful males benefit from frequent mating and monopolizing access to one or more fertile females. Females can maximise the return on the energy they invest in reproduction by selecting and mating with the best males. The concept was first articulated by Charles Darwin who wrote of a "second agency" other than natural selection, in which competition between mate candidates could lead to speciation. The theory was given a mathematical basis by Ronald Fisher in the early 20th century. Sexual s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selection (biology)
Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charles Darwin popularised the term "natural selection", contrasting it with artificial selection, which in his view is intentional, whereas natural selection is not. Variation exists within all populations of organisms. This occurs partly because random mutations arise in the genome of an individual organism, and their offspring can inherit such mutations. Throughout the lives of the individuals, their genomes interact with their environments to cause variations in traits. The environment of a genome includes the molecular biology in the cell, other cells, other individuals, populations, species, as well as the abiotic environment. Because individuals with certain variants of the trait tend to survive and reproduce more than individuals with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Jaenike
John Jaenike is an ecologist and evolutionary biologist, and currently a professor at the University of Rochester New York. Jaenike was an early proponent of the Red Queen Hypothesis, using the idea to explain the maintenance of sex. Jaenike is also known for his extensive work on mushroom-feeding Drosophila and the evolution of their inherited bacterial symbionts ''Wolbachia'' and ''Spiroplasma poulsonii''.Unckless, R. L. and J. Jaenike. 2012. Maintenance of a male-killing Wolbachia in Drosophila innubila by male-killing dependent and male-killing independent mechanisms. Evolution 66: 678-689. In 2015, the trypanosomatid parasite ''Jaenimonas drosophilae'' was named in Jaenike's honour. See also * Drosophila quinaria species group * Mushroom-feeding Drosophila Mushroom-feeding ''Drosophila'' (mycophagous ''Drosophila'') are a subset of ''Drosophila'' flies that have highly specific mushroom-breeding ecologies. Often these flies can tolerate toxic compounds from ''Amanita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phylogenetic Niche Conservatism
The term phylogenetic niche conservatism has seen increasing use in recent years in the scientific literature, though the exact definition has been a matter of some contention. Fundamentally, phylogenetic niche conservatism refers to the tendency of species to retain their ancestral traits. When defined as such, phylogenetic niche conservatism is therefore nearly synonymous with phylogenetic signal. The point of contention is whether or not "conservatism" refers simply to the tendency of species to resemble their ancestors, or implies that "closely related species are more similar than expected based on phylogenetic relationships". If the latter interpretation is employed, then phylogenetic niche conservatism can be seen as an extreme case of phylogenetic signal, and implies that the processes which prevent divergence are in operation in the lineage under consideration. Despite efforts by Jonathan Losos to end this habit, however, the former interpretation appears to frequently mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
