Surprise fruit from the “Tree of Life”
From Quanta Magazine: Researchers build the world’s largest evolutionary tree and conclude that species arise because of chance mutations — not natural selection. What? They are allowed to say that now? One reason scientists are skeptical is that Hedges’ clocklike pattern conflicts with the traditional picture of how evolution unfolds. “The classic view of evolution is that it happens in fits and starts,” Benton said. A change in the environment, such as a rise in temperatures after an ice age, might spark a burst of speciation as organisms adapt to their new surroundings. Alternatively, a single remarkable adaptation such as flight in the ancestors of birds or hair in mammals might trigger a massive expansion of animals with those characteristics. Read More ›