Category: Uncategorized

CHEATING PLANTS. "One of the consequences of such sexual specialization is that reward levels to pollinators often differ between male and female flowers as a result of sexual selection. Such specialization leads, in some cases, to cheating by one deceptive sex, which can be either male or female." https://lnkd.in/e8CyHKf View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS this explosive topic about the viral impact on evolution. In context, we are still engaged in the bizarre and arcane discussion of whether viruses are actually alive or not. And, the tree of life taxonomists have not permitted a branch to include the most prevalent creature on this planet. Further, evolutionary biologists are still debating angels on a pinhead about Darwin’s nuances. No wonder these provocative and compelling ideas have fallen in deaf ears. View in LinkedIn

EXTINCTION AND SPECIATION. "In clades with a large number of dioecious species, Vamosi and Vamosi found a higher extinction rate as well as a lower speciation rate than in their non-dioecious sister clades, a difference that may be explained by the strong sexual dimorphism displayed by dioecious species." https://lnkd.in/e8CyHKf View in LinkedIn

WONDROUS QUESTIONS. “How will viruses redraw who we are? What might a new human look like? How might they construct their societies, their culture, their art? What would it mean to be human? For viruses, the long march goes on.” https://lnkd.in/guhpmyR View in LinkedIn

DIOECIOUS ANGIOSPERMS. "The transition from monoecy to dioecy in plants is an important event in the evolution of angiosperms, with dioecious species occurring in half of all plant families but representing only 6–7% of all species." Angiosperm success as a group is remarkable. https://lnkd.in/e8CyHKf View in LinkedIn

NEW HUMANS. “It is clear that viruses have had a major impact on the origin, evolution, and diversification of all life on this planet including the primates and including the hominids and therefore it is not difficult to propose that this phenomena could continue and could lead to the creation of a new lineage of humans, a new species of humans.” https://lnkd.in/guhpmyR View in LinkedIn

AVOIDANCE OF INBREEDING. "Among the sexual strategies to avoid inbreeding in flowering plants, sexual dimorphism promotes the evolution of dioecy." https://lnkd.in/e8CyHKf View in LinkedIn

INCOMPLETE JOURNEY. “Viruses have clearly shaped our basic blueprint and are not through with us yet. Viruses are attempting to modify our species in a way that could lead to new human beings.” https://lnkd.in/guhpmyR View in LinkedIn

SPECIAL CASE OF THE FIG. "Mechanisms ensuring the evolutionary stability of dioecious fig–pollinator mutualisms, in which female fig trees engage in pollination by deceit resulting in zero reproductive success of pollinators that visit them, are poorly understood." https://lnkd.in/e8CyHKf View in LinkedIn

SEX RATIO SKEW. "Data suggest that males will generally be less sensitive to increased aridity than co-occurring females and, consequently, extreme male-biased sex ratios are possible in a significant number of populations. The effects of male-biased sex ratios are likely to cascade to dependent community members, especially those that are specialized on one sex." https://lnkd.in/e_imfDq View in LinkedIn