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VANISHING INDIVIDUAL. “It is no longer possible to claim that individual organisms are objectively real, fundamental units in nature. Instead, we must now recognize that the classical concept of “individual” is, at best, a reductionist abstraction, in the way “assume a spherical cow” is useful in biophysics—it simplifies the analysis, but at some cost to a correspondence with reality.” https://lnkd.in/ewnQ9Vg View in LinkedIn

HYBRID ORGANISMS. “Some have asserted the conceptual demise of the individual with the suggestion that, “We are all lichens now”.” (Lichens are part algae, part fungus). https://lnkd.in/ewnQ9Vg View in LinkedIn

THE HOLOBIONT. “If associated microbiomes affect the fitness of the multi-cellular eukaryote host, then even among multi-cellular eukaryotes the primary unit of evolutionary survival and ecological function is not Simpson’s “objectively real” individual, but rather the holobiont—the composite of one multi-cellular eukaryote organism and its associated microbiome communities.” https://lnkd.in/ewnQ9Vg View in LinkedIn

HOST MICROBIOMES. “It has long been known that every multi-cellular eukaryotes individual carries huge numbers of microbes on every available surface, in every orifice, and sometimes endosymbiotically within cells. Recent studies have demonstrated that these associated microbiomes often play essential roles in the normal physiology and function of the host, contributing positively to the host’s fitness and affecting how it interacts with its environment.” https://standardsingenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40793-016-0180-8 View in LinkedIn

“HUMAN FACES have several derived features. We have everted, deeply colored lips, a relatively high volume of connective tissue deep to the dermis of the face, and our sclera has a large area of white instead of a more darkly colored sclera like other primates.” https://lnkd.in/di-WAXE View in LinkedIn

NEW INDIVIDUALITY THINKING. “More profoundly, new research on microbiomes (microbial communities that are physically engaged with multicellular organisms) are forcing a re-evaluation of the notion of individuality, even among multi-cellular eukaryotes.” https://standardsingenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40793-016-0180-8 View in LinkedIn

BRAIN-MUSCLE AXIS. “Dobson showed that size of the neocortex devoted to social interactions within primates was a significant predictor of facial nerve nuclei volumes in Old World monkeys and apes.” https://lnkd.in/di-WAXE View in LinkedIn

GENE SOUP. “Consequently, prokaryotes, unlike multi-cellular eukaryotes, have the great advantage of being able to acquire or discard genes for almost any non-critical function without the penalty of adversely affecting somatic development or regulation. Essentially, a prokaryote functions as one cell interacting physiologically with its environment, and with genetic content that can vary independently of reproduction.” https://lnkd.in/ewnQ9Vg View in LinkedIn

SPECIALIZED TISSUES. “In addition, Sherwood et al. found relatively greater volume of facial nerve nuclei in the great apes (including humans) than in all other Old World primates, suggesting increased differentiation of mimetic muscles and greater use of facial displays in social, visual communication.” https://lnkd.in/di-WAXE View in LinkedIn

PROKARYOTIC FREEDOMS. “Of course prokaryotes can, and do, exhibit individuality on the cellular level. But, critically, an individual prokaryotic cell is free from the requirement of maintaining genomic identity with neighboring cells and needs only to maintain its basic viability long enough to carry out basic physiological functions, transfer or acquire genes, replicate its genome, and divide.” https://standardsingenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40793-016-0180-8 View in LinkedIn