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PLANT DECISIONS. "Somatic tissue senescence, abscission, and the cessation of meristematic activity are all examples of life-and-death decisions made by plants throughout their life cycles. These decisions may affect specific organ systems or, when acting in concert, may lead to the demise of the entire plant." https://lnkd.in/dNWP3KD View in LinkedIn

PROGRAMMED DEATH. "The importance of programmed cell death in animal development is becoming increasingly appreciated, but it is in higher plants that the attrition of cells, tissues, and even whole organ systems plays a continuing role in shaping the organism's architecture and its progression through its life cycle." https://lnkd.in/dNWP3KD View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE for the next two weekends concerns my annual autumnal observation that trees of the same species drop (and later sprout) leaves at precisely the same time, even though that time differs from year to year, based on rainfall and other conditions. Somehow, they all have done the same calculation and arrived at the same conclusion. Or, they all tuned into the same (spooky) channel. Quite remarkable. View in LinkedIn

SONG OF DARWIN. "The more I study nature, the more I become impressed […] that the contrivances and beautiful adaptations [acquired through natural selection] transcend in an incomparable degree [those] which the most fertile imagination of the most imaginative man could suggest with unlimited time at his disposal." https://lnkd.in/eykUy37 View in LinkedIn

THE QUESTION. "The evolution of life, from simple organic compounds in a primordial soup to the amazing diversity of contemporary organisms, has taken roughly 3.5 billion years. How can we explain the evolution of increasingly complex organisms over this period?" http://www.pnas.org/content/112/33/10112.full View in LinkedIn

COMPLEXITY IS NOT ENOUGH. "For example, archaea and eubacteria formed eukaryotic cells, and cells formed multicellular organisms. However, not all cooperative groups are en route to major transitions." http://www.pnas.org/content/112/33/10112.full View in LinkedIn

SMALL STEPS TO COMPLEXITY. "The evolution of life on earth has been driven by a small number of major evolutionary transitions. These transitions have been characterized by individuals that could previously replicate independently, cooperating to form a new, more complex life form." https://lnkd.in/eia5GWQ View in LinkedIn

ALL ABOUT INFORMATION. "A major evolutionary transition has been most broadly defined as a change in the way that heritable information is stored and transmitted." Think this over. http://www.pnas.org/content/112/33/10112.full View in LinkedIn

SHUNTING THE GOODIES. "Internal redistribution of N between sources and sinks can also account, at least in part, for other patterns of senescence. Before leaf fall in deciduous species, salvaged N is transferred to bark tissues, where it accumulates as defined storage proteins that will be mobilized to provide amino acids to support the resumption of growth in the spring." https://lnkd.in/dPac2Jv View in LinkedIn

REPETITIVE CHALLENGE. "The major transitions approach provides a conceptual framework that facilitates comparison across pivotal moments in the history of life. It suggests that the same problem arises at each transition: How are the potentially selfish interests of individuals overcome to form mutually dependent cooperative groups?" http://www.pnas.org/content/112/33/10112.full View in LinkedIn