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SWARM ENERGY. “In the course of contributing to the group’s collective behavior, every individual in a complex system both transports energy and transforms energy.” https://lnkd.in/gA5rxGc View in LinkedIn

CHANGE RESISTERS. “Yet the mere mention of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis often evokes an emotional, even hostile, reaction among evolutionary biologists. Too often, vital discussions descend into acrimony, with accusations of muddle or misrepresentation. Perhaps haunted by the spectre of intelligent design, evolutionary biologists wish to show a united front to those hostile to science.” https://lnkd.in/gninbRv View in LinkedIn

CORE ASSUMPTIONS. “We hold that organisms are constructed in development, not simply ‘programmed’ to develop by genes. Living things do not evolve to fit into pre-existing environments, but co-construct and coevolve with their environments, in the process changing the structure of ecosystems.” http://www.nature.com/news/does-evolutionary-theory-need-a-rethink-1.16080 View in LinkedIn

REVISION. “The number of biologists calling for change in how evolution is conceptualized is growing rapidly. Strong support comes from allied disciplines, particularly developmental biology, but also genomics, epigenetics, ecology and social science. We contend that evolutionary biology needs revision if it is to benefit fully from these other disciplines. The data supporting our position gets stronger every day.” http://www.nature.com/news/does-evolutionary-theory-need-a-rethink-1.16080 View in LinkedIn

NEWTHINK. “Some of us first met to discuss these advances six years ago. In the time since, as members of an interdisciplinary team, we have worked intensively to develop a broader framework, termed the extended evolutionary synthesis (EES), and to flesh out its structure, assumptions and predictions. In essence, this synthesis maintains that important drivers of evolution, ones that cannot be reduced to genes, must be woven into the very fabric of evolutionary theory.” (2014 paper) https://lnkd.in/gninbRv View in LinkedIn

MORE THAN JUST GENES. “New data pouring out of adjacent fields are starting to undermine this narrow stance. An alternative vision of evolution is beginning to crystallize, in which the processes by which organisms grow and develop are recognized as causes of evolution.” https://lnkd.in/gninbRv View in LinkedIn

DEVELOPMENTAL BIAS. “Cichlid fishes in Lake Malawi are more closely related to other cichlids in Lake Malawi than to those in Lake Tanganyika, but species in both lakes have strikingly similar body shapes. In each case, some fish have large fleshy lips, others protruding foreheads, and still others short, robust lower jaws.” http://www.nature.com/news/does-evolutionary-theory-need-a-rethink-1.16080 View in LinkedIn

ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATION. “In our view, this concept — developmental bias — helps to explain how organisms adapt to their environments and diversify into many different species.” https://lnkd.in/gninbRv View in LinkedIn

NON-RANDOM VARIATION. “For example, among one group of centipedes, each of the more than 1,000 species has an odd number of leg-bearing segments, because of the mechanisms of segment development.” http://www.nature.com/news/does-evolutionary-theory-need-a-rethink-1.16080 View in LinkedIn

GENE-CENTRIC ISSUE. “Particularly thorny is the observation that much variation is not random because developmental processes generate certain forms more readily than others.” https://lnkd.in/gninbRv View in LinkedIn