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SO ENDS this first of two weekends devoted to an evo-devo analysis of the human nose. As a case study, it is an exemplary example of the power of combining evolution and development as tools to untangle a complex dual function organ like the nose. While you may not have spent sleepless nights worrying about these questions, this very elegant article guides you effortlessly between arcane medical school anatomy, involuted embryology and taxa surveys to answer this question. Walk in somebody else’s shoes a mile or two. View in LinkedIn

"TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE seeks to comprehend such complexity by operating from a different epistemological basis. It eschews reductionism, placing little emphasis on studying small parts of the ecological system in isolation from the dependent interacting biophysical milieu. It also recognizes that the reductionist approach is impractical in the extreme: even if one were to know everything there was to know about everything of importance under all possible combinations and permutations of variability, such an immense database would be impossible to work with in practice." https://lnkd.in/dvpgYsT View in LinkedIn

DOUBLE FUNCTION. “Thus, with the amphibians the primary olfactory nose has evolved towards a nose devoted to olfaction and respiration. The amphibian nose communicates externally via the external naris and connects with the oral cavity posteriorly to the primary palate by the internal naris. The nasal cavity of amphibians is lined by olfactory epithelium with the exception of its ventro-lateral wall region.” http://www.wjgnet.com/esps/DownLoadFile.aspx?Type=Digital&SubType=2&DOI=10.5319%2Fwjo.v6.i2.33&FilePath=Pub%5C10.5319%5Cv6%5Ci2%5CWJO-6-33.doc View in LinkedIn

RANGE OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE. "Many scientists have begun to understand that such traditional knowledge extends far beyond what in western science would be called descriptive biology, beyond knowing how to identify different species of animals, or describe their feeding, reproduction, or migratory behaviour.” https://lnkd.in/dvpgYsT View in LinkedIn

OLFACTORY PRIMACY. “In amphibians, their ability to smell is derived from the superficial oscillatory movements of their buccal floor in order to establish intimate contact to their immediate surroundings be it a terrestrial or aquatic medium. The nasal respiratory function, however, is secondary as skin respiration is predominant. Amphibians, as a result, recruited the olfactory organ, as an intermittent tool for its respiratory apparatus.” http://www.wjgnet.com/esps/DownLoadFile.aspx?Type=Digital&SubType=2&DOI=10.5319%2Fwjo.v6.i2.33&FilePath=Pub%5C10.5319%5Cv6%5Ci2%5CWJO-6-33.doc View in LinkedIn

COMPLEXITY AND COMMUNICATION. "In the course of plant evolution, there is an obvious trend toward an increased complexity of plant bodies, as well as an increased sophistication of plant behavior and communication." http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fcimb.2013.00044/full View in LinkedIn

ABOMINABLE MYSTERY. "The evolution of land plants, especially the sudden appearance of flowering plants, represents one of the great mysteries for evolutionary theory. Indeed, Charles Darwin characterized this sudden origin and rapid evolution of flowering plants as the “abominable mystery”." https://lnkd.in/eDvT22D View in LinkedIn

SALTATIONS. "Many species remain virtually unchanged for millions of years, then suddenly disappear to be replaced by a quite different, but related, form. Moreover, most major groups of animals appear abruptly in the fossil record, fully formed, and with no fossils yet discovered that form a transition from their parent group."" "C.P. Hickman, L.S. Roberts, and F.M. Hickman, Integrated Principles of Zoology, p. 866 (Times Mirror/Moseby College Publishing, 1988, 8th ed). View in LinkedIn

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