Category Archives: Evolution

Markets are reminiscent of ecosystems in the natural world. Because of this, there are concepts in ... [+] biology which can help you become a better thinker in the realm of business and startups.

Business to a degree works as the applied science brother of economics. So, even though not all theoretical economical knowledge is directly applicable to business (especially in macroeconomics), concepts from economics like supply and demand equilibrium, opportunity costs, marginal costs, economies of scale, and so on are still very useful for entrepreneurs to be familiar with. They provide you with mental models that you can utilize when thinking of your own business and the environment in which it operates.

Other scientific fields, however, can be equally useful in that regard. For example, markets are extremely reminiscent of ecosystems in the natural world. Because of this, there are concepts in biology which fit the business world surprisingly well and can help you become a better thinker when it comes to entrepreneurship and startups.

Evolution By Natural Selection Applied to Startups

Mutations in organisms drive differential reproductive success, which means that the successful traits get passed on, while the unsuccessful ones are driven into extinction.

This process is entirely blind every trait has costs and benefits, and its the environment that ultimately determines what is valuable and what isnt.

Thanks to the work of Richard Dawkins, we know that this is true not only of genes but also of memes ideas and behavior that get passed on in a similar manner (e.g. building a nest in a particular way, etc.).

And while companies dont have genes, they most certainly can be viewed as an amalgamation of memes.

Because of this, the environment in which companies live (the market) determines which behaviors are beneficial to the success and survival of the company, and which are detrimental.

In other words - the market shapes the product features, business models, startup culture, marketing or financial practices, etc. of the businesses that operate in it.

This is vital to understand if you plan to do things differently. In a static environment a stable, unchanging market, new behaviors and practices (memes) are unlikely to be beneficial. The current companies would have converged on the best way to do business. Such markets are likely to be extremely hard to disrupt.

In a turbulent, chaotic market, however, exploration of new behaviors is vital, and the most adaptive of businesses are the ones who will be successful. It is in such markets that startups have a huge advantage over big businesses because of their much greater flexibility. It is exactly for that reason that market timing is arguably the number one most important factor when you are choosing which startup market to enter.

Biological And Business Niches

In order to survive, most species specialize in a niche of their own. This is a way to differentiate themselves from other species and to reduce the level of direct competition to a minimum.

If two species are competing in the same niche, however, the likelihood that one of the two would be forced extinct in time is high because they are competing over the same limited resources.

This is also true for businesses, especially in the digital era with its low marginal costs and strong network effects. Tech startup niches are often winner-takes-all economies.

Consequently, one of the best ways to ensure the success of your startup is to avoid competing directly with other businesses over the same customers with the same proposition. Differentiating your offering meaningfully and tailoring it to a unique segment of consumers is a great way to ensure your business exists in an abundant rather than scarce environment, which will allow it to thrive.

The Red Queen Effect In Biology And Business

Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. Alice in Wonderland

Evolution by natural selection forces species to be in a constant evolutionary arms race. The ones that fail to adapt go extinct.

This is also true of businesses and especially of startups. Markets are rarely static, especially in the technological age. Over time, the only constant thing is change.

This means that ensuring success in the long run you have to pay extremely close attention to changes in the market and to constantly adapt.

Summary

A few important lessons for startups that could be derived from concepts in biology are:

Link:

Using Evolutionary Thinking To Gain An Advantage In The Realm Of Startups - Forbes

This book should give the reader a rational and logical explanation of creation, as it manifests itself, showing a close correlation with the character of God, what He tells us about ourselves and what He tells us about the rest of creation.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (PRWEB) July 11, 2021

Author John Constantine Capleton uses the order of the natural universe as testimony of its divine Creator in The MYTH about EVOLUTION ($17.99, paperback, 9781662819162; $27.99, hard cover, 9781662819179; $8.99, e-book, 9781662819186).

Through both observation and study, Capleton has learned that an ordered universe requires some intelligence behind it, as well as maintanence to keep it going. He believes the Word of God when it tells readers that God is both Creator and maintenance crew for our universe, and explains this approach to his own readers.

This book should give the reader a rational and logical explanation of creation, as it manifests itself, showing a close correlation with the character of God, what He tells us about ourselves and what He tells us about the rest of creation, said Capleton.

John Constantine Capleton is an engineer with a Masters degree in Manufacturing Engineering. He grew up on the north coast of Jamaica with an innate ability and passion for creating and building, which he has pursued throughout his lifetime.

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Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 15,000 titles published to date. The MYTH about Evolution is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

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Xulon Press presents a logical debunking of the theory of evolution - PR Web

When Nat Fyfe arrived at Fremantle at the end of 2009 as a skinny, shy but talented draftee, he immediately struck new teammate Matt de Boer as a player with an "anti-authoritarian streak" who was going to challenge the norms.

With a desire to be the best as soon as he could, it was that tendency to push boundaries and question the way things were done that initially rubbed some teammates up the wrong way.

But 12 years and 199 games on, it is a trait that has shaped the champion midfielder's career and allowed him to become a superstar of the competition and a unique leader of a young team.

"He was clearly in a hurry to make a mark," de Boer recalled ahead of Fyfe's 200th game on Saturday.

"He was shy with a bit of anti-authoritarian about him, and he was happy to push boundaries.

"He thinks differently and wants to do things in his own way, whether it was weights or touch, he would have his own take on it. But that was always coupled with a team element and a will to win."

De Boer describes his close friend as "anti-normal" in the way he thinks deeply about why things are done and then takes the actions he believes are needed to improve, rather than falling into line out of habit.

He had a clear plan from an early age to be the game's best player, de Boer said, which would lead him to do his own research and seek out his own specialists when they were needed.

"The fact that he always had a purpose to not just get better but to be the best, that was the different between him and other players," de Boer said.

"He aimed high and wanted to be the best, which took him to another level."

Michael Barlow is another former teammate who remains close with Fyfe and recognised the anti-authoritarian and challenging side of his personality early on.

"That's exactly the way he is wired," Barlow said. "To challenge normal essentially and do things his own way in the confines of an elite program and team sport."

Barlow believes Fyfe is different to 99 per cent of AFL players in the extent of his professional ambition.

He is motivated by team success but is also acutely aware of the role he can play in that if he reaches the pinnacle individually, as he did twice as a Brownlow medallist in 2015 and 2019.

"This is not to put pressure on him, but he would sit there and think 'I can be the greatest of all time'." Barlow said.

"He would be driven by the team success but also the involvement and significance of his own individual performance.

"He is top 1 per cent in his field. He's one of the outliers in terms of performance and expectation, and with that comes a fair bit of behaving differently and finding different edges."

Barlow left Fremantle at the end of 2016 before Fyfe was made captain the following season, but he saw the midfielder's leadership style emerging.

The Werribee VFL coach has also remained in touch with the 29-year-old, sharing ideas on leadership, where Fyfe again brings a unique style.

"He's tapped into a little bit more about personal relationships and finding a little niche with every player," Barlow said.

"He might do a gun club with Brett Bewley once a week, and then he'll do surfing with James Aish, but each individual is different, and it might be 15 minutes a week where he invests in each individual in different ways.

"He has genuine care in people and he is very direct and invested in your life. It's a pretty special element of his character."

Former Docker Brady Grey has become a regular training partner for Fyfe in the off-season after the pair struck up a close friendship during their recoveries from injury in 2016.

He has watched Fyfe grow as a captain and believes his desire to be the best player is now matched with his desire to be the best possible leader of a young Fremantle team.

"It's starting to reflect in the way Freo are playing and how everyone accepts him for who he is and how he leads," Grey said.

He's worked out who he wants to be a leader and he is bring the young guys along with him and really embracing that everyone is their own individual.

"His ability to connect with different generations and different players has made him a better player and a better leader."

Grey, who will join Fyfe up and down the WA coast for training stints, or in-land at the star's Lake Grace home, can still see the three-time All Australian's desire burning to be the best player in the competition.

Goalkicking issues have prevented him reaching those heights in an otherwise excellent season, but there have been performances in 2021 that show the champion Docker still has that level in him.

"Something that has been a constant is that he is not complacent about being good or great he wants to be the best and I don't think that's changed," Gray said.

"There's a reason why he's played 200 games and had the success he's had as an individual, but he always comes back to how can we win a premiership?

"He knows that if he's in that position where he's the best player in the comp then Freo can achieve something special."

Brett Bewley updateDarcy - The narrative has changedFremantle's 2021 Indigenous jumper auction is now live!No holding back - Fyfe looks beyond 200

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The evolution of Fyfe: From 'anti-authoritarian' kid to inspirational leader - Fremantle Dockers

By: Dave Russell, Vice President of Enterprise Strategy, Veeam

With employees encouraged to work from home with the ongoing pandemic, IT has taken on the importance of a utility along with water, gas and electricity, Without connectivity, telecommunications and the cloud, many businesses would have ground to a halt, while consumers would have had limited means of keeping in touch, buying essential goods, and staying entertained. But thanks to IT, businesses such as supermarkets, broadcasters and financial services have continued to thrive.

Online shopping has become the norm, particularly for essential goods with online traffic growing by over a thirdglobally in the supermarket sector. Subscriptions to on-demand streaming platforms are through the roof with Netflix adding 26 million subscribers to its platform by the end of June last year. Social media, video communication and instant messaging platforms have extended their user bases. The outstanding beneficiary here has been Zoom posting a 335% increase in revenues compared to 2019. Everything from the way we receive medical advice, check our bank balance and exercise are driven by a digital-first approach. So, what is the impact of IT going from being in the background to be a core part of the backbone? For the technology industry, the impact is profound. There has been a collective and widespread epiphany of ITs value to both the economy and society. While this is music to the ears of cloud, connectivity and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers, with great power comes great responsibility.

No more downtime

If IT is to live up to this critical infrastructure status, availability must be a given. Think about the frequency with which power cuts or empty water taps actually occur. These are infrequent events which still cause surprise and generate headline news. Can we honestly say the same about the availability of IT services? Think about how often routers need rebooting and applications fail to respond to basic commands. Furthermore, cyber-breaches occur on a daily basis with some statistics suggesting around 30,000 websites are hacked every day. For technology to be elevated to utility status, there needs to be an agreed level of service to which providers are held accountable by independent regulators. Simply put, this page cannot be displayed and computer says no moments have to become a thing of the past. While in principle, such a scenario may seem unattractive to technology giants, this expectation is befitting of the vital role technology plays in almost every aspect of our lives today.

Beyond the possibility of opposition from Silicon Valley, there are other challenges to consider with regulating technology. Using the examples of social media and search, enforcing a level of service for something that the consumer does not pay to use would be an almost unprecedented move. However, subscription-based SaaS models lend themselves well to such regulation. Arguably, that regulation already exists and is called a Service License Agreement (SLA). These are set by the service provider, which is legally obliged to fulfil the SLA once a contract with a customer or partner has been signed. Given the impact of downtime on businesses, we are already seeing customers demand more of their provider.

According to Veeams 2020 Data Protection Trends Report, 95% of global organisations suffer unexpected outages lasting an average of almost two hours. For High Priority applications, which account for over half of a companys applications, one hour of downtime is estimated to cost $67,651. That means for an application such as email, payments, websites and mobile apps, one outage costs an average of over $135,000. While companies can fight the case for compensation, change providers if they are dissatisfied, or demand urgent maintenance of a system that causes downtime, there is no one size fits all insurance model to protect businesses. A step towards tighter regulation of technology and telecoms could be a set of minimum service requirements, including a maximum amount of downtime allowed, time to recover data and applications, frequency of software upgrades.

Securing techs reputation

When we talk about downtime and other glitches which possibly threaten technologys status as a utility, we turn to cybersecurity. The growing importance of IT in the worlds day-to-day operations is an opportunity that cyber-attackers will pull out all the stops to exploit. Anything that is connected can be hacked. So, what does that mean in a world where everything is connected? What it means is that cyber-attacks have risen again in 2020. Microsofts 2020 Digital Defense Report shows that Office 365 alone has blocked 1.6 billion URL-based email phishing threats in the past twelve months. Of 6 trillion messages scanned for viruses, 13 billion malicious emails were blocked. This supports Veeams own research, with IT leaders naming cyber threats their biggest challenge in the next 12 months above issues such as a shortage of skills and the ability to meet customer demands.

The penalties for businesses who fail to secure their systems and data are already high. As well as the financial cost of downtime, loss of confidence from customers and reputational damage leave a distasteful legacy, and something businesses cant always recover from. All of this once again points towards the utility-like status of technology in this case with specific reference to cybersecurity and data protection. Perhaps the question needs to change from what security provider is a business using to what security protocols should businesses be required to implement based on the data they are processing? The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which applies to all EU citizens data, goes some way to implementing a universal framework. But implementing cybersecurity measures is a choice rather than an enforced necessity. As cybersecurity becomes a utility that businesses need rather than a layer of IT they can choose, there is an opportunity to institute best practice across the board. Will cybersecurity training for office-based employees become mandatory, particularly with the rise of the remote workforce? Should all organisations publish a full disaster recovery plan, which details how they will recover data should it be lost or stolen? Going further, should personal data held by organisations be subject to a universal cybersecurity standard to ensure all citizens data is protected to a satisfactory level?

Like the ongoing cybersecurity battle, the trend of technology permeating every aspect of our working and person lives pre-dates 2021. However, this is undoubtedly a watershed moment for technology in the way it is perceived and the opportunity for the industry to demonstrate responsibility. We have already seen the techlash aimed at companies that fail to protect data or use it ethically. At the same time, business leaders and people across the world have come to realise that having access to the Internet is the new keeping the lights on. Our economies, societies and lives are enriched by the ability to communicate, share content and complete transactions online. The result is that technologys role in the world has evolved into that of something which is expected to be ubiquitous, always-on and permanently available. The world simply will not accept this page cannot be displayed anymore.

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Technology's Evolution from Background to Backbone - Tahawul Tech

Down with leukemia

Down syndrome is a congenital disorder caused by the trisomy of chromosome 21, and it is associated with a greatly increased risk of leukemia with origins in fetal development. Infants with Down syndrome are often born with a preleukemic condition, which later resolves in most cases. By using gene-edited human cells implanted into mouse models, Wagenblast et al. recapitulated the development of preleukemia and leukemia in the context of Down syndrome (see the Perspective by Roberts and Vyas). A specific mutation triggered a preleukemic condition in the context of trisomy 21 as expected, but progression to full-blown leukemia required a different genetic path and was not dependent on trisomy 21.

Science, abf6202, this issue p. eabf6202; see also abj3957, p. 155

Leukemia is the most common cancer in children, with the first genetic alterations often occurring during fetal development. These initiating events generate preleukemic cells, which are the evolutionary ancestors of leukemia that arises after birth. Because of our inability to directly access human fetal preleukemia, the identity of the cell of origin and the steps of leukemia evolution remain largely unknown. Down syndrome leukemogenesis represents a disease setting to study human preleukemia and the evolutionary steps that lead to fully transformed leukemia. Up to 30% of children with Down syndrome (trisomy 21) exhibit a preleukemic transient abnormal myelopoiesis (TAM) and, overall, have a 150-fold increased risk of developing myeloid leukemia within the first 5 years of life. However, the mechanism by which an extra copy of chromosome 21 predisposes to preleukemia and leukemia remains unclear.

Understanding Down syndrome leukemogenesis requires a humanized model that faithfully recapitulates the full developmental spectrum of premalignant and malignant stages of Down syndrome leukemia. Using CRISPR/Cas9mediated gene editing in human disomic and trisomic fetal liverderived hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and xenotransplantation, we developed a model with which to characterize the genetic events and cellular contexts underlying the preleukemic and leukemic phases of Down syndrome leukemogenesis.

Trisomy 21 hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) showed reduced proliferation in vitro and generated smaller grafts in xenotransplanted mice, with reduced serial transplant ability, as compared with that of disomic HSPCs. Preleukemia was initiated in trisomy 21, but not disomic, long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) when mutations in the erythroid-megakaryocyte transcription factor GATA binding protein 1 (GATA1) were introduced, which led to exclusive expression of the short isoform (GATA1s). Subsequent leukemic progression could occur in multiple stem and progenitor populations, was independent of trisomy 21, and induced through deletion of cohesin genes, including STAG2 (STAG2ko). Serial engraftment in mice showed that GATA1s-induced preleukemia underwent spontaneous resolution, which contrasted with the persistent ability of the GATA1s/STAG2koinduced leukemia to engraft serially in mice. Leukemic progression was developmentally restricted to fetal and early postnatal stages; adult-derived bone marrow HSPCs were unable to undergo GATA1s/STAG2ko-induced leukemic transformation. We identified a molecular mechanism by which three chromosome 21 microRNAs (miRNAs) contributed to the predisposition toward preleukemia initiation. Simultaneous overexpression of miR-99a, miR-125b-2, and miR-155 in normal disomic LT-HSCs recapitulated a trisomy 21like hematopoietic state, as assessed through comparable lineage differentiation, reduced self-renewal capacity, and similar gene expression and open chromatin accessibility profile. Removal of these miRNAs in trisomy 21 LT-HSCs inhibited GATA1s-induced preleukemia development. Using secondary xenotransplantations of defined cell populations, we identified CD117+/KIT proto-oncogene (KIT) as a marker of disease-driving cells. Pharmacological KIT inhibition targeted preleukemic stem cells, both in GATA1s-induced preleukemia and in primary Down syndrome preleukemia patient samples.

Collectively, our results provide insight into how human preleukemia and leukemia evolve in fetal life and early childhood. We were able to identify distinct cellular origins and effects of trisomy 21 for preleukemia initiation and leukemia progression. Predisposition to preleukemia in Down syndrome is affected by overexpression of distinct chromosome 21 miRNAs, specifically in the preleukemic LT-HSC cell of origin. Our study reveals the relevance of the cellular and developmental status of the cell of origin during leukemogenesis, which begins to explain why genetic drivers can be distinct between pediatric and adult acute myeloid leukemia. KIT inhibitors targeted preleukemic stem cells, providing proof of principle for early prevention strategies in childhood leukemia that may be able to inhibit leukemia progression, and these results encourage further preclinical and clinical assessment.

Down syndrome preleukemia originated in long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) through mutations in GATA1, leading to the expression of the short isoform GATA1s. Progression toward leukemia occurred in various stem and progenitor cells through mutations in cohesin factors such as STAG2. Predisposition to preleukemia was affected by chromosome 21 miRNAs, and pharmacological inhibition of KIT targeted preleukemic stem cells.

Children with Down syndrome have a 150-fold increased risk of developing myeloid leukemia, but the mechanism of predisposition is unclear. Because Down syndrome leukemogenesis initiates during fetal development, we characterized the cellular and developmental context of preleukemic initiation and leukemic progression using gene editing in human disomic and trisomic fetal hematopoietic cells and xenotransplantation. GATA binding protein 1 (GATA1) mutations caused transient preleukemia when introduced into trisomy 21 long-term hematopoietic stem cells, where a subset of chromosome 21 microRNAs affected predisposition to preleukemia. By contrast, progression to leukemia was independent of trisomy 21 and originated in various stem and progenitor cells through additional mutations in cohesin genes. CD117+/KIT proto-oncogene (KIT) cells mediated the propagation of preleukemia and leukemia, and KIT inhibition targeted preleukemic stem cells.

Read more here:

Mapping the cellular origin and early evolution of leukemia in Down syndrome - Science

Rip City knows the tremendous value of Damian Lillards skillset and leadership qualities.

But now the world is going to learn more about all of Lillards characteristics.

As Lillard and Team USA gear up for this years Summer Olympics, head coach Gregg Popovich is thankful to have such a Lillard on his roster as Lillard joins the squad for the first time.

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Whenever I talked to Dame it was about letting him know that he was valued and we'd love to have him on the time. Period, Popovich said following Thursdays practice.

Coach Pop also discussed the value and importance of having two Teammates of the Year recipients in Lillard and Jrue Holiday.

We have such a short time together and somebodys got to lead. Somebody has to take on the responsibility to understand, to keep everybody focused.

Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich

Those kind of leadership skills are necessary, mandatory, Popovich added. It makes everything a lot more difficult if everybody is just looking around at everybody else and they dont know who to look to. So, guys like Jrue and Damian are very valuable in that sense.

With the videos on social media of Team USA scrimmages in Las Vegas, it seems Lillard and Warriors star Draymond Green are working well together both on and off the court.

Green, who earned a gold medal with Team USA during the 2016 Olympic Games,undoubtedlyrespects Lillards game, but from the sounds of it, he may respect the Trail Blazers point guards mind even more.

We all know that Dame has carried a huge chip on his shoulder, Green began to explain. From being a guy who was not recruited by many high-majors if maybe one or two. Going to Weber State, coming into the draft, a lot of people knowing that this guy is good, but doubting him because he went to a small school, the story goes on and on.

Green also explained the importance of the evolution of Lillard playing with a chip on his shoulder.

I think one of the great things about Dame is he still carries that chip on his should, but the way you carry a chip on your shoulder, you cant carry the same chip on your shoulder that you had as a rookie You have to learn how to wear that chip differently and one of the most powerful things about Dame has is he continues to wear that chip on his shoulder, but knows how to wear it.

Draymond Green

After leading the Blazers to a sixth place finish in the Western Conference last season with a 42-30 overall record, while averaging 28.8 points and 7.5 assists, Lillard says he had a sour taste in his mouth after an early First Round playoff exit.

As eager as Lillard is for Olympic play to tip-off, Green sounds just as excited to play alongside Dame.

Obviously one of the best shooters in our game, one of the most prolific scorers in our game, and also an incredible leader and an incredible point guard, Green said.

Hes from Oakland, and he embodies that, he carries that, he carries that toughness. And that makes all the difference when he takes the floor.

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Draymond Green discusses the evolution of Damian Lillard playing with a chip on his shoulder - NBC Sports

We can learn more from the pop icon than just how to write a killer breakup anthem.

Taylor Swift is an icon. Regardless of your opinion on her music, her impact on popular culture is hard to ignore. Now, shes re-recording her first five studio albums made under the music label Big Machine, with the public reason being to reclaim rights over her previous work after it was sold to music executive Scooter Braun. But, these re-recordings are reflective of her growth, not only as an artist, but as a public and political figure.

Swift largely stayed out of politics early in her career, and white supremacist groups latched onto her silence as support for their cause. It wasnt until 2018 that Swift began to come into her own in the political sphere. Now, in 2021, Swift is a prominent advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights, gun control and the freedom to choose. Shes an outspoken feminist, dropping tracks like The Man and Mad Woman which speak to the trials of misogyny in everyday life.

Re-recording her albums is more than just a f you to Scooter Braun. By Swifts account, Braun has repeatedly bullied her. He also closely associates with Kanye West, who Swift has a contentious relationship with following the 2009 MTV Music and Video Awards. In re-recording her albums, her goal is to override her previous work keeping Braun from profiting off of her music. Its a manifestation of how she has changed and grown as an artist, a reclamation of her identity and reputation. She exerts control over her music, releasing all of the songs she wants, not simply the ones deemed good enough for the album by producers.

In the era of cancel culture, proving personal growth by literally going back over your past is an influential move.

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For a long time, Swift remade herself with each album. She didnt just release songs, she changed her personal style, altered her public image and curated a musical theatre production for each world tour. As she grew from a teenage country singer to the 31 year old pop icon she is now, her sound grew with her.

Her last two albums, Folklore and Evermore, have been a departure from that. They tell the stories of other people, real and make-believe, and have none of the pomp and circumstance of her earlier work. Swift is no longer conforming to the music scene. Shes not a malleable teen girl listening to the whims of producers and agents trying to make her famous; shes come into her own. That sense of self allows her to re-record all of these previous albums in a way that is true to who she truly is.

Swifts actions do more than provide her fans with content to consume. Not only does she regain the rights to her previous songs, shes able to alter her earlier music to accurately reflect who she has become and leave behind who she is not. She is no longer a politically silent poster child for neo-Nazis and white supremacists, nor is she an innocent teenage girl singing country ballads about heartbreak. Taylor Swift is simply Taylor, without the perceptions and misconceptions of society.

I am looking forward to Taylors new tunes and seeing the path she continues to carve for herself, both politically and personally. And, as my roommate said, Im surprised its taken you this long to write about Taylor Swift.

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Eaton: The Evolution of Taylor Swift The Minnesota Daily - Minnesota Daily

Enlarge / The "bearded hipster dad," as documented by Getty Images, is a particularly unique creature in the larger animal kingdom. (Well, technically, all human dads are.)

Jessie Casson / Getty Images

Lee Gettler is hard to get on the phone, for the very ordinary reason that hes busy caring for his two young children. Among mammals, though, that makes him extraordinary.

Human fathers engage in really costly forms of care, says Gettler, an anthropologist at the University of Notre Dame. In that way, humans stand out from almost all other mammals. Fathers, and parents in general, are Gettlers field of study. He and others have found that the role of dads varies widely between culturesand that some other animal dads may give helpful glimpses of our evolutionary past.

Many mysteries remain, though, about how human fathers evolved their peculiar, highly invested role, including the hormonal changes that accompany fatherhood (see sidebar below). A deeper understanding of where dads came from, and why fatherhood matters for both fathers and children, could benefit families of all kinds.

If you look at other mammalian species, fathers tend to do nothing but provide sperm, says Rebecca Sear, an evolutionary demographer and anthropologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Moms carry the burden in most other animals that care for their kids, too. (Fish are an exceptionmost dont tend their young at all, but the caring parents are usually dads. And bird couples are famous for co-parenting.)

Even among the other apes, our closest relatives, most dads dont do much. That means moms are stuck with all the work and need to space out their babies to make sure they can care for them. Wild chimps give birth every four to six years, for example; orangutans wait as long as six to eight years between young.

The ancestors of humans, though, committed to a different strategy. Mothers got help from their community and their kin, including fathers. This freed them up enough to have more babies, closer togetherabout every three years, on average, in todays nonindustrial societies. That strategy is part of the evolutionary success story of humans, Gettler says.Enlarge / Don't let this male gorillas scowl fool youhe likely lets kids hang around.

Paul Zinken/picture alliance via Getty Images

Some clues about the origin of doting fatherhood come from our close primate relatives. Stacy Rosenbaum, a biological anthropologist at the University of Michigan, studies wild mountain gorillas in Rwanda. These gorillas provide intriguing hints about the origins of ape dads, as Gettler and coauthors Rosenbaum and Adam Boyette argue in the 2020 Annual Review of Anthropology.

Mountain gorillas are a type of eastern gorilla. They differ from western gorillasa separate species, more often seen in zoosin their habitat and diet. Rosenbaum is more interested in another thing that sets mountain gorillas apart: Kids spend a ton of time around males, she says.

Those males may or may not be their dads. Male mountain gorillas dont seem to know or care which young are theirs. But nearly all males tolerate the company of kids. Unlike any other great ape thats been studied in the wild, these malesbruisers twice the size of females, with huge muscles and teethare essentially babysitters. Some pick up the kids, play with them and even sleep cuddled together.

This male company can protect very young gorillas against predators, and it keeps the young from being killed by intruding males. Another important benefit might be social, Rosenbaum speculates. The young gorillas mingling around an adult male might pick up social skills like human toddlers do from their peers at daycare. Additionally, research has shown that the relationships between young gorillas and adult males persist as those kids grow up.

Another tantalizing hint about how male gorillas benefit the young in their group comes from a recent paper on young mountain gorillas whose mothers died. Losing their mothers didnt make these orphans more likely to die themselves, the researchers found. Nor did they experience other costs, such as a longer wait before having their own young. The orphans relationships with others in their group, especially dominant males, seemed to protect them from ill effects.

Mountain gorilla males arent the only primates to ally with kids. Adult male macaques also spend time with young. And baboon males form friendships with females and their young, which are often (but not always) their own offspring. These behaviors cost the male primates almost nothing. So while the males may give their own kids a survival boost, its not a big deal if they spend time with some unrelated kids too.

But babysitting may benefit male gorillas in another way, too: by making them more attractive. One of our speculations is that females actually prefer mating with males who do a lot of interacting with kids, Rosenbaum says. Shes found that male gorillas who do more babysitting earlier in life go on to father many more children when theyre older. Macaques, too, seem to be more attractive to females if theyve spent more time hanging out with kids.

Anthropologists used to assume that fatherly behavior could evolve only in monogamous animals, Rosenbaum says. Species like the mountain gorillas undermine that assumption. They also show that, despite what scientists have long thought, male animals dont have to choose between spending their energy on mating or parenting. It seems taking care of kids can be a way of getting mates.

Studies of human dads and stepdads have hinted at the same idea. A lot of guys will willingly enter into relationships with kids they know arent theirs, says Kermyt Anderson, a biological anthropologist at the University of Oklahoma. That investment might seem paradoxical from an evolutionary perspective. But Andersons research suggests that men invest in stepkids and even biological kids partly as an investment in their relationship with the mother. When that relationship ends, fathers tend to become less involved.

A human dad who cares for his children or stepchildren is different, of course, from an ape or monkey who just lets kids hang around. But Gettler and Rosenbaum wonder whether our own ancestors had similar habits to a mountain gorilla or macaque. Under the evolutionary pressures they faced, these friendly tendencies toward kids could have ratcheted up into devoted fatherhood.

Its clear human fathers are unusual in their attention to their children. However, its also clear that fatherhood in humans is quite variable, Sear says. Not all dads are doting, or even present.

But that doesnt necessarily affect basic survival. In a 2008 paper, Sear and coauthor Ruth Mace asked whether children with absent fathers are likelier to die. They reviewed data on child survival from 43 studies of populations around the world, mostly those without access to modern medical care. They found that in a third of the studies looking at fathers, kids were more likely to survive childhood when their dad was around. But in the other two-thirds, fatherless kids did just as well. (By contrast, every study of children without mothers found they were less likely to survive.)

That is not what you would expect to see if fathers are really vital for children to thrive, Sear says. Rather, she suspects that whats vital are the jobs fathers perform. When a father is missing, others in the family or community can fill in. It may be that the fathering role is important, but its substitutable by other social group members, she says.

What is that role? Historically, Gettler says, anthropologists have viewed fatherhood as all about provisioningbringing home the bacon, literally. In some foraging communities, more successful hunters also father more kids. But Gettler hopes to help expand the definition of a dad. Research has shown that fathers can have important roles in directly caring for their children, for example, and teaching children language and social skills. Fathers may also help their children by cultivating relationships in their communities, Gettler says. When it comes to survival, Networking can be everything.

A dads job also varies culturally. For example, in the Republic of the Congo, Gettler works with two neighboring communities. The Bondongo are fishers and farmers; they value fathers who take risks to gain food for their own families. Their neighbors, the BaYaka, are foragers who value fathers who share their resources outside their families.

In the West we have this idealization of the nuclear family, says Sear: a self-reliant, heterosexual couple in which Dad does all the provisioning and Mom all the childcare. But worldwide, she says, families like this are very rare. A childs biological parents may not live together exclusively, for life or at all, Sear writes in a recent paper. Childcare and food can come from either parentor neither. Among the Himba of Namibia, for instance, children are often fostered by extended family.

Possibly the key defining feature of our species is our behavioral flexibility, Sear says. Assuming that certain roles are natural for fathers or mothers can make parents feel isolated and stressed, Sear writes. She hopes research can broaden our understanding of what fathers are for, and what a human family is. That might help societies to better support families of all kindswhether they have dads like Gettler who are busy chasing the children around, or dads who are away fishing, or no dads at all.

I think we need to take a much more nonjudgmental view of the human family, and the kinds of family structures in which children can thrive, Sear says, to improve the health of mothers, fathers and children.

Editor's note: This story was updated on June 16, 2021, to correct the name of the country where the Bondongo and BaYaka live. It is the Republic of the Congo, not the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as was originally stated.

Elizabeth Preston is a freelance science journalist who lives in the Boston area with her husband and two small, highly dependent primates.

This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, an independent journalistic endeavor from Annual Reviews. Sign up for the newsletter.

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Evolution of the dad - Ars Technica

Using an exceptionally preserved fossil from South Africa, a particle accelerator, and high-powered x-rays, an international team including a University of Minnesota researcher has discovered that not all dinosaurs breathed in the same way. The findings give scientists more insight into how a major group of dinosaurs, including well-known creatures like the triceratops and stegosaurus, evolved.

The study is published in eLife, a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal for the biomedical and life sciences.

Not all animals use the same techniques and organs to breathe. Humans expand and contract their lungs. Birds have air sacs outside their lungs that pump oxygen in, and their lungs dont actually move. For a long time, paleontologists assumed that all dinosaurs breathed like birds, since they had similar breathing anatomy. This study, however, found that Heterodontosaurus did notit instead had paddle-shaped ribs and small, toothpick-like bones, and expanded both its chest and belly in order to breathe.

Heterodontosaurus is the oldest dinosaur in the Ornithischian line, one of three major dinosaur groups that includes Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and other duck-billed dinosaurs. The other groups are sauropods, or longnecks, and theropods like the T-Rex.

We actually have never known how these [Ornithischians] breathed, said Viktor Radermacher, lead author of the study and a Ph.D. student in the University of Minnesotas Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. The interesting thing is that Heterodontosaurus is the ancestor of this group and it has these [newly discovered] pieces of anatomy, but its descendants don't. What that means is that Heterodontosaurus is a missing link between the ancestors of dinosaurs and the bigger, charismatic species we know. This gives us a whole bunch of information and fills in some pretty glaring gaps in our knowledge of the biology of these dinosaurs.

The researchers analyzed the new Heterodontosaurus specimen with high-powered x-rays generated from a synchrotrona giant, donut-shaped particle accelerator that spins electrons at the speed of lightat the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in France. Using those x-rays, they were able to digitally reconstruct the skeleton and identify the dinosaurs unique features.

Heterodontosaurus lived in the early Jurassic period, about 200 million years ago, surviving an extinction at the end of the prior Triassic period. Understanding how this dinosaur breathed could also help paleontologists figure out what biological features allowed certain dinosaurs to survive or caused them to go extinct.

The takeaway message is that there are many ways to breathe, Radermacher said. And the really interesting thing about life on Earth is that we all have different strategies to do the same thing, and we've just identified a new strategy of breathing. This shows that utilizing dinosaurs and paleontology, we can learn more about the diversity of animals on Earth and how they breathe.

In addition to Radermacher, the research team included Vincent Fernandez, an ESRF beamline scientist and X-Ray technician at the Natural History Museum, UK; Emma Schachner, an associate professor at Louisiana State University; Richard Butler, a professor of palaeobiology at the University of Birmingham, UK; Emese Bordy, an associate professor at the University of Cape Town, South Africa; Michael Naylor Hudgins, a grad student at the University of Alberta, Canada; William de Klerk, emeritus curator of the Department of Earth Sciences at Rhodes University in Makhanda, South Africa; Kimberley Chapelle, a postdoctoral fellow at the American Museum of Natural History in New York; and Jonah Choiniere, a professor of comparative palaeobiology at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

The research was funded by grants from South Africas National Research Foundation (NRF) and Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Palaeontological Scientific Trust, and the Durand Foundation for Evolutionary Biology and Phycology.

Read the full paper entitled A new Heterodontosaurus specimen elucidates the unique ventilatory macroevolution of ornithischian dinosaurs on the eLife website.

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New fossil sheds light on the evolution of how dinosaurs breathed - UMN News

The pandemic is pushing for an evolution of the muster (safety) drill procedures on cruise ships.

To avoid gatherings of large passenger groups in confined spaces and maintain social distancing, the cruise lines are now reinventing the traditional process, using technology and other innovations.

Cruise Industry News has studied the new approaches taken by three major cruise lines.

Royal Caribbeans Muster 2.0

Royal Caribbean Groupannounced the replacement of the safety drill with Muster 2.0 in 2020.

The new program transforms the process originally designed for large groups of people into a faster, more personal approach that encourages higher levels of safety, the company previously said.

With Muster 2.0 guests will review safety information individually, using their stateroom TV or a smartphone before visiting their assigned assembly station, where a crew member will verify that all steps have been completed and answer questions.

Each of the steps will need to be completed prior to the ship's departure, as required by international maritime law.

In addition to Royal Caribbean Groups brands and joint ventures, the new Muster 2.0 may also be used by other cruise operators through licensing. Currently, patent licenses have already been granted to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. the parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

Carnivals Hub App

Restarting service in July, Carnival Cruise Line recently revealed more details on its new safety drill procedures. The drills will now be divided into two parts, leaving the large-gathering safety briefings behind.

First, the guest will need to go to its muster station, using instructions received via Carnivals new smartphone app the Hub App. Crew members will be positioned around the ships to help guide the passengers. The crew will also make sure everyone visits their assembled muster stationsin the first hour and a half of being onboard.

The second part of the safety drills with Carnival is watching a safety video, which will be available in all staterooms and must be watched before the ship sails.

A protocol will be in place to control the attendance of the passengers in the new safety procedures. If a guest fails to complete the mandatory steps, he will be limited in what he can do on the ship.

While temporary for now, the new method may be implemented on a permanent basis if it proves to be effective and working, according to Carnival.

MSCs Safety Video

The first major cruise line to resume guest operations, MSC Cruises, has been in service in the Mediterranean since August 2020. To ensure social distancing during safety drills, the company has also changed its method.

Now, safety drills are carried out as soon as all the passengers board the vessel. To complete it, guests are asked to watch a five-minute video shown in their cabins and then head to their assembly stations.

At the muster points, a crew member scans each passengers cruise card, completing the process.

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The Evolution of the Cruise Ship Safety Drill - Cruise Industry News