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Episode 127: Devo-lutionary theory (with Scott Gilbert and Tobias Uller)

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Interviewer(s)

Art Woods, Marty Martin

Interviewee(s)

Scott Gilbert, Tobias Uller

Description

What role does development play in evolution? How can biology incorporate a broader, more complex definition of what it means to be an organism?

In this episode, we talk with Scott Gilbert and Tobias Uller, two of the authors who wrote Evolution Evolving: The Developmental Origins of Adaptation and Biodiversity. Scott is a professor emeritus in Biology at Swarthmore College, and Tobias is a professor of Biodiversity and Evolution at Lund University. In Evolution Evolving, Scott, Tobias and their co-authors (Kevin Lala, Natalie Feiner, and Marcus Feldman), argue that development plays an underappreciated, but central role in evolution. One concept they emphasize is of “developmental bias”, which is the capacity of organisms to generate certain kinds of traits and trait combinations more than others. Scott and Tobias argue that such developmental mechanisms can provide a more robust explanation for patterns of evolutionary change than traditional theory. However, they also provide a very broad definition of development in the book, and challenge readers to consider the complex interactions and feedbacks between an organism and the environment that shape an organism’s evolution. Could this be the start of a new devo-lutionary theory? Listen and decide for yourself.

Cover art: Keating Shahmehri.

Date Published

1-2-2025

Language

eng

Run Time

1 hour, 45 minutes, 7 seconds

Digital File Format

audio/mp3

Document Type

Podcast

Episode 127: Devo-lutionary theory (with Scott Gilbert and Tobias Uller)

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