The hottest Evolutionary biology Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Pit Bulls Part I: Identification

Cremieux Recueil • 567 implied HN points • 16 Jan 26
🔬 Science Evolutionary biology
  1. Pit bulls are a recognizable type of dog with a consistent, stout muscular build and behavioral traits like high gameness and persistence that come from their bull‑and‑terrier fighting ancestry.
  2. People can reliably identify pit bull–type dogs by sight; studies and large public classification tests show high accuracy, and accuracy rises as pit ancestry increases.
  3. Arguments that pit bulls can’t be identified or that they were bred to be non‑aggressive toward humans are unsupported, and common patterns of misclassification tend to hide or downplay—rather than inflate—the elevated risks tied to pit bull type dogs.

The Genetic Time Machine: Neanderthals, genomics and hybridization priors

ideassleepfuriously • 982 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
🔬 Science Evolutionary biology
  1. 200 thousand years of isolation may not be enough for genetic incompatibilities to develop
  2. Genomics has revolutionized evolutionary biology by providing precise insights with massive amounts of data
  3. The mixing of Neanderthal and modern human lineages led to genetic incompatibilities and selection against Neanderthal-origin DNA in modern humans

Why Leukemia Risk is Higher in Hispanic/Latino Children

Holodoxa • 179 implied HN points • 22 Apr 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Evolutionary biology
  1. Hispanic/Latino children have a higher risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, potentially due to a risk variant more common in their population.
  2. Understanding genetic histories and population histories is crucial in explaining health disparities and disease risks.
  3. The study highlights how a specific gene variant, influenced by evolutionary selection pressures, can contribute to differential disease risk across populations.
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The Love Bug

Eat Shit and Prosper • 319 implied HN points • 17 Jan 23
🔬 Science Evolutionary biology
  1. Oxytocin is known as the 'love hormone' and is linked to feelings of bonding and social connection. It plays a role in childbirth and breastfeeding, helping to create strong bonds between parents and children.
  2. A specific gut bacterium, Lactobacillus reuteri, can increase oxytocin levels in animals. This bacterium is important for healing and may influence our social behaviors and immune response.
  3. Oxytocin can also affect how we view others, creating in-groups and out-groups. It can enhance connections within a group but might lead to negative feelings towards those outside the group, highlighting the complexities of human relationships.

Paradox of the Horse

The Heart Attack Diet • 59 implied HN points • 07 Nov 23
🔬 Science Evolutionary biology
  1. Paradoxically, horses need high-calorie foods like oats to survive even though they're known for being unable to properly self-regulate their food intake.
  2. Horses, as we know them today, are not naturally evolved animals but products of long-term selective breeding by humans.
  3. The existence of wild horse herds in North America raises intriguing questions about their history and the role of humans in their evolution.

RKUL: Time Well Spent 03/03/2024

Razib Khan's Unsupervised Learning • 171 implied HN points • 04 Mar 24
🔬 Science Evolutionary biology
  1. Parents can now screen embryos during IVF using whole genome sequencing to check for hundreds of conditions, keeping families safe.
  2. The presence of maternal grandmothers has been linked to higher survivorship among grandchildren, showing the evolutionary importance of menopause.
  3. Research on ancient DNA and AI may offer valuable insights into human history, potentially surpassing the impact of ancient DNA studies.

Chaos is the most unrecognized form of order

Hack-a-craft’s Weekly Digest • 2 implied HN points • 17 Dec 25
🔬 Science Evolutionary biology
  1. Chaotic systems follow precise rules but are extremely sensitive to tiny differences, so small changes can produce huge, unpredictable outcomes.
  2. People expect simple, linear cause and effect, so they often miss the hidden order in chaotic situations that don’t follow straight lines.
  3. Disruption and uncertainty can spark creativity and innovation by breaking old patterns and letting new, better orders emerge.

The Uterine Lottery

Polymathic Being • 66 implied HN points • 03 Dec 23
đź“– Philosophy Evolutionary biology
  1. Our existence is not entirely random; it is influenced by mate selection, education, health, and life decisions passed down through generations.
  2. Economic and geopolitical factors contribute to inequality, with the Pareto Principle indicating that a small percentage holds a majority of wealth and success.
  3. Sociological structures, traditions, and decisions made by our ancestors play a significant role in shaping who we are today.

Straightlining OCD

Living Fossils • 15 implied HN points • 18 Dec 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Evolutionary biology
  1. Humans have evolved in messy environments, but our modern spaces are often too neat and straight. This neatness can create feelings of dissatisfaction and perfectionism, as humans are always seeking better conditions.
  2. OCD might be more common today because our environments exaggerate feelings of dissatisfaction. We notice minor imperfections more easily in our structured lives than our ancestors did in their chaotic natural settings.
  3. People today are better equipped to try and fix their surroundings, which can lead to a cycle of anxiety and compulsive behavior. Our ability to improve things can sometimes make us feel worse when everything doesn't match our ideals.

The importance of a good reputation

Optimally Irrational • 17 implied HN points • 06 Mar 24
🔬 Science Evolutionary biology
  1. Reputation is like a second self that guides our actions, influencing how others perceive and interact with us.
  2. People can build a good reputation by consistently displaying cooperative and trustworthy behavior over time.
  3. While reputation takes time to build up, it can be lost quickly, emphasizing the importance of maintaining trust and integrity in social interactions.

Strategically delusional

Optimally Irrational • 15 implied HN points • 25 Oct 23
🔬 Science Evolutionary biology
  1. Many people tend to overestimate their abilities and standing relative to others because they derive pleasure from thinking they are better than they actually are.
  2. Overconfidence can lead to costly mistakes in the real world, even though it might offer benefits in social interactions where it can influence others' behaviors.
  3. Self-deception, fueled by the belief in our own lies, may help us deceive others more effectively, especially in situations where credibility is crucial.

Animals Play Coordination Games - Coordination Part I

Living Fossils • 10 implied HN points • 21 Feb 24
🔬 Science Evolutionary biology
  1. Animals play coordination games to survive, such as cicadas coordinating emergence to avoid predators.
  2. In coordination games, like fireflies with unique flashing patterns, the key is for all individuals to use the same strategy for successful coordination.
  3. Coordination games are not only seen in animals playing over evolutionary time but also in real-time situations, like fish schooling or starlings murmuration.