A lot of the examples of evolution you see written about in the popular press kind of fall into this trap of portraying evolution as though it responds to needs. The recent example was am birds that have evolved to m to feed off of bird feeders in great britain. Differential survival and reproduction just being fancy talk for little variances in gens mean good mutations which help a plant or a bird or a snail thrive and mate in its particular environment. Boom. Natr selection.
Celebrate your lucky mutations with an episode about natural selection, agonizing boat trips, redemption stories, olde timey inter-family marriages, how much money you can make playing videos games, finch beaks, whether or not cave men are kinda hot and how to live on a small island with your soulmate. Evolutionary biologist and the director of the Moore Lab of Zoology, John McCormack, chats about all things evolution and gives Alie a new appreciation for how genetic blips can be hidden strengths.
Moore Lab of Zoology
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Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris
Music by Nick Thorburn