Short Wave Solved: The Potato Origin Mystery
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Oct 7, 2025 
Science journalist Katie Wu from The Atlantic dives into the fascinating world of hybridization, revealing how some hybrids can be beneficial rather than disastrous. She shares intriguing examples like the plains spadefoot toads that adaptively mate across species to produce faster tadpoles. Wu also unravels the potato's mysterious origins, pinpointing a single hybrid event that gave rise to this staple food. The discussion highlights the potential of hybrids to drive evolutionary innovation and inspire new agricultural advancements.
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Desert Toads Choose Risky Hybrid Mates
- Female plains spadefoot toads choose mates from another species when pools risk drying out to produce faster-maturing tadpoles.
- Those hybrid offspring are less fertile, with sterile males and females producing fewer eggs.
Hybrids Aren't Always Evolutionary Dead Ends
- Biologists long saw hybrids as evolutionary disasters because many hybrids are sterile or unhealthy.
- New research shows hybridization can be common and sometimes creates novel, advantageous traits.
Researchers Confounded By Potato Family Drama
- Katie Wu recounts scientists' difficulty reconstructing the potato family tree because potato genomes are messy and complex.
- Researchers considered different parent species before discovering a hybrid origin involving two ancient plants.
