Post-genomics, Evo-Devo and the recurrence of teleologic thought^†

The evo-devo comet.

In his inspiring book Ontogeny and Phylogeny (1977), the late Stephen J. Gould explained why develop mental biology and evolution, two essential domains of the life sciences, had diverged during the course of the twentieth century; both disciplines had to reach independently a platform of mutual understanding, a theoretical framework wherein concepts are understood and accepted by both parties....

Whither plant evo-devo?

Evo-devo discovers morphology

constructive points. A critical examination is made of FA’s strength and weaknesses in comparison with other biomarkers, and ways to improve FA as a bio-indicator are suggested. As a whole, Developmental Instability is a mature and balanced compilation of an important subject in biology, which is, after all, about half a century old. Michal Polak has managed to combine excellent contributions o...

The Yin and Yang of Evo/Devo

nervous system, and possibly even segmentation. In Michael Akam University Museum of Zoology fact, something rather like an annelid. Downing Street Peter Holland's report on a " Sister of Hox " gene clus-Cambridge CB2 3EJ ter added a new twist to this question. Holland (Univer-United Kingdom sity of Reading, U.K.) has been trying to make sense of several homeobox genes that have sequences close...

Perspectives on the history of evo-devo and the contemporary research landscape in the genomics era.

A fundamental question in biology is how the extraordinary range of living organisms arose. In this theme issue, we celebrate how evolutionary studies on the origins of morphological diversity have changed over the past 350 years since the first publication of the Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society Current understanding of this topic is enriched by many disciplines, including anato...