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EnglishOs grandes avancos das ultimas decadas, tanto nas teorias cognitivas quanto na biologia evolutiva, ainda nao se fundiram totalmente. A maioria das hipoteses evolucionarias em torno da mente ainda se apoia no cognitivismo classico, enquanto a maioria das teorias da cognicao ainda busca explicacoes adaptativas. Acreditamos que a fusao de novas teorias cognitivas em uma explicacao pluralistica pode melhorar muito nossa compreensao do que e a cognicao e de como ela evoluiu. portuguesThe great advances of the last decades both in cognitive theories and in evolutionary biology have not yet fully merged. Most evolutionary hypotheses around the mind still rely on classical cognitivism, while most theories of cognition still look for adaptive explanations. We believe that the merging of novel cognitive theories into a pluralistic account can greatly improve our understanding of both what cognition is and how it evolved.

Summary Cancers are the result of eco-evolutionary processes fueled by heritable phenotypic diversification and driven by environmentally dependent selection. Space represents a key growth-limiting ecological resource, the ability to explore this resource is likely under strong selection. Using agent-based modeling, we explored the interplay between phenotypic strategies centered on gaining access to new space through cell-extrinsic degradation of extracellular matrix barriers and the exploitation of this resource through maximizing cell proliferation. While cell proliferation is a cell-intrinsic property, newly accessed space represents a public good, which can benefit both producers and non-producers. We found that this interplay results in ecological succession, enabling emergence of large, heterogeneous, and highly proliferative populations. Even though in our simulations both remodeling and proliferation strategies were under strong positive selection, their interplay led to sub-clonal architecture that could be interpreted as evidence for neutral evolution, warranting cautious interpretation of inferences from sequencing of cancer genomes., Graphical abstract, Highlights • Using agent-based models, we explored eco-evolutionary dynamics of tumors in space • We examined two phenotypes: one for accessing new space and one for consuming space • We observed ecological succession in simulations, resulting in tumors with high ITH • Model encodes selection explicitly but results could be misconstrued as neutral, Evolutionary Theories; Cancer Systems Biology; Cancer

Summary Evolution is generally considered to be unpredictable because genetic variations are known to occur randomly. However, remarkable patterns of repeated convergent evolution are observed, for instance, loss of pigments by organisms living in caves. Analogous phenotypes appear in similar environments, sometimes in response to similar constraints. Alongside randomness, a certain evolutionary determinism also exists, for instance, the selection of particular phenotypes subjected to particular environmental constraints in the “evolutionary funnel.” We pursue the idea that eco-evolutionary specialization is in some way determinist. The conceptual framework of phenotypic changes entailing specialization presented in this essay explains how evolution can be predicted. We also discuss how the predictability of evolution could be tested using the case of metabolic specialization through gene losses. We also put forward that microorganisms could be key models to test and possibly make headway evolutionary predictions and knowledge about evolution., Graphical Abstract, Evolutionary Biology; Evolutionary Theories

Matthew Rampley´s The Seductions of Darwin. Art, Evolution, Neuroscience presents a strong critique of evolutionary and neuroscientific approaches to art. The review critically analyses author´s positions, arguments and rhetoric, concluding that the book fails in its objective to examine the value of biological approaches for art history and thus contribute to bridging the divide between science and art.

The explanation of how and why firms succeed or fail is a recurrent research challenge. This is particularly important in the context of technological innovations. We focus on the role of historical events and decisions in explaining such success and failure. Using a case study of Nokia, we develop and extend a multi-layer path dependence framework. We identify four layers of path dependence: technical, strategic and leadership, organizational, and external collaboration. We show how path dependence at these four interdependent layers can blindfold the organization from seeing and understanding the importance of intermediate outcomes, which in the case of Nokia was the importance of software ecosystems and adaptable mobile devices. Furthermore, we show how the layers of path dependence mutually reinforce each other and become stronger.

The explanation for Vedanta offered by Bhakti Niskama Santa (BNS)1 is valid from both scientific and philosophical grounds. It seems that the published critique of Gustavo Caetano-Anollés (GCA)2 to Shanta's paper is purely emotional and does not have any valid scientific or philosophical justification. In his rebuttal to Caetano-Anollés's critique, Shanta3 highlighted how the concept of ‘Organic Whole’ in Vedanta is completely different than that of Creationist Movement and Intelligent Design. Thus Caetano-Anollé's attempt to equate Vedanta with Creationist Movement and Intelligent Design is merely superfluous. This article highlights the validity of the argument made by Bhakti Niskama Shanta1 and thus also intends to clarify why the Caetano-Anollés critique is groundless.

This review is an exploration of evolutionary theories with the aim to investigate emotional states, well-being and ill-being from an evolutionary perspective. Functional evolutionary theories of emotional states, posit that emotions have evolved as behavior modifiers responding to specific situations that provided fitness benefits in our ancestral past. Exploring this theory gradually uncover clues towards practical, hands-on suggestions as to how to increase life satisfaction and quality of life. Specifically, these suggestions include interacting with kin, reaping stress-reducing and health effects from letting nature be a part of your life, developing deep friendships, and not comparing yourself with the best or most successful individuals in the world.

The fact that humans cooperate with non-kin in large groups, or with people they will never meet again, is a long-standing evolutionary puzzle with profound implications. Cooperation is linked to altruism, the capacity to perform costly acts that confer benefits on others. Theoretical approaches had so far disregarded costly acts that do not yield future benefits for the altruist, either directly or indirectly. Recently, strong reciprocity, i.e., the predisposition to cooperate with others and to punish non-cooperators at personal cost, has been proposed as a schema for understanding altruism in humans. While behavioral experiments support the existence of strong reciprocity, its evolutionary origins remain unclear: group and cultural selection are generally invoked to compensate for the negative effects that reciprocity is assumed to have on individuals. Here we show, by means of an agent-based model inspired on the Ultimatum Game, that selection acting on individuals capable of other-regarding behavior can give rise to strong reciprocity. The results, consistent with the existence of neural correlates of fairness, are in good agreement with observations on humans and monkeys., Largely revised and expanded final version, new simulations included, accepted in Journal of Theoretical Biology

Pensar sobre a brincadeira infantil como adaptação necessária para a vida, indica um paralelo entre universalidade e diversidade deste fenômeno. Apresentamos aqui evidências apontadas por pesquisas mostrando particularidades observadas nas brincadeiras em contextos específicos. E perguntamos como variações no brincar, relacionadas aos contextos particulares, associam-se ás suas funções no desenvolvimento ontogenético. Nossa reflexão é traçada a partir de uma abordagem evolucionista, relacionando características intrínsecas das brincadeiras com possíveis funções e adaptações filogenéticas e ontogenéticas, na espécie humana. Os resultados descritos nas pesquisas observadas nos indicam evidências do brincar como comportamento funcional e adaptativo para o próprio período da infância, onde as crianças provam seu ambiente e podem aprender e praticar comportamentos adaptáveis a cada ambiente em especial. Além disso, dado o papel fundamental do contexto e cultura na brincadeira, percebemos a possibilidade de investigar como a diversidade do desenvolvimento humano se relaciona com os aspectos universais dos indivíduos. Thinking about children's play as a necessary adaptation for human existence, leads us to think about what is universal and what is different about this phenomenon. We present here evidence quoted in various elements of research that provide detail in specific contexts, and we discuss how variation in play is related to functions in ontogenetic development. We follow the evolutionary theories, relating intrinsic characteristics of play to possible functions and phylogenetic and ontogenetic adaptations in the human species. The research examined indicates evidence of play as a functional and adaptive behavior for childhood, where children test their environment and can learn and practice adaptable behavior specific to each environment. Moreover, given the fundamental role of the context and culture in play, we can see that the possibility exists of investigating how the diversity of human development can be linked to the universal aspects of individual development.

Direct tests of the random or non-random distribution of nucleotides on genomes have been devised to test the hypothesis of neutral, nearly-neutral or selective evolution. These tests are based on the direct base distribution and are independent of the functional (coding or non-coding) or structural (repeated or unique sequences) properties of the DNA. The first approach described the longitudinal distribution of bases in tandem repeats under the Bose–Einstein statistics. A huge deviation from randomness was found. A second approach was the study of the base distribution within dinucleotides whose bases were separated by 0, 1, 2… K nucleotides. Again an enormous difference from the random distribution was found with significances out of tables and programs. These test values were periodical and included the 16 dinucleotides. For example a high “positive” (more observed than expected dinucleotides) value, found in dinucleotides whose bases were separated by (3K + 2) sites, was preceded by two smaller “negative” (less observed than expected dinucleotides) values, whose bases were separated by (3K) or (3K + 1) sites. We examined mtDNAs, prokaryote genomes and some eukaryote chromosomes and found that the significant non-random interactions and periodicities were present up to 1000 or more sites of base separation and in human chromosome 21 until separations of more than 10 millions sites. Each nucleotide has its own significant value of its distance to neutrality; this yields 16 hierarchical significances. A three dimensional table with the number of sites of separation between the bases and the 16 significances (the third dimension is the dinucleotide, individual or taxon involved) gives directly an evolutionary state of the analyzed genome that can be used to obtain phylogenies. An example is provided.