Could the missing factor that explains a number of puzzles in the marine world be, simply, oxygen? Life in the vast oceans of Earth may well be ruled by a harsh and relentless need to breathe. A review of The Evolutionary World: How Adaptation Explains Everything from Seashells to Civilization by Geerat Vermeij. Two Cheers for Nature: Behavior may come naturally, but that doesn't make it good. Is evolutionary biology infected with invalid teleological reasoning? A review of Biology's First Law: The Tendency for Diversity and Complexity to Increase in Evolutionary Systems by Daniel W. McShea and Robert N. Brandon. With cloud computing, the mathematics of evolution may get easier to learn. A review of The Darwinian Tourist: Viewing the World Through Evolutionary Eyes by Christopher Wills (and more). Seemingly harmful behaviours of some social animals are actually advantageous to their reproductive success and longevity. The special bond that often forms between people and both domesticated and wild animals may be, paradoxically, part of what makes us human. A review of Almost Chimpanzee: Searching for What Makes Us Human, in Rainforests, Labs, Sanctuaries, and Zoos by Jon Cohen. From Big Think, a series on what evolution can teach us about ourselves. When will we evolve out of our useless appendages? An interview with Daniel E. Lieberman, author of The Evolution of the Human Head (and more). A review of The Sublime Engine: A Biography of the Human Heart by Stephen Amidon and Thomas Amidon.
