John Tyler Bonner makes a new attack on an old problem: the question of how progressive increase in the size and complexity of animals and plants has occurred. "How is it, " he inquires, "that an egg ...turns into an elaborate adult? How is it that a bacterium, given many millions of years, could have evolved into an elephant?" The author argues that we can understand this progression in terms of natural selection, but that in order to do so we must consider the role of development--or more precisely the role of life cycles-- in evolutionary change. In a lively writing style that will be familiar to readers of his work The Evolution of Culture in Animals (Princeton, 1980), Bonner addresses a general audience interested in biology, as well as specialists in all areas of evolutionary biology. What is novel in the approach used here is the comparison of complexity inside the organism (especially cell differentiation) with the complexity outside (that is, within an ecological community). Matters of size at both these levels are closely related to complexity. The book shows how an understanding of the grand course of evolution can come from combining our knowledge of genetics, development, ecology, and even behavior.
Prispevek na podlagi širokega pregleda literature obravnava vlogo silicija pri rastlinah, od same pojavnosti silicija v tleh preko mehanizmov privzema in prenosa, do nalaganja in deleža silicija v ...rastlinah. Članek nadalje zajema evolucijski vidik pojavnosti silicija pri rastlinah ter izpostavlja njegove ključne vloge pri uspevanju rastlin in blaženju negativnih učinkov številnih stresnih dejavnikov ter njegovo uporabnost v kmetijstvu.
Moralnost je obilježje koje se pridjeva čovjekovu djelovanju na temelju njegova slaganja ili neslaganja sa standardima odnosno pravilima kojima se ono regulira. To, naravno, pretpostavlja da su ...čovjekova djelovanja, s jedne strane, slobodna i odgovorna, a da s druge strane, postoje standardi i pravila prema kojima ljudsko ponašanje treba biti usklađeno. Oko ovoga drugoga, kao što je poznato, postoje neslaganja, o kojima međutim ovdje nije riječ. Naprotiv, ovdje se postavlja pitanje je li moralnost isključivo kvaliteta ljudskoga djelovanja ili je se pak može naći ne samo kod najbližih primata nego i kod nižih vrsta? U tom se okviru neminovno postavlja pitanje o mogućem evolucijskom razvoju čovjekove moralnosti. Ovaj članak iznosi na vidjelo rezultate istraživanja nekih životinjskih ponašanja koja bi se na prvi pogled mogla okarakterizirati kao moralna. Tako se objašnjavaju pojave altruističkog ponašanja, empatije, osjećaja za reciprocitet, pravednost, socijalnu stabilnost. Ovakva istraživanja mogu nesumnjivo pripomoći u razumijevanju posebnosti čovjekove moralnosti, no puno toga ostaje neodgovoreno i otvoreno za daljnja istraživanja.
Die Moral ist ein Merkmal, das dem menschlichen Handeln angehört aufgrund seiner Übereinstimmung oder Nichtübereinstimmung mit Standards u Regeln, die es regulieren. Dies setzt natürlich voraus, dass menschliche Handlungen auf der einen Seite frei und verantwortlich sind und dass es auf der anderen Seite Standards und Regeln gibt, mit denen das menschliche Handeln übereinstimmen soll. Über das letztere, wie es bekannt ist, gibt es Unterschiede, von denen jedoch hier nicht die Rede ist. Hier im Gegenteil ist die Frage, ob die Moral ausschließlich Qualität des menschlichen Handelns ist, oder kann sie, nicht nur bei nächstgelegenen Primaten, sondern auch bei niederen Spezies gefunden werden. In diesem Zusammenhang stellt sich zwangsläufig die Frage einer möglichen evolutionären Entwicklung der menschlichen Moral. Dieser Artikel zeigt die Forschungsergebnisse bestimmten tierischen Verhaltens auf, welche auf den ersten Blick als moralisch charakterisiert werden könnten. So werden Auftreten von altruistischem Verhalten, Empathie, Gefühl der Reziprozität, Fairness und sozialer Stabilität erklärt. Solche Forschung kann sicherlich die Einzigartigkeit der menschlichen Moral zu verstehen helfen, aber vieles bleibt noch ungeantwortet und offen für die weitere Forschung.
Postanak života i kemijska kombinatorika Raos, Nenad
Kemija u industriji; časopis kemičara i tehnologa Jugoslavije,
03/2019, Volume:
68, Issue:
3-4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Prikazan je račun permutacija i varijacija na primjeru prebrojavanja kopolimera aminokiselina (peptida) i nukleotida (nukleinskih kiselina) zadane duljine i sastava. Golem broj mogućih biopolimera ...umjesto da ukazuje na nemogućnost (nasumičnog) postanka života iz nežive tvari, pokazuje baš suprotno: velik broj varijacija preduvjet je prirodnog odabiranja, koje je vodilo do evolucije prvih autonomnih sustava (protostanica) selektivnim procesima (katalitičke reakcije na mineralnim katalizatorima i sl.). Na temelju izloženog mogu se izvesti zadatci iz kemije, biologije i matematike, što je prikazano na nekoliko primjera.
The calculation of permutations and variations of biopolymers reveals an enormous number of possible structures of proteins and nucleic acids; there is about 10260 possible polypeptides of length 200 formed of 20 protein amino acids and 103246 genomes with the same number of base pairs as the phage φX174 genome (5386 bp). Besides being a nice introduction into chemical combinatorics and combinatorics in general, such calculations provide an insight into the phenomenon of biological selectivity, as a general property of all living, from biomolecules to cells and species. Instead of being an argument in favour of intelligent design (because a functional, “live”, protein molecule cannot be allegedly formed by “pure chance” among the myriads of non-functional ones), it is rather an argument against the origin of life by design. Namely, the enormous number of randomly synthesized molecules on early Earth had enabled selection processes that gradually led to more and more developed systems.
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If there is one genre that has captured the imagination of people in all walks of life throughout the world, it is the fairy tale. Yet we still have great difficulty understanding how it originated, ...evolved, and spread--or why so many people cannot resist its appeal, no matter how it changes or what form it takes. In this book, renowned fairy-tale expert Jack Zipes presents a provocative new theory about why fairy tales were created and retold--and why they became such an indelible and infinitely adaptable part of cultures around the world.
Drawing on cognitive science, evolutionary theory, anthropology, psychology, literary theory, and other fields, Zipes presents a nuanced argument about how fairy tales originated in ancient oral cultures, how they evolved through the rise of literary culture and print, and how, in our own time, they continue to change through their adaptation in an ever-growing variety of media. In making his case, Zipes considers a wide range of fascinating examples, including fairy tales told, collected, and written by women in the nineteenth century; Catherine Breillat's film adaptation of Perrault's "Bluebeard"; and contemporary fairy-tale drawings, paintings, sculptures, and photographs that critique canonical print versions.
While we may never be able to fully explain fairy tales,The Irresistible Fairy Taleprovides a powerful theory of how and why they evolved--and why we still use them to make meaning of our lives.
Jedno je od glavnih istraživačkih područja u socijalnoj kogniciji životinja kooperativno rješavanje problema, tj. kognicija kod meðusobne suradnje životinja. Smatra se da je socijalna kognicija ...evoluirala zbog zahtjeva koje donosi život u grupama i često se drži adaptacijom za takav život. Analiza socijalnoga učenja, drugoga istraživačkog područja unutar socijalne kognicije, pokazala je da je ta pretpostavka u literaturi prouzročila dva problema. Prvo, postoji pristranost prema testiranju socijalnih vrsta, i drugo, postoji a priori pretpostavka da je socijalno učenje kvalitativno drugačije od individualnoga. Ta dva problema nisu nužno ograničena na socijalno učenje, nego mogu biti prisutna i u drugim poljima unutar istraživanja socijalne kognicije. Primjena slične analize na kooperativno rješavanje problema ukazuje da i u tome području postoje oba problema. Prvo, empirijska se istraživanja provode ponajprije na vrstama koje su socijalne i na onima koje pokazuju kooperativna ponašanja u divljini. Drugo, pretpostavka da se kooperativno rješavanje problema temelji na specifično socijalnim kognitivnim sposobnostima implicirana je u velikome dijelu literature. Moguće je da je to rezultat miješanja različitih komponenti unutar kognitivnoga procesa: koja je informacija potrebna za uspješnu kooperaciju i kako se ta informacija stječe. Dok prva komponenta mora uključivati informaciju o drugome pojedincu, ne postoji indikacija da se druga komponenta mora razlikovati od već poznatih, općenamjenskih mehanizama. Ta dva problema sprečavaju sistematsko ispitivanje razlika izmeðu vrsta i ometaju istraživanje evolucije kooperativnoga rješavanja problema.
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Za biologiju nije samo nepodesna tzv. 'loÅ¡a znanost' (B. Goldacre, 2008/9), odnosno, zloupotreba znanosti (L. Gajski, 2009/10), nego i antiznanost (M. Behe, 1996) koja se naroÄito ukotljuje u ...kreacionizmu. U tumaÄenju evolucije u biologiji nije potreban kreacionizam, taj koliko pojednostavljeni, toliko i agresivni oblik objaÅ¡njenja koji joj nastoji ući u svaku poru u njezinim novim nalazima (Dawkins, 2006). Hipoteza adaptora u proteinskoj sintezi (Stryer, 1988), tema koja razvija peto pitanje iz ranije najavljenog programa (Simpozij iz bioetike, 2011), dovoljno ispunjava zahtjev složenosti evolucije, Å¡to nedvojbeno potvrÄ‘uje autonomnost i samodovoljnost procesa života bez obzira na kreacionizam. IstiÄe se prednost poticanja takvog oblika slobodnog istraživanja za bioetiku.
This paper calls into question the ontological privilege of the human species that rests on many misguided ideas. One of these ideas is that Homo sapiens is the only species that possess culture. In ...this sense, the problem of (defining) culture is emphasised in the context of the so-called minimalist and expansionist definitions. Furthermore, this paper details examples of cultural behaviour in non-human animals. The components commonly considered necessary to speak of true culture are also critically analysed. These components are social learning, language, symbols, the theory of mind, history, tradition, natural pedagogy, and the cumulativeness of culture. Finally, this paper brings attention to the implications of a more adequate, expansionist and naturalistic, definition of culture based on evolutionary (Darwinian) grounds.
Die Moral ist ein Merkmal, das dem menschlichen Handeln angehört aufgrund seiner Übereinstimmung oder Nichtübereinstimmung mit Standards u Regeln, die es regulieren. Dies setzt natürlich voraus, dass ...menschliche Handlungen auf der einen Seite frei und verantwortlich sind und dass es auf der anderen Seite Standards und Regeln gibt, mit denen das menschliche Handeln übereinstimmen soll. Über das letztere, wie es bekannt ist, gibt es Unterschiede, von denen jedoch hier nicht die Rede ist. Hier im Gegenteil ist die Frage, ob die Moral ausschließlich Qualität des menschlichen Handelns ist, oder kann sie, nicht nur bei nächstgelegenen Primaten, sondern auch bei niederen Spezies gefunden werden. In diesem Zusammenhang stellt sich zwangsläufig die Frage einer möglichen evolutionären Entwicklung der menschlichen Moral. Dieser Artikel zeigt die Forschungsergebnisse bestimmten tierischen Verhaltens auf, welche auf den ersten Blick als moralisch charakterisiert werden könnten. So werden Auftreten von altruistischem Verhalten, Empathie, Gefühl der Reziprozität, Fairness und sozialer Stabilität erklärt. Solche Forschung kann sicherlich die Einzigartigkeit der menschlichen Moral zu verstehen helfen, aber vieles bleibt noch ungeantwortet und offen für die weitere Forschung
In the article the authors provide insights into the basic determinants of relatively young scientific disciplines – the cognitive science of religion and the evolutionary cognitive science of ...religion, which have become inevitable in attempting to pursue the scientific explanation of religion. The aim of the article is to provide a broader framework for understanding the possible future development of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary dialogue between emerging disciplines and theological anthropology.