Tag: inner ear

Evolution: Three new studies highlight the marvelous contradictions between preserved forms and new innovations that support complex life on Earth

Christian TwisteLeave a comment

We, indeed all life on Earth, are as ancient as we are new, as grandly complex as we are simple.  Indeed, it is fair to say that complex life wouldn’t exist at all without this contradiction. The mammalian ear is significantly more complex than our bird and lizard cousins in the vertebrate family.  Rather than… Continue reading Evolution: Three new studies highlight the marvelous contradictions between preserved forms and new innovations that support complex life on Earth

The shape of your inner ear, convergent evolution, and the evolution of evolvability

Christian TwisteLeave a comment

A new study from the University of Vienna on the inner ear in mammals offers valuable evidence and insight, while upending at least some of the conventional wisdom by finding the shape of the ear in some lineages is more directly connected to habitat and lifestyle than genetics alone. Counter intuitively, we can find evidence… Continue reading The shape of your inner ear, convergent evolution, and the evolution of evolvability