The way that Earth's first animals reproduced held back life's diversity for millions of years, until stress and competition led to the development of sexual reproduction, which in turn accelerated the pace of evolution.
  • AnarchoEngineer@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    28·
    19 hours ago

    Well the diversity of the Cambrian explosion makes more sense now. Life on earth discovered sex and just had a few million year long planet-wide orgy lol

    On a serious note, what if that’s actually kind of what happened? Like what if species specific sexual reproduction wasn’t the norm when life was starting out? If animals were basically just accepting whatever DNA was given them—regardless of whether it was from their species or not—sure lots of the offspring wouldn’t be viable, but ample food and lacking predators means you can try again. This kind of breeding would facilitate some incredible genetic diversity which is exactly what we see in the Cambrian diversification.

    We have no idea why so many of them looked the way they do, but what if thats because they inherited lots of traits they didn’t need?

    • GentriFriedRice@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7·
      11 hours ago

      I think that’s a little backwards. Evolution is all about filling niches. The article seems to state Ediacaran diversity was driven by phenotypic (environment-induced) variation caused by ecological stressors. They claim sexual reproduction seems to be a product of environmental factors which drove the diversification.

      It’s thought that the Ediacaran had fewer viable niches than the Cambrian, it’s just really not understood why that is. We don’t really see anything near that explosion in diversity again until the land-colonization of the Devonian which is kind of the same explosion driven by unoccupied niche phenomena

  • danekrae@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    24 hours ago

    “Cool, what is this I grew?! Maybe I can stick it in whatever that thing over there is.”

    • Nangijala@feddit.dkEnglish
      4·
      22 hours ago

      So weird to see some of these actors aging. I mean, I don’t mind, but it sure is a reminder that the world moves on whether I’m ready for it or not, lol.

      • Jake Farm@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        3·
        20 hours ago

        Reminds me of my own aging despite the fact that I don’t feel particularly different

        • Nangijala@feddit.dkEnglish
          2·
          12 hours ago

          It’s weird because I definitely feel my own aging a lot. I don’t mind it either. A lot of calm comes with aging. But I guess I don’t see celebrities as creatures that age because they are always the same age in the movies I know them for xD silly, I know.

          • Jake Farm@sopuli.xyzEnglish
            1·
            10 hours ago

            Maybe that will eventually hapoen to me but not yet. I know I am objectively different from when I was an 18 year old but I don’t feel different.

            • 1984@lemmy.todayEnglish
              2·
              3 hours ago

              Even old people feel like maybe 30 inside. It’s weird looking at your aged body and feeling like a young guy in your mind.

              More mature, more wise from life, but otherwise the same. Less emotional drama, which is very nice.

            • Nangijala@feddit.dkEnglish
              2·
              9 hours ago

              I wonder what that feels like.

              I mean, yeah, I have kept my inner child alive too, but I don’t feel remotely the same from when I was 18, which in my case is a positive. I have better people around me now, I feel a lot freer and like I can be myself now than when I was 18. I understand the world on a deeper level. I am more accepting and patient. I am less angry and I’m gradually building selfworth, which I didn’t have at all at 18.

              I like aging because I continue to grow towards the person I want to be in life, and not being forced to be someone I’m not by people who don’t care about me.

              I don’t think there’s anything wrong about feeling the same as you did when your were young. I just can’t relate myself because my experience is that life is not just one continous journey, but multiple births and deaths of the soul. I’m going through a death right now where I know that once I’m out on the other side of all these challenges, things are gonna be so nice, but right now I’m saying goodbye to who I was these past ten years which is kinda rough, because overall, I really liked this decade of my life and it was a lot better than any prior decade before it.

              I hope it makes sense xD