Archive of the day.

Arvid Ågren@arvidagren.bsky.social · 7d ago

Ending the day here after spending the day in the Department of Zoology archive at Weston Library.

The Royal Oak on Woodstock Road in Oxford. Where in early April 1976 Richard Dawkins met Walter Bodmer and Glenys Thomson, the two reviewers OUP had asked to assess The Selfish Gene, to go over their comments on the manuscript.

Can selfish genetic elements get away with their selfishness? This depends on ecology of their host organisms. Under certain conditions, selfish genetic elements may spread virtually unopposed by selection: doi.org/10.1093/jeb/... @martijnschenkel.bsky.social @arvidagren.bsky.social & M. Patten

The ecological theatre of selfish elements

Abstract. Some selfish genetic elements enhance their transmission to the next generation by interfering with and eliminating competing variants within the

doi.org

This is a super exciting opportunity!

Evolution@journal-evo.bsky.social · last mo.

Now seeking our next Reviews Editor! We are looking for someone with broad interests and enthusiasm who can help promote the success of a society-owned journal by commissioning Review and Perspective articles. Indicate your interest by Sept. 15: www.evolutionsociety.org/news/display...

“Maynard Smith, perhaps more than any other single individual, has embraced both major strategies of explanation of evolutionary change: the formal theory of population genetics, including natural selection; and the phenotypic theory of adaptations.”

Not everyone was impressed. Here is Bryan Clarke in Science.

Arvid Ågren@arvidagren.bsky.social · 2w ago

Thanks for all the guesses! The answer is Richard Lewontin’s 'The Genetic Basis of Evolutionary Change', published by Columbia University Press in 1974.

Gabby Dover letter to the editor of The Independent 24 March 1993.

Arvid Ågren@arvidagren.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Gabby Dover proposing a 'symbolic glass of champagne' to Sydney Brenner for the decline of 'replicator selection'.

Thanks for all the guesses! The answer is Richard Lewontin’s 'The Genetic Basis of Evolutionary Change', published by Columbia University Press in 1974.

Arvid Ågren@arvidagren.bsky.social · 3w ago

TUESDAY TRIVIA

TUESDAY TRIVIA

Laurence Hurst on doing theory with Bill Hamilton.

"An organism is less like a machine and more like a body politic, rife with internal conflict and opposing factions." New essay in Science and Politics with Manus Patten. sciencepolitics.org/2026/08/24/o...

Our Bodies Are Not Machines - Science Politics

Organisms are less like optimized Swiss watches and more like a messy collection of political factions.

sciencepolitics.org

Why grouping intralocus and interlocus phenomena under one umbrella of “sexual conflict” is a mistake. Insightful paper from @imprintedgene.bsky.social, @andygardner.bsky.social y.social, Tracey Chapman, and @jennyperry.bsky.social yperry.bsky.social. royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Sexual conflict and sexual pleiotropy

Abstract. Natural selection might favour brightly coloured males and drab females. A male and a female might disagree about whether to mate. Such tensions

royalsocietypublishing.org

John Krebs on the remarkable, persistent, and emotional divide over the concept of adaptation in evolutionary biology.

Can’t wait for this series! PPF is one of the most exciting podcasts out there, and Nikhil Krishnan wrote my favourite book of the last few years.

Past Present Future Podcast@ppfideas.bsky.social · last mo.

NEW EPISODE OUT NOW! Today we begin a new series exploring 20th-century philosophy through the lives of the people behind the ideas. First up David talks to philosopher Nikhil Krishnan about A.J. Ayer, the man who helped inspire the rise & fall of logical positivism. Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com

New paper with Nick Davies and Kevin Foster in @natcomms.nature.com. We show that often neither selection against transposons’ deleterious effects nor exploitation by parasitic elements is sufficient to keep them in control. Only active host suppression does. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I’m no Solnit or Dawkins, but on the eve of its American publication I too want join the chorus of celebration of this wonderful book.

Rowan Hooper@rowhoop.bsky.social · last mo.

My book TOGETHERNESS, about the interconnectedness of the world, is out tomorrow in the US and Canada. I think it's unusual that @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social AND Richard Dawkins both praised it 😅 www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/753985...

Another nice paper for our @jevbio.bsky.social special issue on internal conflicts: "Fetal microchimeric cells: Today’s enemies, tomorrow’s friends" By Francisco Úbeda and @geoffwild.bsky.social. academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...

Arvid Ågren@arvidagren.bsky.social · 2mo ago

And here is @andygardner.bsky.social's nice contribution to the same @jevbio.bsky.social special issue on internal conflicts: academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...

Mary Jane West-Eberhard's on debating and listening at conferences. From her Evolution review of 'Current Problems in Sociobiology' edited by the King's College Sociobiology Group (CUP 1982)

Nice intro to special series on selfish genetic elements in Genetics and G3 academic.oup.com/g3journal/ar...

Highlighting the genetics of natural and synthetic selfish elements in a special GENETICS and G3 series

Recognizing the broad importance of selfish elements, the GSA journals have established a series to highlight the genetic mechanisms and evolutionary conse

academic.oup.com

*NEW PAPER* On why selfish elements thrive when ecological conditions permit soft selection. With @martijnschenkel.bsky.social and Manus Patten. Now available for early view on @jevbio.bsky.social. academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...

The Ecological Theatre of Selfish Elements

Abstract. Some selfish genetic elements enhance their transmission to the next generation by interfering with and eliminating competing variants within the

academic.oup.com

A few weeks after The Selfish Gene was published, Kenny took part in an event with Dawkins at Balliol organised by Denis Noble. There, he is said to have mocked the idea of replicators by asking Dawkins: “If all I knew about English was its alphabet, how could I possibly understand Shakespeare?”

David Edmonds@davidedmonds100.bsky.social · last mo.

The great Anthony Kenny - RIP -on Philosophy Bites philosophybites.com/podcast/anth...

Whither maladaptation? @imprintedgene.bsky.social reviews Philip Madgwick's 'Maladaptation: Natural Selection in the Wrong Direction?' for BioScience. academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...

Adaptation: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Organisms appear remarkably well designed to live their lives. A seal, which seems all waddle and blubber on land, is transformed when it enters the water.

academic.oup.com

Does anyone know of a good updated figure likes this showing the correlation between transposons and genome size? No taxa preference. @transposableman.bsky.social?

First Monday of August tomorrow.

Another example: Ernst Mayr not being happy with sharing the Crafoord Prize with George Williams. Remembered by David Haig.

Arvid Ågren@arvidagren.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Can the stature of a prize be diminished by its recipients? Sewall Wright thought less of the Balzac Prize after learning that Ernst Mayr had also received it.

OUP's Michael Rodgers (who published The Selfish Gene) once tried to get John Maynard Smith to write Haldane's biography. JMS decline, but instead offered him The Major Transitions in Evolution.

Gabby Dover proposing a 'symbolic glass of champagne' to Sydney Brenner for the decline of 'replicator selection'.

Amartya Sen, Garry Runciman, Ian Hacking... and Richard Dawkins. Quite the line up for 1979-1980 lecture programme for the British Society for the Philosophy of Science.

Under what conditions can the evolutionary interests of a gene differ from those of their host organism? Very cool conceptual/mathematical synthesis here!

Gaurav Athreya@gauravathreya.bsky.social · 2mo ago

wanna read the latest overview of “internal evolutionary conflicts” — scenarios where genes spread despite being organism-deleterious? and wanna learn how to model them? look at our new preprint! we introduce unifying ideas, and try hard to write accessibly. small 🧵 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...