Quasi-Equilibrium States and Phase Transitions in Biological Evolution.

We developed a macroscopic description of the evolutionary dynamics by following the temporal dynamics of the total Shannon entropy of sequences, denoted by S, and the average Hamming distance between them, denoted by H. We argue that a biological system can persist in the so-called quasi-equilibrium state for an extended period, characterized by strong correlations between S and H, before undergoing a phase transition to another quasi-equilibrium state. To demonstrate the results, we conducted a statistical analysis of SARS-CoV-2 data from the United Kingdom during the period between March 2020 and December 2023. From a purely theoretical perspective, this allowed us to systematically study various types of phase transitions described by a discontinuous change in the thermodynamic parameters. From a more-practical point of view, the analysis can be used, for example, as an early warning system for pandemics.

Within-Host Evolution of Bacterial Pathogens in Acute and Chronic Infection.

Bacterial pathogens undergo remarkable adaptive change in response to the selective forces they encounter during host colonization and infection. Studies performed over the past few decades have demonstrated that many general evolutionary processes can be discerned during the course of host adaptation, including genetic diversification of lineages, clonal succession events, convergent evolution, and balanced fitness trade-offs. In some cases, elevated mutation rates resulting from mismatch repair or proofreading deficiencies accelerate evolution, and active mobile genetic elements or phages may facilitate genome plasticity. The host immune response provides another critical component of the fitness landscapes guiding adaptation, and selection operating on pathogens at this level may lead to immune evasion and the establishment of chronic infection. This review summarizes recent advances in this field, with a special focus on different forms of bacterial genome plasticity in the context of infection, and considers clinical consequences of adaptive changes for the host.

Darwinian evolution has become dogma; AI can rescue what is salvageable.

Artificial Intelligence (AI), as an academic discipline, is traceable to the mid-1950s but it is currently exploding in applications with successes and concerns. AI can be defined as intelligence demonstrated by computers, with intelligence difficult to define but it must include concepts of ability to learn, reason, and generalize from a vast amount of information and, we propose, to infer meaning. The type of AI known as general AI, has strong, but unrealized potential both for assessing and also for solving major problems with the scientific theory of Darwinian evolution, including its modern variants and for origin of life studies. Specifically, AI should be applied first to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the assumptions and empirical information underpinning theories of the origin of life and probability of its evolution. AI should then be applied to assess the scientific validity of the theory of how abundant life came to be on earth.

Functional Anatomy of the Spinal Tracts Based on Evolutionary Perspectives.

The development of spinal cord represents evolutionary progression. The primitive tract is responsible for functions related to basic survival such as locomotion. In contrast, the developed tracts are involved in perceiving the external environment and controlling conscious movements. There are also differences in the arrangement of spinal tracts between the 2 categories. Tracts serving developed functions are located in the deep layer of the lateral funiculus, whereas primitive tracts occupy other areas. Decussation correlates with tract pathways, with primitive tracts projecting ipsilaterally and developing tracts decussating early. Understanding these principles provides insights into spinal tract organization.

Fungal taxonomy: A puzzle with many missing pieces / Taxonomía de los hongos: un rompecabezas al que le faltan muchas piezas

Fungi are multifaceted organisms found in almost all ecosystems on Earth, where they establish various types of symbiosis with other living beings. Despite being recognized by humans since ancient times, and the high number of works delving into their biology and ecology, much is still unknown about these organisms. Some criteria classically used for their study are nowadays limited, generating confusion in categorizing them, and even more, when trying to understand their genealogical relationships. To identify species within Fungi, phenotypic characters to date are not sufficient, and to construct a broad phylogeny or a phylogeny of a particular group, there are still gaps affecting the generated trees, making them unstable and easily debated. For health professionals, fungal identification at lower levels such as genus and species, is enough to select the most appropriate therapy for their control, understand the epidemiology of clinical pictures associated, and recognize outbreaks and antimicrobial resistance. However, the taxonomic location within the kingdom, information with apparently little relevance, can allow phylogenetic relationships to be established between fungal taxa, facilitating the understanding of their biology, distribution in nature, and pathogenic potential evolution. Advances in molecular biology and computer science techniques from the last 30 years have led to crucial changes aiming to establish the criteria to define a fungal species, allowing us to reach a kind of stable phylogenetic construction. However, there is still a long way to go, and it requires the joint work of the scientific community at a global level and support for basic research.

Los hongos son organismos polifacéticos presentes en casi todos los ecosistemas de la tierra, donde establecen diversos tipos de simbiosis con otros seres vivos. A pesar de ser reconocidos por los humanos desde la antigüedad -y de la cantidad de trabajos que han profundizado sobre su biología y ecología-, aún falta mucho por conocer sobre estos organismos. Algunos de los criterios que clásicamente se han utilizado para su estudio, hoy resultan limitados y hasta cierto punto permiten un agrupamiento de los aislamientos según algunas características, pero generan confusión en su clasificación y, más aún, cuando se pretende comprender sus relaciones genealógicas. Los caracteres fenotípicos no son suficientes para identificar una especie de hongos y, menos aún, para construir una filogenia amplia o de un grupo particular. Hay grandes vacíos que hacen que los árboles generados sean inestables y fácilmente debatidos. Para los profesionales de la salud, parece que la identificación de los hongos hasta niveles inferiores como género y especie es suficiente para elegir el tratamiento más adecuado para su control, comprender la epidemiología de los cuadros clínicos asociados y reconocer los brotes y los factores determinantes de la resistencia a los antimicrobianos. No obstante, la ubicación taxonómica dentro del reino permitiría establecer relaciones filogenéticas entre los taxones fúngicos, facilitando la comprensión de su biología, su distribución en la naturaleza y la evolución de su potencial patogénico.

Taxonomía de los hongos: un rompecabezas al que le faltan muchas piezas

Los hongos son organismos polifacéticos presentes en casi todos los ecosistemas de la tierra, donde establecen diversos tipos de simbiosis con otros seres vivos. A pesar de ser reconocidos por los humanos desde la antigüedad -y de la cantidad de trabajos que han profundizado sobre su biología y ecología-, aún falta mucho por conocer sobre estos organismos. Algunos de los criterios que clásicamente se han utilizado para su estudio, hoy resultan limitados y hasta cierto punto permiten un agrupamiento de los aislamientos según algunas características, pero generan confusión en su clasificación y, más aún, cuando se pretende comprender sus relaciones genealógicas. Los caracteres fenotípicos no son suficientes para identificar una especie de hongos y, menos aún, para construir una filogenia amplia o de un grupo particular. Hay grandes vacíos que hacen que los árboles generados sean inestables y fácilmente debatidos. Para los profesionales de la salud, parece que la identificación de los hongos hasta niveles inferiores como género y especie es suficiente para elegir el tratamiento más adecuado para su control, comprender la epidemiología de los cuadros clínicos asociados y reconocer los brotes y los factores determinantes de la resistencia a los antimicrobianos. No obstante, la ubicación taxonómica dentro del reino permitiría establecer relaciones filogenéticas entre los taxones fúngicos, facilitando la comprensión de su biología, su distribución en la naturaleza y la evolución de su potencial patogénico. Los avances de las técnicas de biología molecular y las ciencias de la computación en los últimos 30 años han permitido cambios importantes dirigidos a establecer los criterios para definir una especie fúngica y alcanzar una construcción filogenética más o menos estable. Sin embargo, el camino por recorrer aún es largo, y supone un trabajo mancomunado de la comunidad científica a nivel global y el apoyo a la investigación básica.

Fungi are multifaceted organisms found in almost all ecosystems on Earth, where they establish various types of symbiosis with other living beings. Despite being recognized by humans since ancient times, and the high number of works delving into their biology and ecology, much is still unknown about these organisms. Some criteria classically used for their study are nowadays limited, generating confusion in categorizing them, and even more, when trying to understand their genealogical relationships. To identify species within Fungi, phenotypic characters to date are not sufficient, and to construct a broad phylogeny or a phylogeny of a particular group, there are still gaps affecting the generated trees, making them unstable and easily debated. For health professionals, fungal identification at lower levels such as genus and species, is enough to select the most appropriate therapy for their control, understand the epidemiology of clinical pictures associated, and recognize outbreaks and antimicrobial resistance. However, the taxonomic location within the kingdom, information with apparently little relevance, can allow phylogenetic relationships to be established between fungal taxa, facilitating the understanding of their biology, distribution in nature, and pathogenic potential evolution. Advances in molecular biology and computer science techniques from the last 30 years have led to crucial changes aiming to establish the criteria to define a fungal species, allowing us to reach a kind of stable phylogenetic construction. However, there is still a long way to go, and it requires the joint work of the scientific community at a global level and support for basic research.

Guerrilla eugenics: gene drives in heritable human genome editing.

CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing can and has altered human genomes, bringing bioethical debates about this capability to the forefront of philosophical and policy considerations. Here, I consider the underexplored implications of CRISPR-Cas9 gene drives for heritable human genome editing. Modification gene drives applied to heritable human genome editing would introduce a novel form of involuntary eugenic practice that I term guerrilla eugenics. Once introduced into a genome, stealth genetic editing by a gene drive genetic element would occur each subsequent generation irrespective of whether reproductive partners consent to it and irrespective of whether the genetic change confers any benefit. By overriding the ability to 'opt in' to genome editing, gene drives compromise the autonomy of carrier individuals and their reproductive partners to choose to use or avoid genome editing and impose additional burdens on those who hope to 'opt out' of further genome editing. High incidence of an initially rare gene drive in small human communities could occur within 200 years, with evolutionary fixation globally in a timeframe that is thousands of times sooner than achievable by non-drive germline editing. Following any introduction of heritable gene drives into human genomes, practices intended for surveillance or reversal also create fundamental ethical problems. Current policy guidelines do not comment explicitly on gene drives in humans. These considerations motivate an explicit moratorium as being warranted on gene drive development in heritable human genome editing.

Biological evolution requires an emergent, self-organizing principle.

In this perspective review, we assess fundamental flaws in Darwinian evolution, including its modern versions. Fixed mutations 'explain' microevolution but not macroevolution including speciation events and the origination of all the major body plans of the Cambrian explosion. Complex, multifactorial change is required for speciation events and inevitably requires self-organization beyond what is accomplished by known mechanisms. The assembly of ribosomes and ATP synthase are specific examples. We propose their origin is a model for what is unexplained in biological evolution. Probability of evolution is modeled in Section 9 and values are absurdly improbable. Speciation and higher taxonomic changes become exponentially less probable as the number of required, genetically-based events increase. Also, the power required of the proposed selection mechanism (survival of the fittest) is nil for any biological advance requiring multiple changes, because they regularly occur in multiple generations (different genomes) and would not be selectively conserved by the concept survival of the fittest (a concept ultimately centered on the individual). Thus, survival of the fittest cannot 'explain' the origin of the millions of current and extinct species. We also focus on the inadequacies of laboratory chemistry to explain the complex, required biological self-organization seen in cells. We propose that a 'bioelectromagnetic' field/principle emerges in living cells. Synthesis by self-organization of massive molecular complexes involves biochemical responses to this emergent field/principle. There are ramifications for philosophy, science, and religion. Physics and mathematics must be more strongly integrated with biology and integration should receive dedicated funding with special emphasis for medical applications; treatment of cancer and genetic diseases are examples.

Germline (epi)genetics reveals high predisposition in females: a 5-year, nationwide, prospective Wilms tumour cohort.

BACKGROUND: Studies suggest that Wilms tumours (WT) are caused by underlying genetic (5%-10%) and epigenetic (2%-29%) mechanisms, yet studies covering both aspects are sparse. METHODS: We performed prospective whole-genome sequencing of germline DNA in Danish children diagnosed with WT from 2016 to 2021, and linked genotypes to deep phenotypes. RESULTS: Of 24 patients (58% female), 3 (13%, all female) harboured pathogenic germline variants in WT risk genes (FBXW7, WT1 and REST). Only one patient had a family history of WT (3 cases), segregating with the REST variant. Epigenetic testing revealed one (4%) additional patient (female) with uniparental disomy of chromosome 11 and Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS). We observed a tendency of higher methylation of the BWS-related imprinting centre 1 in patients with WT than in healthy controls. Three patients (13%, all female) with bilateral tumours and/or features of BWS had higher birth weights (4780 g vs 3575 g; p=0.002). We observed more patients with macrosomia (>4250 g, n=5, all female) than expected (OR 9.98 (95% CI 2.56 to 34.66)). Genes involved in early kidney development were enriched in our constrained gene analysis, including both known (WT1, FBXW7) and candidate (CTNND1, FRMD4A) WT predisposition genes. WT predisposing variants, BWS and/or macrosomia (n=8, all female) were more common in female patients than male patients (p=0.01). CONCLUSION: We find that most females (57%) and 33% of all patients with WT had either a genetic or another indicator of WT predisposition. This emphasises the need for scrutiny when diagnosing patients with WT, as early detection of underlying predisposition may impact treatment, follow-up and genetic counselling.

Experimental evolution forcing Oenococcus oeni acid tolerance highlights critical role of the citrate locus.

Oenococcus oeni is the main lactic acid bacterium associated with malolactic fermentation (MLF) of wines. MLF plays an important role in determining the final quality of wines. Nevertheless, due to the stressful conditions inherent to wine and especially acidity, MLF may be delayed. This study aimed to explore by adaptive evolution improvements in the acid tolerance of starters but also to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in adaptation toward acidity. Four independent populations of the O. oeni ATCC BAA-1163 strain were propagated (approximately 560 generations) in a temporally varying environment, consisting in a gradual pH decrease from pH 5.3 to pH 2.9. Whole genome sequence comparison of these populations revealed that more than 45% of the substituted mutations occurred in only five loci for the evolved populations. One of these five fixed mutations affects mae, the first gene of the citrate operon. When grown in an acidic medium supplemented with citrate, a significantly higher bacterial biomass was produced with the evolved populations compared to the parental strain. Furthermore, the evolved populations slowed down their citrate consumption at low pH without impacting malolactic performance.

Transgenerational inheritance of acquired epigenetic signatures at CpG islands in mice.

Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in mammals remains a debated subject. Here, we demonstrate that DNA methylation of promoter-associated CpG islands (CGIs) can be transmitted from parents to their offspring in mice. We generated DNA methylation-edited mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs), in which CGIs of two metabolism-related genes, the Ankyrin repeat domain 26 and the low-density lipoprotein receptor, were specifically methylated and silenced. DNA methylation-edited mice generated by microinjection of the methylated ESCs exhibited abnormal metabolic phenotypes. Acquired methylation of the targeted CGI and the phenotypic traits were maintained and transmitted across multiple generations. The heritable CGI methylation was subjected to reprogramming in parental PGCs and subsequently reestablished in the next generation at post-implantation stages. These observations provide a concrete step toward demonstrating transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in mammals, which may have implications in our understanding of evolutionary biology as well as the etiology, diagnosis, and prevention of non-genetically inherited human diseases.

Control de la ventilación y regulación del estado ácido-base del pez al hombre / Control of ventilation and regulation of acid-base status from fish to man

RESUMEN Este artículo analiza ciertos aspectos evolutivos en el intercambio gaseoso, el desa rrollo pulmonar, la bomba respiratoria, el estado ácido-base y el control de la ventila ción en relación con un evento trascendente: el pasaje de la vida acuática a la terres tre. Su estudio puede permitir comprender ciertos aspectos con los que lidiamos en la práctica clínica: ¿Por qué las personas con debilidad muscular respiratoria extrema respiran como ranas (respiración frog)?, ¿Por qué los recién nacidos con dificultad respiratoria tienen aleteo nasal y quejido espiratorio?, ¿cómo es posible que los mús culos abdominales, típicamente espiratorios, asistan a la inspiración en casos de la parálisis diafragmática?, ¿por qué en la insuficiencia respiratoria el patrón respiratorio tiene menos variabilidad y se torna más rígido? y, por último, ¿es posible imaginar un pH neutro que no tenga el valor de 7,0, para qué sirve este conocimiento y como se deben interpretar los gases en hipotermia? La transición del agua a la tierra es una de las más importantes e inspiradoras de las grandes transiciones en la evolución de los vertebrados. Ante la sorprendente diversi dad de organismos vivos, es tentador imaginar una cantidad enorme de adaptaciones evolutivas para resolver los diferentes desafíos que cada especie tiene para la vida en la tierra. Hay desarrollos tempranos que comparten algunos factores cruciales y algunas de las redes genéticas regulatorias cercanas y lejanas están conservadas. Somos testigos de hallazgos clínicos que son el testimonio de especies que han vivido en épocas remotas y nos han legado su historia evolutiva.

ABSTRACT This article analyzes certain evolutionary aspects of gas exchange, lung development, the respiratory pump, the acid-base status and control of ventilation in relation to a significant event: the passing from aquatic to terrestrial life. By studying this, we can understand certain aspects that are present in the clinical practice: Why do people with extreme respiratory muscle weakness breathe as frogs? (frog breathing); why do newborns with breathing difficulties have nasal flaring and expiratory grunting?; how is it possible that abdominal muscles, which are typically expiratory, assist with inspira tion in cases of diaphragmatic paralysis?; why does the breathing pattern of respiratory failure has less variability and becomes more rigid? and, finally, is it possible to imagine a neutral pH that doesn't have the 7.0 value?; what's the use of this knowledge, and how should gases in hypothermia be interpreted? Water-to-land transition is one of the most important and inspiring major transitions of vertebrate evolution. Given the amazing diversity of living organisms, it is tempting to imagine an enormous amount of evolutionary adaptation processes to solve the different challenges of living on earth faced by each species. There are certain early development processes that share some crucial factors, and some of the close and distant gene regulatory networks are conserved. We are witnesses of clinical findings that serve as testimony of the species that lived in remote times and left us their evo lutionary history.

Octavio Ocampo, Mexican painter: a metamorphic look at the discourse between the local and the global.

Art and science is an area of research that has strengthened recently, mainly due to the impact of interdisciplinary work. At the same time, approaches between the humanities and the sciences have succeeded in re-signifying traditional views towards critical positions such as postcolonialism, especially in the colonially so-called "Global South". In this paper, we want to review the case of the work of the Mexican artist Octavio Ocampo through works that present the case of biological and cultural evolution. From this, we want to reflect on the public perception of science in Mexico, the tensions between social and natural sciences, and the urgent need to strengthen the postcolonial discourse in scientific practice.

Non-kin selection enhances complexity in cooperation: A unified quantitative law.

How cooperation evolves in the presence of selfishness is a core problem in evolutionary biology. Selfish individuals tend to benefit themselves, which makes it harder to maintain cooperation between unrelated individuals and for living systems to evolve towards complex organizations. The general evolutionary model presented here identifies that non-kin selection is the root cause for cooperation between unrelated individuals and can enable and maintain higher complexity of biological organizations (the coexistence of more individuals of different types). The maintained number of genotypes within a cooperation organization is shown to follow a universal exponential law as a quantitative function of the population size and non-kin selection strength, showing a gene-pool-size invariance. Our results highlight that non-kin selection may be a hallmark of biological evolution, and play an important role in shaping life's potentials.

Aspectos evolutivos dos fenômenos imunopatológicos com ênfase na COVID-19 / Evolutionary aspects of immunopathological phenomena with emphasis on COVID-19

A seleção natural é o principal mecanismo da evolução das espécies, e favorece fenótipos com defesas imunes efetivas contra patógenos. Entretanto, há uma grande variação das respostas imunes entre os indivíduos da espécie humana e a ocorrência de fenômenos imunopatológicos. A infecção com o vírus da família Coronaviridae, SARS-CoV-2, responsável pela doença conhecida como COVID-19, induz a respostas imunes inflamatórias exacerbadas e à tempestade de citocinas, nos casos graves. Nesta revisão discutiremos, à luz da Evolução, esse aparente paradoxo entre as respostas imunes, e os três principais fatores que contribuem para a manutenção dos fenótipos hiperativos: o custo-benefício das respostas imunes, a coevolução e a história de vida da espécie.

Natural selection is the main mechanism by which species evolve, and it favors phenotypes associated with an effective immune defense against pathogens. However, human immune responses and the occurrence of immunopathological phenomena vary considerably from individual to individual. Infection with SARSCoV- 2, a virus of the Coronaviridae family causing the disease known as COVID-19, induces exacerbated inflammatory immune responses and cytokine storm in severe cases. In this review, we discuss, in the light of Evolution, this apparent paradox between the immune responses and the 3 main factors contributing to the maintenance of hyperactive phenotypes: the cost-effectiveness of immune responses, coevolution, and the life history of the species.

Heterogeneity of metabolic adaptive capacity affects the prognosis among pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas.

BACKGROUND: Evolutionary cancer has a supply mechanism to satisfy higher energy demands even in poor-nutrient conditions. Metabolic reprogramming is essential to supply sufficient energy. The relationship between metabolic reprogramming and the clinical course of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains unclear. We aimed to clarify the differences in metabolic status among PDAC patients. METHODS: We collected clinical data from 128 cases of resectable PDAC patients undergoing surgery. Sixty-three resected tissues, 15 tissues from the low carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), 38-100 U/mL, and high CA19-9, > 500 U/mL groups, and 33 non-tumor control parts, were subjected to tandem mass spectrometry workflow to systematically explore metabolic status. Clinical and proteomic data were compared on the most used PDAC biomarker, preoperative CA19-9 value. RESULTS: Higher CA19-9 levels were clearly associated with higher early recurrence (p < 0.001), decreased RFS (p < 0.001), and decreased DSS (p = 0.025). From proteomic analysis, we discovered that cancer evolution-related as well as various metabolism-related pathways were more notable in the high group. Using resected tissue immunohistochemical staining, we learned that high CA19-9 PDAC demonstrated aerobic glycolysis enhancement, yet no decrease in protein synthesis. We found a heterogeneity of various metabolic processes, including carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, lipids, and nucleic acids, between the low and the high groups, suggesting differences in metabolic adaptive capacity. CONCLUSIONS: Our study found metabolic adaptation differences among PDAC cases, pertaining to both cancer evolution and the prognosis. CA19-9 can help estimate the metabolic adaptive capacity of energy supply for PDAC evolution.

Adaptive increases in respiratory capacity and O2 affinity of subsarcolemmal mitochondria from skeletal muscle of high-altitude deer mice.

Aerobic energy demands have led to the evolution of complex mitochondrial reticula in highly oxidative muscles, but the extent to which metabolic challenges can be met with adaptive changes in physiology of specific mitochondrial fractions remains unresolved. We examined mitochondrial mechanisms supporting adaptive increases in aerobic performance in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) adapted to the hypoxic environment at high altitude. High-altitude and low-altitude mice were born and raised in captivity, and exposed as adults to normoxia or hypobaric hypoxia (12 kPa O2 for 6-8 weeks). Subsarcolemmal and intermyofibrillar mitochondria were isolated from the gastrocnemius, and a comprehensive substrate titration protocol was used to examine mitochondrial physiology and O2  kinetics by high-resolution respirometry and fluorometry. High-altitude mice had greater yield, respiratory capacity for oxidative phosphorylation, and O2 affinity (lower P50 ) of subsarcolemmal mitochondria compared to low-altitude mice across environments, but there were no species difference in these traits in intermyofibrillar mitochondria. High-altitude mice also had greater capacities of complex II relative to complexes I + II and higher succinate dehydrogenase activities in both mitochondrial fractions. Exposure to chronic hypoxia reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) emission in high-altitude mice but not in low-altitude mice. Our findings suggest that functional changes in subsarcolemmal mitochondria contribute to improving aerobic performance in hypoxia in high-altitude deer mice. Therefore, physiological variation in specific mitochondrial fractions can help overcome the metabolic challenges of life at high altitude.

¿Es posible que nuestra generación enfrente una nueva pandemia causada por otro Coronavirus? / Is it possible that our generation will deal a new pandemic caused by another Coronavirus?

RESUMEN La actual pandemia de COVID-19 fue inducida por la emergencia de un coronavirus en un animal reservorio. De esta manera, es de gran importancia conocer como ocurre la evolución de estos agentes virales en la naturaleza. En este artículo, son presentados los principales mecanismos asociados a la evolución de los coronavirus considerando las especies de animales que actúan como reservorios o huéspedes evolutivos, los mecanismos genéticos virales arrollados en la generación de variantes virales y la contribución de las acciones humanas que puedan generar nuevos coronavirus recombinantes con potencial pandémico. Considerando los puntos discutidos en este artículo, concluimos que la generación de nuevos coronavirus podrá ser evitada con la implementación de políticas públicas que propongan acciones de salud única y así solo habrá salud humana habiendo salud ambiental y salud animal.

ABSTRACT The current COVID-19 pandemic was induced by the emergence of a coronavirus from an animal as a reservoir. Thus, it is of great importance to know how the evolution of these viral agents occurs in the nature. In this article, the main mechanisms associated with the evolution of coronaviruses were presented, indicating the animal species that act as reservoirs or evolutionary hosts, the viral genetic mechanisms involved in the generation of viral variants, the contribution of human actions to generate recombinant coronaviruses with pandemic potential. From the points discussed in the article, we conclude that the generation of new coronaviruses can be avoided with the implementation of public policies that propose health actions and thus there will only be human health if there is environmental health and animal health.

The Evolution of the Human Hand From an Anthropologic Perspective.

Coupled with the developing brain and freed from ambulatory responsibilities, the human hand has experienced osteologic and myologic changes throughout evolutionary time that have permitted manipulative capacities of social, functional, and cultural importance in modern-day human life. Hand cupping, precision gripping, and power gripping are at the root of these evolutionary developments. It is in appreciation of the evolutionary trajectory that we can truly understand how 'form is function.' The structure of the human hand is distinct in many ways from that of even our closest relatives in the primate order (ie, chimpanzees). We present some of the key anatomic changes and evolutionary anatomic remnants of the human hand. The human hand is truly an amazing organ-the product of millions of years of selective changes.

The Indeterminacy Bottleneck: Implications for Habitable Worlds.

It is often assumed that the transition between chemical evolution and biological evolution undergoes a smooth process; that once life has arisen, it will automatically 'flood' a solar system body. However, there is no a priori reason to assume that a link between them is a given. The fact that both chemical evolution and biological evolution meet in a single point can be critical. Thus, one may ask: can a world's environment be favourable for chemical evolution but not for biological evolution, or vice versa? This is an important question worth exploration because certain worlds in the solar system in the past seemed to possess the possibility of chemical evolution, while several worlds in the present seem to exhibit such a possibility. Have such solar system bodies thus been, or are, 'flooded' by life? Did they possess the opportunity for biological evolution? The answer depends on the very nature of certain conditions under which evolution occurs, which may indicate that a link between chemical evolution and biological evolution is not automatically realised on a habitable solar system body. Thus, these conditions imply that in the emergence and distribution of cellular life, there exists an indeterminacy bottleneck at which chemical evolution and biological evolution meet through a single cell, whose descendants goes 'information explosive', 'entropy implosive' and 'habitat expansive', which determine whether life moves on to new environments. The consequence is that a world's environment can indeed be favourable for biological evolution, but not for chemical evolution. Thus, even if chemical evolution leads to the emergence of a microbial organism in a world, then it is not a given that such a first life form will be subjected to distribution to other environments; and not a given that its existence will continue in the environment it originated in. Thus, the bottleneck may be one of the decisive factors in the differences between habitable and inhabited worlds.