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  Biology Reconstructing Ancestral Proteins [long_description] Evolutionary biochemists have suspected that ancestral proteins were more general than their modern forms, capable of binding a wider range of targets and driving a greater diversity of reactions. While Lucas Wheeler and Michael Harms initially confirmed this suspicion, their more recent work, which increases the sample size of targets from four to approximately 100,000, calls it into question.

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  Biology The Obstetrical Dilemma [long_description] An evolutionary tradeoff: bipedalism requires a narrow pelvis, but larger brains require wider birth canals. Hence early birth. Chase Nelson analyzes a new theory in the debate over human neonate helplessness. Helplessness itself exerts a selective force; it requires intelligent parents.

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  Biology The Neutral Theory of Evolution [long_description] Evolutionary biologist Austin Hughes (1949–2015) died suddenly this past year. Chase Nelson describes his scientific legacy, in particular his work on frequencies of synonymous and non-synonymous mutations in neutral and adaptive evolution.

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  Biology Haldane’s Dilemma [long_description] J. B. S. Haldane’s theory of cost limits the rate at which evolutionary change through natural selection can occur. Chase Nelson shows that biologists must account for the complex changes that shaped humans since their divergence from the chimpanzees.

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