kin selection

A bacterium’s ability to distinguish self from non-self can arise spontaneously, a study shows, reigniting questions of whether the trait can be considered an adaptation.

Extending her initial studies of social wasps, Mary Jane West-Eberhard has spent her career probing the evolutionary relationship between social behavior and developmental flexibility.

Researchers show that a bacterium’s self-sacrifice can benefit its community, even when the members are not strongly related.

Junior Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows, Harvard University. Age: 28