Can evolution go backwards?

Tiny Matters

In 1893, Belgian paleontologist Louis Dollo suggested that evolution can’t go backwards in the exact same way that it proceeded. This became known as “Dollo’s Law,” and came under a lot of scrutiny. But, more recently, Dollo’s Law was co-opted into the idea that traits, once they gain a certain amount of complexity, can’t return to a simpler state. In this episode of Tiny Matters, we explore two exciting examples where scientists have found that not to be the case.

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Chapters

1. Can evolution go backwards? (00:00:00)

2. Dollo's Law (00:00:01)

3. Can complex structures revert back to a simpler form? (00:02:47)

4. Fern reproductive evolution (00:04:32)

5. Engineering bacteria to go 'backwards' (00:12:11)

6. Tiny show and tell: Contagious urination (00:24:09)