Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Eukaryotic Evolution01:24

Eukaryotic Evolution

43.4K
The endosymbiont theory is the most widely accepted theory of eukaryotic evolution; however, its progression is still somewhat debated. According to the nucleus-first hypothesis, the ancestral prokaryote first evolved a membrane to enclose DNA and form the nucleus. Conversely, the mitochondria-first hypothesis suggests that the nucleus was formed after endosymbiosis of mitochondria.
Contrary to the endosymbiont theory, the eukaryote-first hypothesis proposes that the simpler prokaryotic and...
43.4K
Synteny and Evolution02:31

Synteny and Evolution

3.9K
John H. Renwick first coined the term “synteny” in 1971, which refers to the genes present on the same chromosomes, even if they are not genetically linked. The species with common ancestry tend to show conserved syntenic regions. Therefore, the concept of synteny is nowadays used to describe the evolutionary relationship between species.
Around 80 million years ago, the human and mice lineages diverged from the common ancestor. During the course of evolution, the ancestral...
3.9K
Convergent Evolution01:54

Convergent Evolution

34.2K
Evolution shapes the features of organisms over time, ensuring that they are suited for the environments in which they live. Sometimes, selection pressure leads to the rise of similar but unrelated adaptations in organisms with no recent common ancestors, a process known as convergent evolution.
34.2K
The Fossil Record02:56

The Fossil Record

28.2K
The fossil record documents only a small fraction of all organisms that have ever inhabited Earth. Fossilization is a rare process, and most organisms never become fossils. Moreover, the fossil record only exhibits fossils that have been discovered. Nevertheless, sedimentary rock fossils of long-lived, abundant, hard-bodied organisms dominate the fossil record. These fossils offer valuable information, such as an organism's physical form, behavior, and age. Studying the fossil record helps...
28.2K
Speciation Rates01:07

Speciation Rates

23.4K
Overview
23.4K
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

3.8K
3.8K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Emergent bioengineering.

Current opinion in biotechnology·2026
Same author

Collective social niche construction shaping adaptive social networks.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026
Same author

Energetic constraints shape the diversity of feasible ecological networks.

PLoS computational biology·2026
Same author

Engineering Basal Cognition: Minimal Genetic Circuits for Habituation, Sensitization, and Massed-Spaced Learning.

ACS synthetic biology·2026
Same author

A smartphone analogy to explore the origin of animals.

The EMBO journal·2026
Same author

Geometric phase in the Crow-Kimura model of molecular evolution on dynamic environments.

Physical review. E·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 17, 2026

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
04:52

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

1.4K

The major synthetic evolutionary transitions.

Ricard Solé1

  • 1ICREA-Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Dr Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, CSIC-UPF, Pg Maritim de la Barceloneta 37, 08003 Barcelona, Spain Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA ricard.sole@upf.edu.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|July 20, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Major evolutionary transitions, like the origin of life, are rare. Artificial evolution experiments offer a novel way to study synthetic transitions and uncover universal laws of innovation and complexity.

Keywords:
artificial lifeevolutionary roboticsmajor transitionsphase transitionssynthetic biology

More Related Videos

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications
07:37

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

19.5K
Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions
06:10

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions

Published on: March 31, 2023

1.6K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 17, 2026

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
04:52

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

1.4K
Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications
07:37

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

19.5K
Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions
06:10

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions

Published on: March 31, 2023

1.6K

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Artificial Life
  • Complexity Science

Background:

  • Major evolutionary transitions represent profound innovations, integrating autonomous units into new organizational levels, such as the origin of life, cells, and societies.
  • These historical transitions, occurring millions of years ago, raise questions about their uniqueness versus inevitability and the existence of general laws governing evolutionary innovation.

Discussion:

  • This work proposes exploring 'synthetic' evolutionary transitions through artificial evolution experiments as a novel perspective to study innovation.
  • Artificial scenarios, including evolved multicellularity and robot language, allow for exploring alternative evolutionary pathways and understanding innovation drivers.

Key Insights:

  • Artificial evolutionary experiments provide a unique platform to investigate the fundamental principles underlying major evolutionary transitions.
  • Studying synthetic transitions can reveal general laws governing evolutionary innovation and the emergence of complexity, applicable beyond natural evolution.

Outlook:

  • Future research should focus on designing and analyzing artificial evolutionary systems to uncover universal laws of evolved complexity.
  • This approach holds promise for understanding the potential for, and constraints on, evolutionary innovation in both natural and artificial systems.