Can we regard adaptation as memory?

Constraint, pathology, and adaptation: how can we tell them apart?

Adaptation is a central concept of modern evolutionary biology, but remains a difficult one nevertheless. Definitions of adaptation are often confounded with definitions of natural selection, rendering them somewhat circular and difficult to operationalize. Williams introduced a definition that avoids such tautology and a strategy for testing adaptive claims against chance as an alternative exp...

Placental Adaptation: What Can We Learn from Birthweight:Placental Weight Ratio?

Appropriate fetal growth relies upon adequate placental nutrient transfer. Birthweight:placental weight ratio (BW:PW ratio) is often used as a proxy for placental efficiency, defined as the grams of fetus produced per gram placenta. An elevated BW:PW ratio in an appropriately grown fetus (small placenta) is assumed to be due to up-regulated placental nutrient transfer capacity i.e., a higher nu...

False memory and importance: can we prioritize encoding without consequence?

Given the large amount of information that we encounter, we often must prioritize what information we attempt to remember. Although critical for everyday functioning, relatively little research has focused on how people prioritize the encoding of information. Recent research has shown that people can and do selectively remember information assigned with higher, relative to lower, importance. Ho...

Meta-Reasoning: What Can We Learn from Meta-Memory?

Can We Add Auricular Composite Graft to Our Rhinoplasty Armamentarium?

BACKGROUND The ala of the nose, with its particular texture and characteristics, poses both aesthetically and functionally intriguing challenges and is rather problematic regarding choices for reconstructive methods. Both flaps and grafts have been used to restore natural structure of nasal ala. The present study summarizes a ten-year experience of reconstructive surgery using small composite...