Mammalian tumor-like organs. 1. The role of tumor-like normal organs and atypical tumor organs in the evolution of development (carcino-evo-devo)

Background Earlier I hypothesized that hereditary tumors might participate in the evolution of multicellular organisms. I formulated the hypothesis of evolution by tumor neofunctionalization, which suggested that the evolutionary role of hereditary tumors might consist in supplying evolving multicellular organisms with extra cell masses for the expression of evolutionarily novel genes and the origin of new cell types, tissues, and organs. A new theory—the carcino-evo-devo theory—has been developed based on this hypothesis. Main text My lab has confirmed several non-trivial predictions of this theory. Another non-trivial prediction is that evolutionarily new organs if they originated from hereditary tumors or tumor-like structures, should recapitulate some tumor features in their development. This paper reviews the tumor-like features of evolutionarily novel organs. It turns out that evolutionarily new organs such as the eutherian placenta, mammary gland, prostate, the infantile human brain, and hoods of goldfishes indeed have many features of tumors. I suggested calling normal organs, which have many tumor features, the tumor-like organs. Conclusion Tumor-like organs might originate from hereditary atypical tumor organs and represent the part of carcino-evo-devo relationships, i.e., coevolution of normal and neoplastic development. During subsequent evolution, tumor-like organs may lose the features of tumors and the high incidence of cancer and become normal organs without (or with almost no) tumor features.

Homo Paedens? Did Kids Invent the Human Species?

The evolution of development (“evo-devo”) has become a central concern in both evolu­tionary and developmental research, and human immaturity is no less a proper focus for evolutionary analysis than that of other species-if anything, it is more so. Two new books by David F. Bjorklund, a founder of evolutionary developmental psychology, summarize what we know now and propose that children invented our species. Due to the new phe­nomenon of partly heritable epigenetic modification of genes and the old one of the Bald­win Effect (by which plasticity leads to new selective forces on genes), this claim must be at least partly true. The inherent plasticity of children’s behavior, including play, accelerat­ed the evolution of humanity as instantiated in the human brain. Evolution cannot be understood without extensive reference to development, and nothing in childhood makes sense except in the light of evolution.

The Shared Origins of Embodiment and Development

As a domain of study centering on the nature of the body in the functioning of the individual organism, embodiment encompasses a diverse array of topics and questions. One useful organizing framework places embodiment as a bridge construct connecting three standpoints on the body: the form of the body, the body as actively engaged in and with the world, and the body as lived experience. Through connecting these standpoints, the construct of embodiment shows that they are not mutually exclusive: inherent in form is the capacity for engagement, and inherent in engagement is a lived perspective that confers agency and meaning. Here, we employ this framework to underscore the deep connections between embodiment and development. We begin with a discussion of the origins of multicellularity, highlighting how the evolution of bodies was the evolution of development itself. The evolution of the metazoan (animal) body is of particular interest, because most animals possess complex bodies with sensorimotor capacities for perceiving and acting that bring forth a particular sort of embodiment. However, we also emphasize that the thread of embodiment runs through all living things, which share an organizational property of self-determination that endows them with a specific kind of autonomy. This realization moves us away from a Cartesian machine metaphor and instead puts an emphasis on the lived perspective that arises from being embodied. This broad view of embodiment presents opportunities to transcend the boundaries of individual disciplines to create a novel integrative vision for the scientific study of development.

EVOLUTION OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE ELECTION PROCESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN: POLITICAL ANALYSIS

The article provides a comparative analysis of the evolution features of the formation and development of representational bodies through the institution of elections, which is one of the most important and urgent issues in the context of democratization in modern Kazakhstan. The main purpose of the scientific article is to analyze the elections in the formation of representative authority in Kazakhstan from the standpoint of political science. This is related to the fact that the electoral process in the country is developing in accordance with the democratic regime, undergoing legislative reforms and difficulties in improving. Thus, the article examines the issues of the evolutionary development of elections by the methods of comparative analysis, cross-temporal comparison, and identifies the features of development. Also, the structure of a representative government formed on the basis of elections in independent Kazakhstan, the peculiarities of the participation of the electorate in elections, the proportion of women in the Mazhilis, the number of parties, and the average age were compared. Elections are one of the main indicators in the formation of representative power.

The Role of Heritable Tumors in Evolution of Development: a New Theory of Carcino-evo-devo

The hypothesis of evolution by tumor neofunctionalization (the main hypothesis) describes the possible role of hereditary tumors in evolution. The present article examines the relationship of the main hypothesis to other biological theories. As shown in this paper, the main hypothesis does not contradict to the existing biological theories, but fills the lacunas between them and explains some unexplained (or not completely understood) questions. Common features of embryonic development and tumorigenesis are described by several recognized theories. Similarities between normal development and tumorigenesis suggest that tumors could participate in the evolution of ontogenesis and in the origin of new cell types, tissues and organs. A wide spectrum of non-trivial explanations and non-trivial predictions in different fields of biology, suggested by the main hypothesis, is an indication of its fundamental nature and the potential to become a new biological theory, a theory of the role of tumors in evolution of development, or carcino-evo-devo.

Palle Kanneeru Pedutundo (My Village Is Shedding Tears): A Subaltern Critique of the Derivative Form of Postcolonial Nationalism

In positioning myself at the intersection of development (support) communication, postcolonialism, and poststructuralism, I suggest that understanding the derivativeness of the postcolonial nation provides us with the appropriate context to grasp the economic evolution of development paradigms and formation of national and communitarian/communal subjectivities in the postcolonial world. I employ postcolonial derivativeness of the nation as a device in the allegorical deconstruction of the discourse of development and (de)construction of community through the analysis of a popular song penned by the Indian poet and singer, Goreti Venkanna in Telugu, his native language as well as mine.