Not only are evolutionary throwbacks possible, they sometimes play an important role in the forward march of evolution.
进化返祖现象不仅有可能，有时还在进化的发展中扮演重要的角色。
If the small-brained australopithecines were not toolmakers, what evolutionary advantage did they gain by walking upright?
如果脑子比较小的古猿不是工具制造者，那他们直立行走的进化优势是什么？
Why does the fossil record not document the series of evolutionary changes during the evolution of animals?
为什么化石记录没有记录动物进化过程中的一系列进化变化？
First, at least some of the observed differences between the enzymes of the Atlantic and Pacific fish populations were not random, but were the result of evolutionary adaptation.
首先，至少在大西洋和太平洋鱼类种群中观察到的一些酶的差异不是随机的，而是进化适应的结果。
But this evolutionary mechanism combining dissymmetry, anatomy, and chance does not provide an adequate explanation of why right-handedness should have become predominant.
但是这种结合了不对称、解剖学和偶然性的进化机制并不能提供一个充分的解释来说明为什么右利手应该成为优势。
The mongoose's evolutionary adaptation is not unique.
猫鼬的进化与适应并不是独一无二的。
This evolutionary mechanism combining dissymmetry, anatomy, and chance does not provide an adequate explanation of why right-handedness should have become predominant.
这种结合不对称、解剖学和偶然性的进化论机制并未提供一种充分的解释，以说明蜗牛的右旋何以会成为主要的旋向。
"Essentially, I could not agree more with the authors," said Svante Paabo, a biologist and director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany.
“从本质上说，我非常同意作者的观点。”德国马克斯·普朗克进化人类学研究所的生物学家兼主任斯温特·帕波说。
It has also, in the jargon of evolutionary biology, pre-adapted vivax to a threat it has not evolved to deal with.
按照进化生物学的一个术语，其使得间日疟原虫预适应了一种它还没有进化到以便处理的威胁。
So, they suggest, it makes sense to think that the evolutionary point of human reasoning is to win arguments, not to reach the truth.
因此，他们认为，从演化角度来看这是合理的，人类的推理是为了赢得争论，而非获得真理。
In the wild, a lone human would not be able to survive without culture, explained evolutionary theorist Rob Boyd of University of California, Los Angeles.
洛杉矶加利福尼亚大学的进化理论学家鲍勃·博伊德解释说，在野外没有文化的环境中，单独一个人可能没法生存。
The available linguistic evidence does not support the model postulated by evolutionary sources for the origin of languages.
目前可用的语言学证据并没有支持语言的进化起源的模型。
Dr Berger posits that sediba may have evolved directly into Homo erectus, leaving habilis as an evolutionary sideline, and not even part of the genus Homo.
李·伯格尔博士推断南方古猿sediba可能直接进化成了直立人，这使“能人”成为进化的旁支，甚至不是人属的一部分。
Size reduction, as an evolutionary consequence of island habitation, is not universal, it's not a “law” of nature;
体格的缩小是一项岛屿栖息地的进化结果，它并非是通用的，它并非自然的“法则”。
“This is actual science, not ‘Avatar, ’ ” said Richard O. Prum, an evolutionary biologist at Yale and co-author of the new study, published in Science.
“这是真实的科学研究，而不是在讨论电影《阿凡达》，”生物进化学者Richard O.Prum和他的研究小组在耶鲁大学发布这一消息时说道。
Since all instinctive behaviors have an evolutionary advantage or they would not have been retained for millions of years, chances are that this one too has helped us survive as a species.
由于所有的本能行为都有进化优势，否则就不会被留传下来了达百万年之久，很可能吃些脏东西也能帮助我们作为一个物种生存下来。
Objective evolutionary laws, however, do not applicable at the very beginning of an evolutionary event.
然而，客观的进化规律在每个进化事件的开始都是不适用的。
Ask not what gaps should be filled in evolutionary theory, but what gaps evolutionary theory should fill.
不要问在进化论中有什么空白应该填补，而是要问进化论应该填补什么空白。
That's not a bad thing - caution is considered an important evolutionary adaptation.
但这不是一件坏事—小心被认为是一个重要的进化适应。
But not all evolutionary changes make inherent sense.
但不是所有的进化都有内在的意义。
Some evolutionary biologists believe that natural selection can favor groups of people, not just individuals, but the idea is hotly disputed.
有些进化生物学家认为自然选择也会偏爱群体，而不仅仅是个人，但是这个观点很有争议。
Yet she is not the kind of ancestor most modern evolutionary biologists would have been looking for.
然而，她并不是绝大多数现代演化生物学家所寻找的那类祖先。
In evolutionary biology, the definition of a distinct species is not entirely clear-cut.
在进化生物学中，一个不同的物种的定义并不完全明确。
It is not the first time scientists have suggested these species could be evolutionary dead ends. But the Malapa fossils bring more clout to the debate.
这不是第一次科学家提出这些物种可能进化到了极致，但马拉帕化石让争论更具有影响力。
Now you think that is facetious. It may not be beauty and intelligence but it may be something else that has an evolutionary advantage.
现在你认为这么说很可笑，这些基因可能既不美，也不高智能。但却可能是有进化优势的基因。
Although the mechanisms are not well understood, this appears to have evolutionary roots which favour greater reproductive success.
虽然这种机制不太容易理解，但是这看起来有进化根据——因为这加大了生育成功的几率。
Prof Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, said: "The baby kicked off a caring feeling in people, which is not surprising from an evolutionary perspective.
赫特福德大学的怀特曼教授说：“宝宝能让人产生关爱的感情，从进化角度来看，这一点儿也不奇怪。”
But evolutionary anthropology is not destiny, as they say in the classics.
但是进化人类学并不代表一成不变的命运。
However, Vasey stresses that a cultural expectation does not "invalidate the evolutionary mechanism," as biological and cultural influences most likely work in concert.
然而，维西强调某种文化的期望并不会“否定进化机制”，因为生物学和文化两方面的影响基本上是和谐的。
The clothing analogy might not be too far off, since the human population boom, combined with ever more crowded conditions, is likely increasing evolutionary pressure on our own individuality.
服装的比喻可能离现实不远了，因为人类人口的爆发式增长，加上更加拥挤的环境，很可能会对我们自身的个体性产生进化方面的压力。
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