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A proximate cause is an event which is closest to, or immediately responsible for causing, some observed result. This exists in contrast to a higher-level ultimate cause (or distal cause) which is usually thought of as the "real" reason something occurred. The concept is used in many fields of research and analysis, including data science and ...
X would instead be a sufficient cause of y when the occurrence of x implies that y must then occur. [2] in other words, when some factor is sufficient to cause an effect, the presence of the cause guarantees the occurrence of the effect. [3] However, a different cause z may also cause y, meaning that y may occur without x occurring.
The historian of biology Peter J. Bowler has written that devolution was taken seriously by proponents of orthogenesis and others in the late 19th century who at this period of time firmly believed that there was a direction in evolution. Orthogenesis was the belief that evolution travels in internally directed trends and levels.
This glossary of biology terms is a list of definitions of fundamental terms and concepts used in biology, the study of life and of living organisms.It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical definitions from sub-disciplines and related fields, see Glossary of cell biology, Glossary of genetics, Glossary of evolutionary biology, Glossary of ecology ...
Also called functionalism. The Darwinian view that many or most physiological and behavioral traits of organisms are adaptations that have evolved for specific functions or for specific reasons (as opposed to being byproducts of the evolution of other traits, consequences of biological constraints, or the result of random variation). adaptive radiation The simultaneous or near-simultaneous ...
In genetics, underdominance, also known as homozygote advantage, heterozygote disadvantage, or negative overdominance," [1] is the opposite of overdominance.It is the selection against the heterozygote, causing disruptive selection [2] and divergent genotypes.
Stabilizing selection causes the narrowing of the phenotypes seen in a population. This is because the extreme phenotypes are selected against, causing reduced survival in organisms with those traits. This results in a population consisting of fewer phenotypes, with most traits representing the mean value of the population.
An exogenous contrast agent, in medical imaging for example, is a liquid injected into the patient intravenously that enhances visibility of a pathology, such as a tumor.An exogenous factor is any material that is present and active in an individual organism or living cell but that originated outside that organism, as opposed to an endogenous factor.