Plant: Wait, so you're going to replant me, in massive numbers, all across the planet? kk nm, go ahead.
this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2024
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One of reasons why some biologists suggest that one of the most evolutionarily successful animals on the planet is the farm chicken.
At an estimated global population of 35 billion, it's definitely doing a lot better than our 8 billion.
And evolutionarily successful doesn't mean you get to be the best, fastest, strongest and have the best most comfortable life ... evolutionary success just means that there are more of your species creating more generations of your kind everywhere. The hope being that the more there are of your species, the more likely your kind will survive in the future.
I've heard archaeologists suggest that in far future times this will be known as the chicken age, because of the volume and likely preservation of chicken bones.
The Bacock age
Twice that many chickens are killed a year. It's not what I'd call a roaring success in terms of evolution.
The turnover in generations is all that evolutionary success is. It's the mechanism that's been driving life on earth for three billion years. It doesn't mean that the individual life form is happy or comfortable ... it just means it lived long enough to create another generation.
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We're also going to change your genes to benefit ourselves and you'll be completely reliant on our own survival which is looking more and more dubious with each passing year.
Turns out life just fills niches. It cares not for the length of which it can do that.
wait what?
Selective evolution, most crops look nothing like the original plant that humans originally cultivated. We choose the breed of plants which benefit us most, and the majority probably wouldn't survive in the wild if monoculture fertilized farms disappeared if humans went extinct.
Meanwhile humans spread those planets across the planet, cultivate it, and kill anything that tries to mess with it. Without us those plants would be living a sad little existence defeated by the next time a bug evolves slightly. Who played who?
Isn't this because they have anti-bacterial properties? So that you can preserve food and especially in hot climates you don't get food poisoning as easily?
Yup! I studied evolutionary psychology in college. Different seasonings helped make food safer to eat in hotter climates. My prof said “that's why if you leave a really salty piece of jerky under your bed, it's probably fine.”
Also explains why cultures up north typically didn't adapt a preference for spicy food as the cold allowed them to preserve food that way
That doesn't really make much sense since salted and pickled foods are eaten up north. The more logical explanation is that spicy food doesn't grow up north.
Maybe in hotter climates you have more problems with bacteria vs fungus / rot in colder climates? Another explanation is that spicy / hot food is popular because it forces you to drink more water. But it's all speculation on my part, never found any definitive answers.
Probably and was probably an accidental discovery. Someone noticed that spicy meat lasted longer.
What's the first plant?
Now I want a Bloody Mary.
I thought that plants benefited from having their fruits eaten. As animals (like humans) defecate the seeds in different places, with enough manure to grow.
In the case of peppers, birds are immune to the effect of capsaicin. It strikes me as an evolutionary way of ensuring your seeds get spread as far as possible, by something that flies.
Could just be chance, though, I'm no expert.
All of evolution is just chance, but it sure is interesting to see what random chance can do if given enough time
Depends on the plant. Some plants like to grow close together, they don't need an animal to distribute their seeds. Other plants like to spread out, and they benefit if birds eat and distribute the seeds, but not mammals.
Evolution is purely a results driven process, all that matters is can the organism create offspring that are capable of creating offspring.
Some plants like to grow close together
Or maybe they grow well close together because they evolved to do so because their seeds weren't being spread all that far away?
Sorry couldn't help but nitpick there. But you're right, things don't evolve in any particular direction, it's all about just being above the bar of "not dying before producing offspring."
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Nightshade: Sup
Tomatoes and eggplant are nightshades.
But what about cilantro. It tastes like s#it. To me. Yet everyone else seems to love it. It's very bitter and acrid, I don't like it. I can barely handly the slightest hint of garlic in most food. I prefer the taste of food without embellishment - like meat without sauces or spices, it's already pretty flavorful as is.
Isn't cilantro the one where some people have a gene that makes it taste completely different?
Yeah, apparently it's called OR6A2
In other words it's not cilantro that's bad, it's just this guy's mom grew him wrong and his genes came out all wonky.
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This is the best TIL I have had in the last several months. I always thought they were all just wrong about the taste, but they were actually just wrong genetically.
"This ranch dressing is so spicy!"
I realize to most people that would sound absurd, but for me it's true! Ranch dressing, anything with even a hint of garlic or more than couple herbs and it's just too strong for me. But then again I don't like black pepper, or peppers, or garlic or onions either, so -- pretty much I just use salt and not much else in my cooking (and it doesn't seem bland to me at all).
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