Metadarwinism: Evolution Via Microbial Cognition
Love & Communication vs. Survival & Death
As a physician, I noticed some aspects of disease dynamics that lead me to consider microbial cognition. That led, over time, to my interest in the hologenome, and an entire theory of evolution distinct from standard Darwinism that concentrates on the intersection of the hologenome, the microbiome, cognition, health and evolution.
~ William Miller
Metadarwinism Orientation: Molecular Science And Evolution

Just what is metadarwinism? Fasten your seat belts, then run to take out your dictionary... er, forget that dictionary. I initially told Dr. Miller that I would need some deeper resource, after reading his bio, to understand his remarks. However, he quickly reassured me/us with his engaging, humorous and entertaining commentary on this most interesting topic - cell talk and evolution.

Here Dr. Miller casually drops words beyond ordinary conversation, then interests all of us in the history of the communication efforts between cells, in the cognition of microorganisms, in the evolution of humankind.

Communication vs. Competition

Cell love has worked for millennia.

Natural starter links:

* metadarwinism
* hologenome
* microbiome
* metacognition

Cells Talk

Consider this concept: metadarwinism - it's about reconsidering Darwin's "survival of the fittest" as an old process that pales into insignificance when compared to the love that microbiota, those microorganisms - for example, our gut friends in the microbiome - have for each other. Consider how they get together over millennia to create... yes, us.

Dr. Miller is the author of The Microcosm Within: Evolution and Extinction in the Hologenome.[1] A practicing physician for 30 years, now an independent researcher in evolutionary biology, a media commentator on health issues, the microbiome, and our evolution. And, he's co-editor of the Society for the Advancement of Metadarwinism.[3] Trust me; you will love this guy.

Relevant Metadarwinism Commentary
We have identified a mechanism that integrates development and physiologic homeostasis - cell-cell interactions. Why not apply that mechanism to Evolutionary Biology as the long-term basis for phylogenetic change? Using that approach at the cell-molecular level offers the opportunity to determine how cellular composition has accommodated adaptation.[2] - Torday

When we think of evolution in terms of contemporary biologic phenotypes, we make the systematic error of reasoning backward from the present to the past. Yet reasoning after the fact, by definition, is illogical. All of biology is formed from and by cells, which emerged from the primordium 3-4 billion years ago, likely as primitive micelles formed from lipids. Such structures are semi-permeable, generating intracellular chemical gradients, a process referred to as chemiosmosis, ultimately allowing for the reduction of entropy within the cell, transiently circumventing the second Law of Thermodynamics. It was under these conditions that life began on Earth, initiated and perpetuated by the perennial competition between prokaryotes and eukaryotes, a battle which rages on to this day.[4] - Torday

Darwin’s great success was in making the subject of evolution user-friendly by providing a narrative that was simple and direct. Pleasing as it may be,