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Feud over family ties in evolution

Prominent scientists dispute kinship’s role in self-sacrifice among highly social creatures

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

A furor has broken out among biologists over ant specialist E.O. Wilson’s latest attack on a concept used to explain the origins of self-sacrifice in the dog-eat-dog world of evolution.

MORE BUZZ A concept called kin selection has been widely used in explaining the evolution of highly social species such as colony-forming bees.