LETTERS

摘要

To the Editors: In his timely column "Evolution's Other Narrative" (November-December, Macroscope), Bradford Harris puts forward the concept of symbiosis, "cooperation and interdependence," as an important contributor to evolutionary processes that is distinct from the widely accepted neo-Darwinian, gene-driven "survival of the fittest." Harris is admirably critical of the genetic blueprint explanation of evolution. However, ascribing to microorganisms the capacity for "cooperation and interdependence" is factually incorrect. Commensalism (eating at the same table) is the preferred concept used by scientists collaborating on the Human Microbiome Project.