C. Ofria

Reduced selection during sweeps lead to adaptive momentum on rugged landscapes

The paper identifies 'adaptive momentum' as a dynamic where selective sweeps reduce purifying selection, allowing populations to explore fitness valleys and access new fitness peaks.

Division of labor promotes the entrenchment of multicellularity

This study shows that division of labor in digital multicells stabilizes multicellularity by increasing fitness compared to unicellular revertants.

Adaptive phenotypic plasticity stabilizes evolution in fluctuating environments

This study shows that adaptive phenotypic plasticity reduces evolutionary change and stabilizes populations in fluctuating environments by preventing the accumulation of maladaptive alleles.

How the footprint of history shapes the evolution of digital organisms

This study investigates how the genomic legacy of prior adaptation (footprint of history) influences subsequent evolution in digital organisms across different environments.

Spatial Structure Can Decrease Symbiotic Cooperation

This study uses an artificial life simulation to show that spatial structure can reduce mutualism at intermediate vertical transmission rates by enabling quasi-species to purge parasites.

Fluctuating environments select for short-term phenotypic variation leading to long-term exploration

This study shows that fluctuating environments promote evolvability by increasing phenotypic diversity in mutational neighborhoods, enabling long-term adaptation through exploration.