When It Comes To Survival Of The Fittest, A Selfish Gene Can Be An Advantage

Published September 18, 2017 at 1:52 PM EDT

Sarah Zanders of the Stowers Institute studies how selfish genes function. (Alex Smith/KCUR)

Four decades ago, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins published a book that changed science. In “The Selfish Gene,” Dawkins argued that genes competing for survival not only drive evolution but also animal and human behavior. It was an abstract idea at first, but now scientists, including researchers at the Stowers Institute in Kansas City, are figuring out how selfish genes actually do their work.

Alex Smith (@AlexSmithKCUR) of KCUR reports.

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