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ScienceQuiet 10d · day 13

New study explains why fossil shells flip spiral direction across oceans

Researchers propose that foraminifera shell chirality shifts mark evolutionary sweeps, not climate changes.

newest coverage 9d agosummary written 12d ago5 pieces7 likes & upvotes NewswiresHacker NewsGoogle NewsMastodon

What to know

  • Foraminifera shells have mysteriously flipped their spiral direction in unison across global oceans for millions of years—a phenomenon observed since the 1950s but unexplained until now.
  • A new study proposes the shifts are not climate-driven but accidental markers of evolutionary sweeps that begin in small populations and spread across ocean basins.
  • The research bridges deep-time paleontology with modern foram genetics, a rare convergence in the field that offers insights into how new traits propagate through large populations.

“The new study, however, hypothesizes that shell direction is not itself an adaptive response, but rather is an accidental marker of a significant evolutionary event that starts in a small subpopulation and then sweeps across vast ocean basins.”

Quanta Magazine · Quanta Magazine ↗

Hans Bolli Swiss micropaleontologistDavid Ericson Marine geologist, core specialist at Columbia UniversityJulie Meilland Researcher at Cerege, France

New study explains why fossil shells flip spiral direction across oceans
quantamagazine.org

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

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  1. 1

    Quanta Magazine highlights integration of ancient and modern foram research

    The study's approach connects deep-time fossil analysis with modern foram genetics and biology, a bridge rarely made in the field. Researcher Julie Meilland notes this convergence as significant for understanding the evolutionary process.

    “It was very refreshing to see these worlds connect because very often people doing more modern research don't necessarily connect to people doing deep-time research.”
    — Julie Meilland

    • The mystery of periodically flipping spiral shells in fossil foraminifera may be concealing a rarely observed evolutionary process playing out across the planet over geological timescales. # science # evolution # palaeontology https://www. quantamagazine.org/why-do-thes…

      Econopass@flipboard.comMastodon12d ago1▲view on Mastodon ↗
  2. background

    New study proposes evolutionary sweep hypothesis for shell chirality shifts — Micropaleontologists integrated data on shell-coiling direction from multiple foram species spanning back 56 million years. Rather than climate-driven adaptation, the study hypothesizes that shell direction shifts are accidental markers of significant evolutionary events that originate in small subpopulations and sweep across vast ocean basins.

  3. background

    David Ericson offers early explanation for shell flips — Marine geologist David Ericson, a core specialist at Columbia University, published a seminal study attempting to explain the curious occurrence of directional preference changes in foram shells.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets Why Do These Fossil Shells Flip Their Spirals Every Few Millennia?

    first by Quanta Magazine, 12d ago · also Quanta