Morality exists only because we evolved the capacity to empathize.
Which animal taxa have evolved the capacity to experience pain is an ongoing debate.
Various natural biomass utilization systems (NBUS) evolved the capacity to combat the recalcitrance of plant cell walls.
The human brain has evolved the capacity to impose a narrative, complete with chronology and cause-and-effect logic, on whatever it encounters, no matter how apparently random.
Unlike conventional heterotrophic microorganisms that consume carbohydrates and amino acids, prokaryotic chemolithoautotrophs have evolved the capacity to utilize reduced chemical compounds to fix CO2 and drive metabolic processes.
In conclusion, we posit that many eukaryotic loci have evolved the capacity to transact a multitude of overlapping and potentially independent functions as both regulatory and protein-coding RNAs.
In "Reclaiming the Imagination," a blog post at the Times site last week, the philosopher Timothy Williamson wonders, "Why did humans evolve the capacity to imagine alternatives to reality?" (I'd rather suggest that the very construction of notional reality is itself a work of imagination).
Human beings have evolved the capacity to habituate to most life changes, both positive and negative.
"In forming mainly unrelated camps, hunter-gatherers evolved the capacity to cooperate with unrelated individuals," Migliano says.
Mycorrhizal fungi have evolved the capacity to circumvent defense mechanisms that are controlled by the plant's immune system.
