https://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2013/03/19/evolution-in-reverse-how-did-mites-get-less-specialized/feed/HotAir is the leading conservative blog for breaking news and commentary covering the Biden administration, politics, media, culture, and current elections.en-usTue, 09 Jun 2026 12:17:37 -0400<![CDATA[But the microscopic dust mite also turns out to be a peculiar example of evolution “in reverse”—or more precisely, despecialization—according to a new study by University of Michigan biologists Pavel Klimov and Barry OConnor. And this counters a long-held assumption in evolutionary biology known as Dollo’s law (after the 19th-century Belgian paleontologist Louis Dollo), which stipulates that once you gain a complex trait, you can’t return to the simpler states of your distant ancestors.]]>Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:45:46 -0400<![CDATA[Erika Johnsen]]>https://hotair.com/headlines/2013/03/19/evolution-in-reverse-how-did-mites-get-less-specialized-n281181