Evolution and Symbiosis

What a clam can tell us about life

A walnut sized clam known as a heart cockle has microscopic windows on its shell. The walls of the windows are organic fiber optics, composed of calcium carbonite that channel sunlight inside to nourish algae and shield the algae from destructive ultraviolet rays. The algae reciprocate by producing food for the clams, such as sugar. How this life serving reciprocity evolved over a billion odd years is awesome. It is yet another example of the power of the life process. Beneath the tempestuous surface of conflict and destruction which we daily observe is a steady tide, the evolutionary life force. ( Science News.(12/14/2024)