Charles Darwin regarded explaining that natural selection could produce such an intricate organ as the human eye as one of the biggest challenges to his theory. “Now, a team of American and European researchers report that they have discovered an eye that could represent the first step in this evolution. They have found, in effect, a swimming eyeball.” “It is possible…that in the course of evolution, our own eyes started out as swimming eyeballs. Only later did the job of catching light get relegated to only some cells, which could send signals to their neighbors. And only much later did these specialist cells relay signals to brains.”
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Evolution Seen in Worm Eyes
Darwin himself struggled to explain the evolution of so intricate an organ as the human eye. But scientists have discovered a worm's eye that may make the job easier.
Monthly Issue
April 2026
In this monthly issue, we examine how our understanding of energy — and how we source and use it — is evolving.
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