{
  "abstract": "In past decades, conceptual analysis has established that evolution by natural selection (ENS) can occur without reproduction (Bouchard 2008 Philos. Sci. 75, 560–570 (doi:10.1086/594507); Papale, 2021 Synthese 198, 10 429–10 455 (doi:10.1007/s11229-020-02729-6)). The aim of this paper is to provide a computational proof of concept for this theoretical advance and to start assessing some of its conceptual upshots. To do so, we designed an agent-based model that introduces and defends a niche construction-based account of ENS without reproduction (ENSwR, pronounced like ‘answer’). Our results provide a computationally tractable proof of concept for ENSwR and a basis to reflect on some of its conceptual implications for debates regarding the origins of life. First, conceptual analysis suggests that ENSwR provides a novel explanatory framework that supports origins of life theories in which autocatalytic sets (ACSs) of chemical reactions play a central role (Xavier, Kauffman 2022 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 380, 20210244 (doi:10.1098/rsta.2021.0244)). Second, through a discussion of the hydrothermal vent theory for the origins of life, we show that ENSwR will contribute to explaining the evolutionary origins of reproduction.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Philosophy, McGill University 1 , Montreal, Québec, Canada",
    "Department of Biology, Dalhousie University 2 , Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada",
    "Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Université de Sherbrooke 3 , Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada",
    "Centre de recherche Charles-Le Moyne, CISSS Montérégie-Centre 4 , Greenfield Park, Québec, Canada",
    "Healthy Microbiomes in a Changing World, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research 5 , Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "François Papale",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0641-4645"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yuri Kulish"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Joseph Bielawski"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Louis-Patrick Haraoui"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0wqs5kt9sezhj.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1098/rsos.260737",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13682428",
  "id": "0wqs5kt9sezhj",
  "issns": [
    "2054-5703"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/260737/483647/A-niche-construction-based-approach-to-evolution",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Origins and Evolution of Life"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221656654",
  "pdf_url": "https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article-pdf/doi/10.1098/rsos.260737/6170567/rsos.260737.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13682428",
  "pmid": "42904196",
  "published": "2026-10-14",
  "publisher": "The Royal Society",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0wqs5kt9sezhj.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:45Z",
      "native_id": "10.1098/rsos.260737",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/260737/483647/A-niche-construction-based-approach-to-evolution"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:53Z",
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  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Origins and Evolution of Life",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A niche construction-based approach to evolution by natural selection without reproduction—proof of concept and implications",
  "title_text": "A niche construction-based approach to evolution by natural selection without reproduction—proof of concept and implications",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:53Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0wqs5kt9sezhj",
  "venue": "Royal Society Open Science",
  "versions": []
}