What is the most important human adaptation?
Human infants require more care than they should, if we form our expectations based on closely related species (apes, and more generally, Old World simian primates). It has been said that humans are...
View ArticleNASA’s new organism, the meaning of life, and Darwin’s Second Theory
In his highly readable book, One Long Argument, Ernst Mayr breaks down the body of thought often referred to as “Darwin’s Theory” into five separate and distinct theories, the second of which being...
View ArticleWhat is meant by “mosaic evolution” and other matters
A discussion of misconceptions in evolution … about missing links, or great chains of being, or teleology (the idea that evolution is goal-directed) has got to be the most fun you can have with your...
View ArticleA Creationist Blog Quote Mines Peer Reviewed Research about Protein Evolution
It is difficult to imagine how point mutations, a large number of which are neutral, a certain number of which are deleterious, and a tiny number of which are fitness-enhancing, can add up to the sorts...
View ArticleFalsehoods: Human Universals
There are human universals. There, I said it. Now give me about a half hour to explain why this is both correct and a Falsehood. But first, some background and definition. Most simply defined, a human...
View ArticleThree Academic Books on Bird Migration
These are the kinds of books you get if you are either a scientists studying bird migration and related issues, or a very serious bird geek. The first two can be obtained at very low prices used, but...
View Article“If You Love Evolution, Tweet About It!” COE # 36
Welcome to the Thirty Sixth Carnival of Evolution. The world of blog carnivals is in a state of flux and uncertainty these days, with the distinct possibility of a mass extinction just around the...
View ArticleIs the origin of life different from evolution?
I heard it said recently that “Evolution” and “Origin of life” are two separate issues. I know that this is a falsehood, and I’ll discuss in a moment how and why it is not true. But first, I checked...
View ArticleDriving The Patriarchy: Demonic Males, Feminism, and Genetic Determinism
Behaviors are not caused by genes. There is not a gene that causes you to be good, or to be bad, or to be smart, or good at accounting, or to like bananas. There are, however, drives. “Drives” is a...
View ArticleHow Do You Get Sexual Orientation and Gender in Humans?
Humans appear to have a reasonable amount of diversity in their sexual orientations, in what is often referred to as “gender” and in adult behavior generally. When convenient, people will point to...
View ArticleEvolution Book For Young Children: Grandmother Fish
In a previous life (of mine) my father-in-law, an evolutionary biologist, kept an oil painting of a fish on the wall of the living room. At every chance he would point out, to visitors or to anyone...
View ArticleTen Thousand Birds
There are over 10,000 species of bird on the Earth today. There is one blog called “10,000 Birds” for which I write a monthly article, in case you did not know. But this post is about Ten Thousand...
View ArticleTemperature and sex determination
Some interesting new research. The paper is, unfortunately, behind a paywall but they made a video, so it is worth posting. Here’s the press release for the paper: Scientists know that temperature...
View ArticleHow do bird species compete with each other?
This is one of those great examples of research you can probably use in an advanced biology classroom (high school) or intro college bio pretty effectively. It includes birds. It includes hormones. It...
View ArticleBooks On Fossils and Evolution
Over the last several months, a lot of great books on fossils and evolution (as in paleontology) have come out. I’ve selected the best for your consideration. These are great gifts for your favorite...
View ArticleThe Story Of Life in 25 Fossils by Don Prothero: Review
This is a review of The Story of Life in 25 Fossils: Tales of Intrepid Fossil Hunters and the Wonders of Evolution. Fossils are cool. Why? Two very big and complex reasons. First, fossils allow us to...
View ArticleThe Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters...
Sean B. Carroll is coming out with a new book called The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters. This is the molecular biologist Sean Carroll, as distinct from the...
View ArticleHow the Venus Flytrap Evolved
The trick to understanding evolution is less about finding good answer to questions, but rather, finding good questions to answer. Read that sentence twice, because it is very important. Years ago,...
View ArticleAn Interview with Don Prothero
Ikonokast interviews Don Prothero. Don Prothero is the author of just over 30 books and a gazillion scientific papers covering a wide range of topics in paleontology and skepticism. Mike Haubrich and I...
View ArticleIt is not easy being green
The latest in GMO technology: Photosynthesizing Human Beans! This is silly, but makes some good points. May be good for teachers in your biology class:
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