Tag: Biology

‘The Selfish Gene’: Classic science worth checking out

I don't usually read old science books.  After a decade or so, I find that their content tends to have too much dated material.  But 'The Selfish Gene' keeps coming up in conversations, not just because its author, Richard Dawkins, is the world's most famous atheist, but also because of its core message, that genes are … Continue reading ‘The Selfish Gene’: Classic science worth checking out →

Video on what exactly a gene is

There's a video on the evidence for evolution going around, but turns out the artist that made that video has made a number of them, including this one on the scientific understanding of a gene. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MQdXjRPHmQ via Videos / What Exactly is a Gene? - Stated Clearly. What's interesting about this, is that the definition of … Continue reading Video on what exactly a gene is →

Does evolutionary theory need a rethink?

Biologists debate whether evolutionary theory needs to be revised: Does evolutionary theory need a rethink? : Nature News & Comment. There seems to be two broad camps.  Those that feel that the traditional view of evolution: random unguided mutation plus natural selection, remains sufficient, and those who feel that a fundamental rethink is in order. Does … Continue reading Does evolutionary theory need a rethink? →

Learning the smell of fear: Mothers teach babies their own fears via odor, animal study shows.

Some of the ways that mothers can teach offspring is pretty primal: Learning the smell of fear: Mothers teach babies their own fears via odor, animal study shows -- ScienceDaily. Babies can learn what to fear in the first days of life just by smelling the odor of their distressed mothers, new research suggests. And not … Continue reading Learning the smell of fear: Mothers teach babies their own fears via odor, animal study shows. →

Are you alone? (In the universe)

This a cool video on what we are and where we came from.  We are, each of us, a temporary intersection of matter and energy that is part of the overall whole of the universe, patterns of elementary particles that have, at least for a while, achieved self awareness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKMQzkIiB0Y via Are You Alone? In The … Continue reading Are you alone? (In the universe) →

The evolutionary paradox of sex

Megan Scudellar has a fascinating article up at The Scientist Magazine on the mystery of why sexual reproduction evolved to be so pervasive: The Sex Paradox | The Scientist Magazine®. Sarah “Sally” Otto was sitting in a lab meeting of evolutionary biologist Marcus Feldman’s group at Stanford University in 1988 when she overheard a graduate student … Continue reading The evolutionary paradox of sex →

Chimpanzees have language

I've read in several places that language is the last uniquely human characteristic.  Well, it turns out chimps communicate with a language of gestures: Researchers Translate the Meaning of Over 60 Gestures Used by Chimps. In the first systematic study of a non-human primate language, scientists from St. Andrew's University have deciphered the meaning of 66 wild … Continue reading Chimpanzees have language →

How life transformed the planet – Robert Hazen – Aeon

In my post on how similar or dissimilar life might be if evolution started over, I observed that much of the environment that life operates within is itself generated by other life.  It turns out that goes deeper than I imagined.  I knew that things like oxygenated atmosphere and soil were products of life, but it turns … Continue reading How life transformed the planet – Robert Hazen – Aeon →