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
Tag: Genetics
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.
BBC – Future – How human culture influences our genetics
BBC has an interesting article on the effects of culture on evolution. You shouldn't be able to drink milk. Your ancestors couldn't. It is only in the last 9,000 years that human adults have gained that ability without becoming ill. Children could manage it, but it was only when we turned to dairy farming that … Continue reading BBC – Future – How human culture influences our genetics
Humans and Neandertals interbred, new method confirms — ScienceDaily
Technical objections to the idea that Neandertals interbred with the ancestors of Eurasians have been overcome, thanks to a new genome analysis method. The technique can more confidently detect the genetic signatures of interbreeding than previous approaches and will be useful for evolutionary studies of other ancient or rare DNA samples. via Humans and … Continue reading Humans and Neandertals interbred, new method confirms — ScienceDaily
Who’s afraid of math? Study finds some genetic factors
As someone who's never been good at math, I found this particularly interesting. It's strange that I've always been in the top tier of programmers on any team I worked on, easily gotten As in any programming class I took, and that programmers as a general breed tend to be good at math, but I've … Continue reading Who’s afraid of math? Study finds some genetic factors
America’s first settlers were trapped in Beringia for 10,000 years
The ancestors of Native Americans came to the New World by walking over a land bridge across the Bering Strait. But there's a rather glaring 10,000 year gap in the story — one that could be explained by a migratory pause that lasted for millennia. via America's first settlers were trapped in Beringia for 10,000 years. … Continue reading America’s first settlers were trapped in Beringia for 10,000 years
The importance of (experimental) design — ScienceDaily
One of the hottest debates in evolutionary biology concerns the origin of behavior: is it genetically encoded or do animals and birds copy their parents or other individuals? A classic experiment published in 2000 seemed to provide overwhelming evidence that a particular behavioral choice (whether individuals of a species of swallow breed in a small … Continue reading The importance of (experimental) design — ScienceDaily
Seven things about evolution – john hawks weblog
What is evolution? In its original sense, evolution meant "unrolling", as if a papyrus scroll were being unrolled to reveal its contents. We may talk about the "evolution" of many things, from an individual's lifetime to the evolution of the universe. In the most general sense, evolution means "change". Biologists are very specific about the … Continue reading Seven things about evolution – john hawks weblog
Studies of a skin color gene across global populations reveal shared origins | Penn State University
All instances of a gene mutation that contributes to light skin color in Europeans came from the same chromosome of one person who most likely lived at least 10,000 years ago, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. via Studies of a skin color gene across global populations reveal shared origins | Penn State … Continue reading Studies of a skin color gene across global populations reveal shared origins | Penn State University
David Dobbs mucks up evolution, part II « Why Evolution Is True
David Dobbs mucks up evolution, part II « Why Evolution Is True. The second part of Jerry Coyne's response to David Dobb's Aeon piece on the problems with the selfish gene metaphor. Be sure to read Dobb's extended response in the comment section. Maybe I'm misreading, but Dobb's appears to be backpedaling significantly from the … Continue reading David Dobbs mucks up evolution, part II « Why Evolution Is True
SelfAwarePatterns 