How does a new protein-coding gene evolve? In most cases, new genes are essentially modified copies of older ones. An old gene produces a protein with a particular function; after one of many well…

I have said in the past that I will not be participating in the "Bloggers for Peer-reviewed Research Reporting", which seems to have morphed into "Research Blogging". Bloggers for Peer-Reviewed…

Genome-wide association studies are the hottest thing in human genetics right now, but how well do they work? The idea is to look at genetic variants in hundreds or thousands of patients with a…

"If you think you understand [evolution], you don't know nearly enough about it." So begins the superb article by Michael LePage in the April 19 issue of New Scientist, a magzine for which I am…

Readers of the old Genomicron will probably recall my post entitled "How much good can one blog post do?", in which I talked about my father and step mother's plan to move to Livingstone, Zambia.…

Just for any fans who may want to see them. Quantum Space-Time Dynamics An article on my theory of Quantum Gravity. Stereotypes, Preconceptions, And The Public Image Of Science. Educating Our Youth…

A Word On Sexism, and How Cultural Differences Divide the Transsexual/Transgender Community. It's a small world after all! (A word to the reader part of this deals with sociology, psychology, and the…

In today's issue of Science, AAAS CEO Alan Leshner argues that young scientists are getting a raw deal, and that the current system is stunting the growth and creativity of young scientists: A major…

Sorry, bad pun. But this is a pretty cool finding - on May 14 scientists announced that they had just found the youngest supernova known. Astronomers at the Chandra X-ray Observatory (which is part…

When yeast are starving, they do what any rational microbe would do: they stop dividing and hunker down, trying to conserve resources until the good times return. But you can trick yeast with what…

From the Boston Globe: We literary scholars have mostly failed to generate surer and firmer knowledge about the things we study. While most other fields gradually accumulate new and durable…

Here's a fun experiment, one you've probably done already a million times: stick your arm out in front of you. Stick up your left thumb, like you're giving the thumbs up. Close one eye - see where…

This is what I keep saying: "Scientists do know better than you do - even when they're wrong." Before you flame me, hold on - this is true not because scientists are smarter than everybody else: When…

Hello, Ms. Nufer's class, and welcome to your very own blog about science! Since you're learning about astronomy right now, I'll keep you updated on news from the astronomy field. If you have…

I have just set up a profile on SciLink. It looks interesting, "Facebook for scientists" as John Dennehy called it. However, like John, I was only able to add a subset of my papers.  Check it…

As you may have read in the national press, the university where I work, Washington University in St. Louis, is honoring the anti-feminist activist Phyllis Schlafly with an honorary doctorate at the…

Those of you who have been reading Genomicron for some time will have seen most of these already, but it seems worthwhile reviewing them here at the new blog. The game is simple: identify what is…

I hesitate to single out colleagues for what is attributed to them in the media, because often what one says in an interview is not entirely what appears in print. On the other hand, I have noticed…

The next Gene Genie carnival is going to feature a Mother's Day edition right here at Adaptive Complexity. Get your submissions in now!

I am swamped at present and have not had time to discuss the recent publications about the platypus genome. I had planned to wait and to talk about some interesting aspects, but the headlines are…