Evolution

Sometimes it is helpful to have a catchy word to describe one's type of research. I think that's why "omics" words are so popular -- they encapsulate a complex combination of approaches (usually…

This article was pretty interesting.  Apparently the gene that is responsible for psychosis is also responsible for creativity too.  I don't know if I can fit this into a larger national…

A commenter on a previous post seems to have objected to the claim that evolutionary science makes predictions. gimme 5 examples of predictions, i mean real predictions: not fit the model hogwash…

Today I gave my lecture on mammal diversity and evolution in the 4th year vertebrate course. We have been talking a fair bit about paraphyletic groups, common vs. scientific names, and so on. Within…

Just came across this nice video by C0nc0rdance summarizing the work of Susumu Ohno and the original concept of junk DNA. (Oh, and it gets bonus points for using one of my figures!)

An article in LiveScience entitled "Evolution Can't Go Backward" has highlighted an experiment done to determine whether a protein could be "unmutated" (i.e. returned to its original state) and…

Acoelomorpha, a collection of worms which comprises roughly 350 species, is part of a much larger group called bilateral animals, which are organisms that have symmetrical body forms and include…

Scientists at a research institute in Austria are trying to figure out how life might evolve under different biochemistry conditions and with exotic solvents than what would exist on a world similar…

To the list of special issues dealing with the evolution of eyes (E:EO, Phil Trans R Soc B), you can now add one on nervous systems in Nature Reviews Neuroscience. Nature Reviews Neuroscience Vol…

Where does evolution leave God? This question has been debated for over a century, and it likely isn't going anywhere any time soon. Some may feel, myself included, that the glut of fighting among…