One of the neat things that have come from advances in molecular biology is our ability to use DNA technology to tease out evolutionary relationships – especially those that aren't immediately obvious (such as the subject of an earlier post). Now here's another example – an animal that looks superficially like a worm – but turns out […]
Continue readingYear: 2007
gradualism and/or punk eek?
I've just had an e-mail from Emma, who writes: I'm getting really confused about Punctuated Equilibrium and Gradualism… do both operate at once? Or do some scientists argue for one and some argue for the other?
Continue readingprimates’ closest living relatives?
Scientists have thought for a long time that tree shrews are the closest living relatives of primates. More recently, use of DNA data together with morphological comparisons suggested that colugos are also very closely related to apes, monkeys (& us). These so-called 'flying' lemurs use extensive flaps of loose skin, stretched between their outspread front and back […]
Continue readingswan girl’s story
I was idly looking at my page this morning & thought, it might be quite fun to tell you the story behind the picture (yes, that really is me; my husband took the photo in nineteen-mumbley-mumble). That is, how (& why) did I become mother to a bunch of little swans? It's a long story…
Continue readingevolution & the nature of science
I like to teach my students here at Waikato something about how the theory of evolution was developed. OK, I'm interested in history anyway, but it's also a really good way to teach about the nature of science. You know; what is science, really? What does the word theory mean to a scientist? How's science done? Well, […]
Continue readingmore on plant domestication
I remembered, after my last post, that there's an excellent book that puts domestication of plants and animals into a global perspective and asks, among other things, why it was europeans who got into building large overseas empires, not people from other parts of the world. It's Guns, Germs and Steel, by Jared Diamond (1998), […]
Continue readingdating plant domestication
When did humans first domesticate plants? Well, humans living in what is now known as Turkey had domesticated wheat by 10,500 years ago. How can we be so sure of this date?
Continue readingUsing human evolution to illustrate patterns of evolution
Sometimes we think of human evolution as being distinct from the evolution of other animals. I think it important to remember that it's not, and that our own evolutionary history follows the same patterns, and is shaped by the same processes, as the history of all other living things.
Continue readingDarwin at the museum
Well, I've finally made it up to Auckland, to go to the 'Darwin' exhibition at Auckland War Memorial Museum. And it's as good as I'd hoped. If you live in Auckland, or you're visiting, do try to go & see it. It's a wonderful walk through Darwin's life and through his development of the theory of evolution.
Continue readingEvolution – micro, macro, what’s the difference?
You'e probably come across the terms 'microevolution' and 'macroevolution'. 'Microevolution' is generally taken to mean small-scale changes in a population's gene pool, while 'macroevolution' is evolutionary change at the level of species, or genus, or phylum. This distinction can cause problems with understanding…
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