In one of my classes we talk a bit about cloning, in the context of discussing various biotech techniques and their applications. Sometimes someone asks if I'd clone my dog (or my husband!) after they'd died, & my response is always to say 'no'. Not because I don't love them both (husband much more than […]
Continue readingCategory: genetics
a science communicator silenced by the mob
Well, this sucks, & that’s putting it mildly. From Kevin Folta’s blog, Illumination: Dr Folta has been under constant attack in recent months since it emerged that Monsanto had donated $US25,000 to fund a science outreach program he was running. Not his research, but an outreach program. He was accused of a conflict of interest […]
Continue readinggmo free usa – attacking the man and not the ball
OK, so I'm back (from a lovely long overseas trip). And I had thought to write something 'light' to ease myself back into blogging, but then I see that scientist and science communicator, Kevin Folta, is currently experiencing some dreadful personal attacks via social media for his stance on genetic modification of crops. You'll find […]
Continue readingyes, we have some bananas – just not gm ones (yet)
Back in 2010 I wrote a post about bananas, following on from a Schol Bio question the previous year. As well as looking at the genotypes of modern bananas, I highlighted the fact that the original wild banana was not a particularly appetising object, with little flesh and a lot of large, hard seeds. Selective […]
Continue readingrip frank’n’louie, the diprosopic cat
Seeing this image of a fish with 2 mouths reminded me that I needed to finish writing about Frankenlouie, a janus-headed (diprosopic) cat. It's funny how the mind works, because the fish definitely isn't a janus-fish: that would require the mouths to be side-by-side rather than one above the other. (While this is a rather […]
Continue readingfood matters aotearoa – an opportunity for real debate? or muddying the waters?
One of the big stories on my Facebook feed at the moment alerted me to Food Matters Aortearoa and its upcoming Wellington conference. The program for this conference has certainly generated a lot of interest among my friends. The focus of that interest lies in the line-up of speakers & the agenda of their tour […]
Continue readinga surprising misconception
I spent much of the weekend marking first-year biology exam papers. It was a lovely weekend & I really didn't want to miss all the nice weather, so I ended up finishing the task well after midnight last night. And in the process I identified evidence of what is, on the surface, a really puzzling misconception, […]
Continue readinga tale of rare blood groups, or, ‘the man with the golden blood’
One of the topics we cover in first-year biology is human blood groups – it's discussed during genetics classes & also touched on when looking at how immune systems function. I give the genetics classes and, being a regular blood donor myself, thought I knew a bit about at least the common blood groups and […]
Continue reading‘paleo’ diet? or paleofantasy?
The 'paleo' diet story on Campbell Live tonight spurred me to finish my review of one of the most entertaining popular books on genetics that I have read for some time. Entertaining, and informative, in equal measure. I wonder what author Marlene Zuk would have made of the TV story. Marlene Zuk (2013) Paleofantasy: what […]
Continue readinggmo myths & mythinformation
The GMOLOL group on Facebook regularly posts on the subject of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and more recently – like many other pages – about the outrageous claims by the self-styled "Health Ranger" about Monsanto, likening the company & pretty much anyone with anything positive to say about GMOs to the Nazi regime of WWII. […]
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