Evolution is often characterised – particulary by those who argue against it – as a random process which could not possibly give rise to the complexity and diversity of life on Earth. How true is this?
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forensic genetics & an evolutionary puzzle
At the moment I'm lecturing to our first-year biology class about plants. In my lecture about algae, there were a couple of slides about malaria. You might well ask 'why'; I know my students were thinking that. Well, I did have a reason – & today I found a brief summary paper (Keeling, 2008) on just […]
Continue readingthe nature of science (again)
The new Science curriculum has the 'nature of science' right up there at the top. And why? Because it's so important for people to learn, not just science facts and concepts, but also about what science is: how it's done, the tools and methods scientists use, how they communicate, its history, & how science is […]
Continue readingadaptive radiation in birds
The 2005 Schol Bio paper included the following question. The three examples shown represent just some of the diversity found in bony fish. Use the diversity of the fish and/or any other named group(s) to discuss the following statement: 'Diversity is the end product of evolution.'
Continue readinggood web articles on evolution issues
Here's a link to a set of articles that summarise talks on various aspects of evolution research. They're straightforward & easy to read, & should give you some interesting additional background to some recurring questions.
Continue readingcoevolution of weta and fleshy fruits
Here's another paper on coevolution – this one a bit closer to home. It suggests a coevolutionary relationship between a weta species and the characteristics of many fleshy fruits of NZ plants (Burns, 2006).
Continue readingan overview of how we see ourselves
Here's something for your reading list: an excellent extended essay on how our view of human evolution, & of our place in the world, has changed over time. Enjoy!
Continue readingwhat is it with cockroaches?
I know you may read this & think I'm a bit odd… But anyway – just after the L3 exam I was talking with a student & she said, why did there have to be cockroaches in a question? My answer: why not? They're just another animal (even if many people don't like them much) […]
Continue readingcoevolution of bats & flowers
One of the questions in the 2007 90717 paper was on an example of coevolution in bats & flowers. I had a look at the original reference and it's such a neat example, I thought you might be interested in hearing a bit more detail about it.
Continue readingthat milk ad on youtube
Back to the dinosaur/caveman milk ad. (If you followed the link you may have found & watched a whole bunch of similar ads. All quite funny – I like the dino trying to wipe squashed caveman off its foot, in the one I linked to! – but all based on a (sadly) fairly common misconception […]
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