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Tag: evolution

adaptive radiation in birds

February 28, 2008 | Alison | evolution, scholarship biology

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.'

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good web articles on evolution issues

February 28, 2008 | Alison | evolution, new science stories, scholarship biology

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.

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coevolution of weta and fleshy fruits

February 24, 2008 | Alison | evolution, new science stories

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).

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an overview of how we see ourselves

February 16, 2008 | Alison | evolution, human evolution, nature of science, scholarship biology

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!

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what is it with cockroaches?

February 11, 2008 | Alison | evolution

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) […]

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coevolution of bats & flowers

January 31, 2008 | Alison | evolution, new science stories, scholarship biology

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.

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that milk ad on youtube

January 28, 2008 | Alison | critical thinking, evolution

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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fact & theory

January 21, 2008 | Alison | critical thinking, evolution, nature of science, scholarship biology

A couple of science concepts that people often seem to have difficulty with are fact and theory: what the terms mean, and how we distinguish between them. One of my scientific heroes, the late Stephen Jay Gould, covered this very well in a 1981 essay. I've just been re-reading it & thought I'd post the […]

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think carefully about what you read

January 17, 2008 | Alison | critical thinking, evolution, nature of science, scholarship biology

A headline in a recent edition of the New Zealand Herald caught my eye: "Revealed: a dino's bugbear". The article kicks off: Biting insects might have killed off the dinosaurs, rather than a cataclysmic meteor impact, a new theory claims. Scientists now say disease spread by ancient mosquitoes, mites and ticks was probably the major […]

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I never thought I’d link to youtube, but…

January 9, 2008 | Alison | critical thinking, evolution

… this is rather funny 🙂 But – what's wrong with it? Critique the science, not the ad's effectiveness!

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Swan girl - portrait of the author as a young scientist This blog in response to comments from secondary school biology teachers. I hope to use it as a way of encouraging critical thinking, looking at scientific papers that are relevant to the Level 3 curriculum and to Scholarship.

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