a question of lethality

a question of lethality

or, more specifically, a question of lethal allelesA. Lethal alleles were first noticed back in 1905 by Lucien Cuénot, and identified for what they were by Castle & Little in 1910. These two studies, looking at inheritance of yellow coat colour in mice, found that only mice heterozygous for this gene had yellow coats, despite […]

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why do students need to learn about the nature of science?

why do students need to learn about the nature of science?

You’re probably aware that the Achievement Standards used to assess senior school students’ learning are being reviewed. Science is one of the ‘pilot’ subjects in this process, where a ‘Subject Expert Group’ has developed 4 draft Science standards¹ (a significant step away from the current 30+, and a response to advice from several high-level advisory […]

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smallpox stories & shill accusations

Photo Credit: Content Providers(s): CDC/James Hicks – This media comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s Public Health Image Library (PHIL), with identification number #3265.   A couple of days ago newsroom published an article about smallpox, by Farah Hancock. It’s a very good story that covers the nature of smallpox and the history of efforts to develop a […]

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blood and guts, surgeons and scientists: “the butchering art”

The Butchering Art is medical historian Lindsey Fitzharris's first book. And  what a book! Descriptions that bring the horrors of pre-anaesthesia, pre-antisepsis surgery shudderingly into view? Very definitely. Science and history? Oh yes, lots of it, and beautifully told. And through it all, the humanity and vision of Joseph Lister and others like him, working to […]

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attitudes and antibiotics

A recent FB post from Stuff discussed the rising concerns around the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. (This is something that Siouxsie Wiles has often written about: here and here, for example; her excellent book on the subject is reviewed here.) Fairly predictably, it didn't take long for the proponents of essential oils to turn up, soon to be joined by the usual […]

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