An interesting experiment published in Science placed baker's yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae) in separate identical bioworlds. Then, at the same time, historical contingency events would happen, just like they have on earth - and only the fittest survived.Evolution tells us that there are things besides natural selection going on - there are mutations and genetic drift. If we boiled up some...
read moreEvolutionary biology sounds exciting - there wouldn't be any movies on the SyFy Channel without Gatoroids and Sharknados and other feats of life science run amok - but in reality you are going to spend a lot of time paying your dues watching sponges in mid-sneeze before you get to create an epidemic or a giant monster.Sneezing sponges? Isn't that a little far-fetched, even for the network that...
read moreMost mammals aren't monogamous, nor are most anything except birds, where it happens in about 90% of cases. It's actually quite rare in mammals (5%), so why did it evolve? Was it to be better parents together, to protect offspring from being killed by other males or instead to protect women from competitors? Well, it depends on who you ask.Being a solitary individual who can't run all over...
read moreOn the Internet, and certainly in science blogging, it may seem like biologists are more interested in culture wars with the religious fringe than talking about evolution.The Institute of Human Origins (IHO) and its Becoming Human outreach site instead conducts, interprets and publicizes scientific research and the sponsorship of scholarly interaction to advance scientific understanding of our...
read moreIf Hollywood movies are your science guide, outer space is populated primarily by hot vampire girl aliens and time travel is not only possible, but chicks will dig you more, the same way women today would like a man in a powdered wig and no bath for three days if he suddenly appeared from 1811.(1)Science hates to be a buzzkill but often must - having sex with someone from the future might shorten...
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