Epigenetics on NOVA

I was looking for a few good animations or ways to explain epigenetics today at work and came across this video from NOVA. Watch Epigenetics on PBS. See more from NOVA scienceNOW.

Cancer, Oxygen, and p53: coevolution?

One of the topics that most people find interesting is cancer.  This is also true from an evolutionary perspective: what possible purpose could cancer serve?  Is it just our bodies wearing out?  Why haven’t we been able to evolve into a cancer-free species by now?   Those are great questions, and they’re ones that don’t…

Read More

Orangutan mating

Did you know there are two forms of adult male orangutans? This little-understood differential growth in males is called “bimaturism” or “arrested development”.The first type, called flanged male, is the typically depicted male orangutan with the big cheek pads (flanges) and a large throat sack under the chin for making long calls. The flanged male…

Read More

Octopuses Gain Consciousness (According to Scientists’ Declaration) | Octopus Chronicles, Scientific American Blog Network

Octopuses Gain Consciousness (According to Scientists’ Declaration) | Octopus Chronicles, Scientific American Blog Network.   One of the ongoing questions in my Evolution course is what makes us… human?  In my course, we debate things like fingernails and inner ear bones, tool use, cooking, and other physical and behavioural traits.  We often tend to try…

Read More

Irreducible Complexity

One of the primary arguments against evolution is that many things about life are too complicated to have evolved by chance.  The argument is that these tiny molecular machines are so complex, and so exquisitely intricate and precise, that they could not function if any of the components were missing, damaged, or less complex.  This…

Read More