Development
Category archives for Development
Allen’s Rule, Phenotypic Plasticity, and The Nature of Evolution
Posted by Greg Laden on October 20, 2012 Allen’s Rule. One of those things you learn in graduate school along with Bergmann’s Rule and Cope’s Rule. It is all about body size. Cope’s Rule … which is a rule of thumb and not an absolute … says that over time the species in a given lineage tend to be larger and larger. Bergmann’s…
Driving The Patriarchy: Demonic Males, Feminism, and Genetic Determinism
Posted by Greg Laden on July 7, 2011 Behaviors are not caused by genes. There is not a gene that causes you to be good, or to be bad, or to be smart, or good at accounting, or to like bananas. There are, however, drives. “Drives” is a nicely vague term that we can all understand the meaning of. Thirst and hunger are…
What is the most important human adaptation?
Posted by Greg Laden on October 22, 2010 Human infants require more care than they should, if we form our expectations based on closely related species (apes, and more generally, Old World simian primates). It has been said that humans are born three months early. This is not accurate. It was thought that our body size predicted a 12 month gestation, and some…
Why do women shop and men hunt?
Posted by Greg Laden on October 12, 2010 Or, when the hunting season is closed, watch teh game (the guys), or when there are no sales, admire each other’s shoes (the gals)? This is, of course, a parody of the sociobiological, or in modern parlance, the “evolutionary psychology” argument linking behaviors that evolved in our species during the long slog known as The…
Exploring Your Inner Zebrafish (updated)
Posted by Greg Laden on December 27, 2008 Minnesota Atheists’ “Atheists Talk” radio show. Sunday, December 28, 2008, 9-10 a.m. Central Time Exploring Your Inner Zebrafish Listen this Sunday to Geneticist Dr. Perry Hackett and Evo Devo Biologist PZ Myers as they discuss the Top Life Science Stories of 2008. Big genome stories were everywhere in 2008. The cancer genome, the woolly mammoth…
Live blogging PZ Myers on Atheist Talk Radio
Posted by Greg Laden on July 27, 2008 PZ Myers‘ appearance on Atheist Talk Radio was positively Orwellian. Host Mike the Madman Haubrich actually asked PZ about developmental biology (evodevo). Fish embryos? What about crackers!!!! I wanted crackers!!!! And I get Zebrafish! The interview was actually very interesting, in which PZ discussed homologous structures in the mouse and the bat, in reference to…
Sunday Atheist Talk Radio: PZ Myers and CL Hanson
Posted by Greg Laden on July 26, 2008 Minnesota Atheists’ “Atheists Talk” radio show Sunday, July 27, 2008, 9-10 a.m. Central Time P.Z. Myers discusses “Evo-Devo: What do a mouse’s leg and a bat’s wing have in common?” Also, atheist blogger C.L. Hanson discusses her book “Ex-Mormon.” “Atheists Talk” airs live on AM 950 KTNF in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. To stream live,…
Science News
Posted by Greg Laden on May 19, 2008 Quirky Pulsar System Challenges Theories of Binary Formation; Observing Stem Cells at Work; Large scale carbon sequestration
The Shape of Life 1
Posted by Greg Laden on March 18, 2008 Stay tuned, more coming. This episode 8 of the PBS series in six bite sized parts
Sadie and the Heckler
Posted by Greg Laden on January 18, 2008 [Thanks, Analiese, The Anthropologist]