September 30, 2006
Category: Pop Culture
Thomas Huxley was known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his many public defenses of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Richard Dawkins has been labeled "Darwin's Rottweiler", drawing a parallel between Dawkins's current role as a popularizer of science (and...
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Posted by RPM at 7:00 PM • 3 Comments
Category: Population Genetics
Via Yann Klimentidis come this paper comparing patterns of polymorphism in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosomes from Native American populations. The premise is that mtDNA reveals the maternal demographic history (because mitochondria are only passed from mother to child)...
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Posted by RPM at 8:00 AM • 2 Comments
September 28, 2006
Category: Academia • Vanity
There is a general disconnect between the people I know from blogging and the people I know in real life. I've only met a couple of my fellow SciBlings (ScienceBlogs siblings): John Lynch, Mad Mike, and Carl. I have only...
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Posted by RPM at 11:00 AM • 7 Comments
September 27, 2006
Category: Blog Carnivals
The sixty-third edition of Tangled Bank has been posted by the Indian Cowboy. Go read yourself some science....
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Posted by RPM at 1:30 PM • 0 Comments
September 26, 2006
Category: Academia • Booze
If it weren't for coffee, much of the research that gets done today wouldn't get done. Or so I am led to believe based on the reverence people seem to have for the sacred bean. Frankly, I'd trade a cup...
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Posted by RPM at 10:00 AM • 23 Comments
September 25, 2006
Category: Blog Carnivals
Ever wanted a tattoo of your favorite invertebrate? I hear they're inking insects, molluscs, cnidarians, and all kinds of other spineless critters in Monterey. To get your tat, visit the newest edition of Circus of the Spineless at Deep-Sea News....
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Posted by RPM at 5:00 PM • 0 Comments
Category: Biology • Molecular Biology
As if we didn't have enough "-omes" in biology, I have come across yet another one: the methylome. It's beginning to sound like a Hindu temple up in here. My fascination with the -ome is well documented. I was...
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Posted by RPM at 10:00 AM • 5 Comments
September 24, 2006
Category: Pop Culture • Vanity
I'm so vain I think I every single song is about me. Dave wants us to "make a music mix that is a reflection of your informative years." I have no idea what he means by informative years, so I'm...
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Posted by RPM at 10:00 AM • 3 Comments
September 23, 2006
Category: Academia • Out 'n About • Vanity
I saw him again at the supermarket today. This is the second time I've seen him at the supermarket -- and third time overall. But this is the first time I was stealth, without any identification of my alma mater....
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Posted by RPM at 12:00 PM • 4 Comments
September 22, 2006
Category: Admin
Five nurses and one doctor have been imprisoned in a Libyan jail since 1999, accused of infecting more than 400 children with HIV. They were condemned to death in 2004, but the verdict was overturned. Their retrial is due to...
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Posted by RPM at 1:00 PM • 0 Comments
Category: Speciation
The Scientist (we're not sure which one) reviews the palm tree sympatric speciation paper from February (doi here). Here's what Jerry Coyne has to say: "Both these cases are most parsimoniously interpreted as sympatric speciation," said Jerry Coyne at the...
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Posted by RPM at 12:00 PM • 2 Comments
Category: Vanity
My previous claims of geekiness were in jest. And if that wasn't clear to you, do you understand anything? Anyway, I defined nerds as book smart, dweebs as socially awkward, and dorks as nerdy dweebs (or dweeby nerds). Geeks...
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Posted by RPM at 11:00 AM • 3 Comments
Category: Phylogenetics
We've been working our way across through the tree of life in the past few editions of Phylogeny Friday. Last week we took a look at the evolutionary relationships of the animals, and we realized that many of the branching...
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Posted by RPM at 9:00 AM • 0 Comments
Category: Molecular Biology • Molecular Evolution
Alex has been pondering the nature of non-protein-coding RNAs. So have the boys at Gene Expression (how appropriate). Coffee Mug and JP have pointed out that a large portion of the human genome is transcribed, and much of it has...
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Posted by RPM at 8:00 AM • 0 Comments
September 21, 2006
Category: Anti-Science • Biology • Evolution • Science Education
Tara has been given the task of pointing out some of the flaws in Chapter 7 of Jonathan Wells's The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design. From what I can gather, this is the chapter in which Wells...
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Posted by RPM at 9:00 AM • 3 Comments
September 20, 2006
Category: Evolution • Molecular Evolution
If you enjoyed my post on the evolution of sex chromosomes in tetrapods, you should check out Darwin Central for even more. It starts with the story of the vole, and goes into how mammalian sex chromosomes have evolved and...
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Posted by RPM at 11:00 AM • 1 Comments