MetaFilter posts tagged with evolution and biology

The duck's penis

chorltonmeateater — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:42:28 -0800

Carl Zimmer on the duck's incredibly long, corkscrew-shaped, ballistic penis.

My tale is rich with deep scientific significance, resplendent with surprising insights into how evolution works, far beyond the banalities of “survival of the fittest,” off in a realm of life where sexual selection and sexual conflict work like a pair sculptors drunk on absinthe, transforming biology into forms unimaginable. But this story is also accompanied with video. High-definition, slow-motion duck sex video. And I would imagine that the sight of spiral-shaped penises inflating in less than a third of second might be considered in some quarters to be not exactly safe for work. It’s certainly not appropriate for ducklings.

[As Carl says, video links are possibly NSFW.] Ed Yong has another good write-up of the same subject at Not Exactly Rocket Science.

Cancer Causing Viruses

mdpatrick — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:10:56 -0800

Paul Ewald, an evolutionary biologist at University of Louisville in Kentucky states his conviction, in one interview with Discover Magazine that, that by 2050 the human species will have found that between 80% and as high as 95% of cancers are caused by viruses. from Discovery Magazine Article:

Viruses push cells to the brink; additional mutations from genetic defects or the environment are needed for full-blown cancer. Keep in mind that the vast majority of mutating agents provoke cells to stop functioning or to die, meaning there is no chance for those mutations to cause cancer. Without an infection, the few mutated cells that could potentially cause cancer stop proliferating after several divisions. But infected cells can reach such high numbers that the progression to cancer is not terminated by the many mutations that kill the cells or make them nonfunctional. The small percentage that are cancer-causing can continue to proliferate.

prehistoric woof

Pants! — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:42:14 -0800

The Village Dog Project is an ongoing research project to document genetic diversity in pariah dogs. These dogs haven't been subject to breed pressure, and may be able to help researchers learn more about the transition from wolf to dog. (via)

Secrets Of The Phallus

hippybear — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:33:08 -0800

Why is the penis shaped like that? [T]he human penis is actually an impressive “tool” in the truest sense of the word, one manufactured by nature over hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution. You may be surprised to discover just how highly specialized a tool it is. Furthermore, you’d be amazed at what its appearance can tell us about the nature of our sexuality.

Death of the dirty word

weapons-grade pandemonium — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:43:14 -0800

Why would an evolutionary biologist study words? It turns out there is an astonishing parallel between the evolution of words in a lexicon and the evolution of genes in an organism. The word two, for example, has been around much longer than most, and will likely be with us for millennia, whereas the comparatively rare and recent word dirty has undergone many mutations, and will probably be extinct in a few hundred years. Professor Mark Pagel, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Reading, UK, tells us why on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's program As It Happens. Pull slider to 16:00 to start the seven minute interview.

Homo Evolutis

homunculus — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:15:35 -0800

Juan Enriquez: Tech evolution will eclipse the financial crisis. "Even as mega-banks topple, Juan Enriquez says the big reboot is yet to come. But don't look for it on your ballot -- or in the stock exchange. It'll come from science labs, and it promises keener bodies and minds. Our kids are going to be ... different."

Invasional Meltdown

homunculus — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:05:54 -0800

What Invasive Species Are Trying to Tell Us. "Walking snakeheads, carnivorous snails, and the superpredator from the reef: The invasion has begun." [Via]

If music be the food of love, play on...

rocket88 — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:15:13 -0800

Why music? Music is a human universal, but why did we evolve a desire to create, perform, and enjoy it? From a biological standpoint, does it contribute to survival or, more likely, mate selection and reproduction?

Voyage Of Discovery

fearfulsymmetry — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:43:41 -0800

30 years ago the BBC celebrated the anniversary of Charles Darwin with the drama series The Voyage of Charles Darwin depicting his life. The whole thing is now on Youtube. ) This year we had Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life. (YouTube: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

Evolution and Emancipation

homunculus — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:31:28 -0800

Darwin the abolitionist. "The theory of evolution is regarded as a triumph of disinterested scientific reason. Yet, on the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species, new research reveals that Darwin was driven to the idea of common descent by a great moral cause." [Via]

eyevolution

Pants! — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:09:11 -0800

Although the evolution of the eye is often pointed to by evolution's skeptics as evidence of design, biologists have been quick to point out evidence to the contrary. Today, Julian Partridge of Bristol University's Ecology of Vision Research Unit has brought to light evidence of a Pacific fish that has evolved biological mirrors for navigating murky water.

Islam and Evolution

homunculus — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:31:23 -0800

Bracing for Islamic Creationism (PDF). "To avoid a vast rejection of evolution in the Muslim world, scientists can present the theory as the bedrock of biology and can stress its practical applications." [Via]

your leisure is my pleasure

kliuless — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 12:12:30 -0800

Idle Theory: Life Does The Least

Otoliths

homunculus — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:00:47 -0800

The Orienting Stone. "A snowy white stone that gives shape to the universe: as it happens, we all carry within our skulls the vestige of such a thing, a kind of existentially reversed qibla (this one perspectival, the other metaphysical) that gives us our sense of being at the center of things, the sense that we are upright at the origin point of a three-dimensional space..." [Via]

Making Tracks

Kronos_to_Earth — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 10:35:37 -0800

"We were looking for pretty animals that have eyes, are coloured, or glow in the dark; instead, the most interesting find was the organism that was blind, brainless, and completely covered in mud." Some of the oldest fossil records may need to be reconsidered: Dr. Mikhail Matz of the University of Texas has discovered Gromia Sphaerica, a species of protist, making tracks.... 'Finding Giant Deep Sea Protists', a video interview with Dr. Matz.

How We Evolve

homunculus — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:16:29 -0800

How We Evolve: "A growing number of scientists argue that human culture itself has become the foremost agent of biological change, making us — for the past 10,000 years or so — the inadvertent architects of our own future selves." Recent acceleration of human adaptive evolution (previously). International HapMap Project (previously). The Genographic Project (previously).

The origin of the anus

homunculus — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:46:22 -0800

Getting to the bottom of evolution: Genetic study investigates the origin of the anus.

Challenging the Evolution Industry

hortense — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:34:34 -0800

Rethinking Evolution with Stuart Newman, The New Master Of Evolution? Video Interview: Evolution Politics. A reformulation of the theory of evolution. Susan Mazur presents most of the players in her latest e-book: Will the Real Theory of Evolution Please Stand Up? Part two Part three Part four Part five Part six

Why there are still monkeys

homunculus — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:15:26 -0800

Why are there still monkeys?

you say you want an evolution

kliuless — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:33:42 -0800

EO Wilson believes in ~~Darwinism~~ group selection: "evolution as a multi-level process¹ that can evolve adaptations above the level of individual organisms."

Lateral gene transfer and the history of life

homunculus — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:26:12 -0800

Festooning The Tree Of Life. Carl Zimmer describes new research on lateral gene transfer which makes the Tree of Life look more like a Gordian Knot.

The Wandering Eye (Pleuronectiformes, We Hardly Knew You)

chuckdarwin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:33:07 -0800

A University of Chicago doctoral candidate has shown that the evolution of the flatfish was much more gradual than previously thought.

Octopus

homunculus — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:40:29 -0800

How Smart Is the Octopus? [Via Pharyngula]

We Have Met the Aliens and They Is Us

saulgoodman — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:08:11 -0800

The Cosmic Womb: Recently published findings from researchers with the Imperial College London’s Department of Earth Science and Engineering seem to bolster the case for extra-terrestrial sources for the origins of life on Earth. (A PDF of the published results can be downloaded here, if you want the technical specifics.) As this news is only the latest in a series of findings favorable to their cause, Panspermia theorists everywhere may be starting to feel just a little bit cocky about their recent track record. Previously related MeFi posts here, here, and here.

What Is A Species?

homunculus — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 00:12:17 -0800

What Is A Species? "To this day, scientists struggle with that question. A better definition can influence which animals make the endangered list."