Quorum sensing in bacteria and cooperation 26 Aug 2009 Byte Size Biology has a post up discussing a recent paper on quorum sensing in bacteria, a process whereby the chemical signals for a community of microbial organisms can modify the dynamics of the organisms themselves. It’s interesting in its own right, but also to show how cooperation can evolve in a realworld case. Biology Evolution
Evolution Darwin conference at U Chicago 16 Apr 2009 Yes, I know there are thousands of these this year, and by October we’ll all be tired of them, but this one looks like the main game: Darwin/Chicago 2009. I am, of course, upset not to be invited to speak, but there are a few good names there to make… Read More
Biology Online ornithology 9 Sep 2009 One or another feed notification led me to this wonderful online course in ornithology by Gary Richison at Eastern Kentucky University. I just spent a nice 30 minutes reading just the first lecture. Fantastic. Go check it out. Read More
Biology Names and nomenclature in classification 17 Jul 2010 One of the main focuses in the literature, especially in biology, regarding classification is the problem of nomenclature, of names. Many treat classification as being all about names, an error that is akin to mistaking not the map for the territory, but the names on the map for the territory…. Read More