Travel Diary 4 7 Oct 2009 I am in Göttingen now, talking to primatologists at the DPZ (Deutsches Primatenzentrum) conference on hybridisation. Neither I nor any of the said primatologists are in the picture above. This is an appropriate place to give a talk on species concepts, because in the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach worked here, and he is the originator of the so-called biological species concept. Tonight is a talk on the tree of life, a subject dear to my heart, by Mike Arnold of the University of Georgia, and the conference proper begins tomorrow. Biology Ecology and Biodiversity Evolution Philosophy Science
Evolution 150 years ago… 28 Feb 2008 Today marks the final day of the month in which, 150 years ago, a naturalist in what is now Indonesia wrote a letter to Charles Darwin in which he gave a theoretical account of how types can evolve by natural selection so that new species will arise. Give it up,… Read More
Cognition Too adaptationist? 25 Aug 201225 Aug 2012 Penises can too tell the time… As always, click through. Read More
Biology Atavisms and phylogeny 15 Sep 20094 Oct 2017 “Everybody knows” that species can lose features through evolution: snakes, whales and sea cows all lost hind limbs. But occasionally, they can “revert”, like the snake shown in the photo below, which has grown one limb. However, many people are confused as to why this happens. Read More