Carnival of Evolution #59

This month's Carnival of Evolution is hosted by Dirk Steinke at DNA Barcoding. He's another one of those nasty Canadian bloggers who seem to be everywhere these days. Read: Carnival of Evolution #59: A letter from the Doctor

Dear Wilfred,

Are you still watching the stars with your new telescope? I bet you can see what I see outside the windows of my TARDIS. The star you're searching for is still there, it just tends to fall out of view occasionally.

Do you remember how you always said how you'd love to be travelling with me again through the skies? I envy you right now, living on this wonderful planet in your lovely little house treating yourself to a flask of tea on your porch while you look at the stars. They're beautiful, I would know, I live amongst them and I've traveled to so many. I’ve seen galaxies born and fading away.

If you want to host a Carnival of Evolution please contact Bjørn Østman. Bjørn is always looking for someone to host the Carnival of Evolution. He would prefer someone who has not hosted before but repeat hosts are more than welcome right now! Bjørn is threatening to name YOU as host even if you don't volunteer! Contact him at the Carnival of Evolution blog. You can send articles directly to him or you can submit your articles at Carnival of Evolution although you now have to register to post a submission.

CoE on Facebook
CoE on Twitter

---

Read More

Why Politicians Shouldn't Be in Charge of Research Funding

Steven Novella blogs at Science-Based Medicine. Yesterday he was upset about American politicians who want to restrict research grants to projects that "advance the national health, prosperity, or welfare, and to secure the national defense" [Politics of Public Research Funding]. The goal is to put a stop to silly basic science research like studying sex in snails.

Here's the quote of the day from Steven Novella.

I have noticed, however, that researchers have become reflexively good at making up plausible-sounding possible applications for their basic science research – as if they have to constantly justify their research. Every basic-science study that looks at viruses, therefore, may one day cure the common cold. Anything dealing with cell replication may be a cure for cancer. Any materials advance will lead to supercomputers or superlight vehicles. All brain research, apparently, might one day cure Alzheimer’s disease.

I would love for a scientist to say something to the effect of “I have no idea what, if any, practical use this research might lead to, but the knowledge is really cool”. I guess you just don’t say that to a grant committee, however.

---

Read More

THE NOCTURNE TRAVEL AGENCY LAUNCHES!

Thomas Deja's Nocturne Travel Agency launches a new podcast. In episode 1 of The Nocturne Travel Agency Podcast, Deja talks with author Richard Lee Byers about his self-published super-hero prose anthology series The Imposter.  It's  an hour of discussion about pulp, heroes, licensed properties and the creative process.

Listen to the episode here, and check back soon for more visits to The Agency!

Read More

The Molecular Evolution Exam

The students in my Molecular Evolution course have written the final exam. I finished grading the exams yesterday and the final course marks have been submitted. Now I don't have to think about teaching until August.

Just for fun, I'm posting the final exam questions. How do you think you'd do? I gave the students a list of all possible questions on the last day of class. The only one they hadn't seen was question #2. They knew that the first question would definitely be on the exam.

Students had to answer questions 1 & 2 and choose any three of the other questions.

1. Choose a subtopic from your essay and explain it better than you did in your essay and/or rebut the comments and criticisms made by the marker/grader.
2. Imagine that identical female twins were born to a woman in 1000 AD. Imagine that you could find a direct descendant of each twin in 2013. If you sequence the complete genomes of the descendants, approximately how many differences would you expect to find? How do these compare to the differences between any two randomly selected individuals from the same part of the world? Explain your reasoning and describe any assumptions you make. Think carefully before you answer. The second question is the most important one. (Human mutation rate = 130 mutations per generation. Haploid genome size = 3.2 × 10⁹ bp.)
3. There are hardly any pseudogenes in bacterial genomes. Why haven’t pseudogenes been eliminated from our genome?
4. Explain the two-fold cost of sex. Why is this a problem in evolutionary theory?
5. Richard Lenski’s group at Michigan State University has been following the evolution of 12 cultures of E. coli for over 50,000 generations. All 12 cultures are grown under exactly the same experimental conditions and the mutation rate is high enough that every culture has been exposed to multiple mutations at every base pair in the genome. Explain why only one of the cultures has evolved the ability to use citrate as a carbon source.
6. Why is the Three Domain Hypothesis being challenged by some molecular evolutionary biologists? What are the alternatives?
7. What do you think of Kirschner and Gerhart’s “Theory of Facilitated Variation.” Is this something that has to be incorporated into a new extended version of evolutionary theory? What, if any, are the limitations of the theory and what, if any, new insights into evolution does it provide?

---

Read More

Richard Dawkins Is a Scholar and a Gentleman

Most of you think of Richard Dawkins as a "strident atheist" who doesn't suffer fools gladly.¹ The first part of that reputation ("strident atheist") is unjust as Dawkins pointed out on several occasions when he was in Toronto earlier this week.

The second part ("doesn't suffer fools gladly") is quite true. Dawkins thinks that foolish things, like religion and other superstitions, deserve to be ridiculed.

Richard Dawkins and I agree on atheism but disagree on some aspects of evolution. I'm pleased to report that he didn't hold that against me when we met for brunch a few days ago. I guess that means I'm not a fool in his mind!

For those of you who have never had the pleasure of meeting him, I want to assure you that in person he is a very pleasant fellow and lives up to the very British expression, "a scholar and a gentleman."

Some of the people I met were wondering about the reasons why I disagree with some aspects of Richard's views on evolution. They haven't heard of Stephen Jay Gould and I find that very sad. I still believe that everyone interested in evolution has to read and understand the "Spandrels" paper.

Here's a short reading list ....

Michael Lynch on Adaptationism
What Does San Marco Basilica Have to do with Evolution?
Michael Ruse Defends Adaptationism
Richard Dawkins' View of Random Genetic Drift

---

1. The phrase comes from the New Testament [Suffer fools gladly].

Read More

Earth Station One Episode 161 – 2013 Summer Movie Preview

This weekend, the race to box office supremacy begins! Mike Faber, Mike Gordon, award-winning author Bobby Nash, Box Office Buzz scribe Ashley Bergner, and 7th Row Center podcaster Alex Autrey survey the highs and lows of the upcoming summer movie season. However, Alex’s magic movie 8-ball cannot help him in The Geek Seat! Plus, Tara Lynne returns to the station to tell tales of the Ice & Fire Con this past weekend. All this, and the usual Rants, Raves, Khan Report, and Shout Outs! Plus, Bobby gives a report from the Pulp Ark Convention.

Join us for yet another episode of The Earth Station One Podcast we like to call: 2013 Summer Movie Preview at www.esopodcast.com

Direct link: http://erthstationone.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/earth-station-one-episode-161-2013-summer-movie-preview/

Read More

THE SHADOW FAN-- CRIME RIDES THE SEA!

The Shadow Fan returns for his 30th episode! This week he talks "Crime Rides the Sea" (January 15, 1939) and The Shadow Year One # 2 from Dynamite Comics!

It's another fun discussion about pulp's greatest hero -- The Shadow!
You can listen to episode 30 here.

Read More