Subscribe by email
Join 889 other subscribersMeta
Category Archives: evolution
The almighty CRISPR-Cas9 technology: How does it work?
CRISPR-Cas9 took the whole world of biology by storm. Selected Science’s 2015 Breakthrough of the Year, the CRISPR-Cas9 technology is revolutionizing science. Within five years of the official announcement (Jinek et al. 2012), it became the genome-editing technique of choice. … Continue reading
Posted in evolution, genomics, methods, theory
Tagged CRISPR, CRISPR-Cas9, genome-editing, genome-engineering
3 Comments
A Primer on the Great BAMM Controversy
Update, 26 August 2016, 2:30PM. A number of readers brought my attention to a series of blog posts by Moore et al. responding to Rabosky’s rebuttal of their published critique of BAMM. I’ve included links to the posts and summarized their … Continue reading
Microbes can rapidly evolve host-protective traits
One of the coolest studies I’ve come across so far this year is the fascinating story about microbe-mediated protection in worms by Kayla King et al. The bacterium Enterococcus faecalis normally causes mild disease in worms (Caenorhabditis elegans). After a week … Continue reading
Posted in evolution, microbiology, mutation
Tagged bacteria, competition, Evolution, experimental evolution, host-associated microbes, worms
Leave a comment
A tale of mammoths and a disappearing lake
A wonderful study revealed a sad story of the St. Paul Island population of woolly mammoths. Using a creative and diverse set of analytical approaches, scientists identified freshwater shortage as the likely cause of their extinction. A cross-disciplinary collaboration of … Continue reading
Posted in conservation, evolution, natural history
Tagged extinction, mammoths, St. Paul
Leave a comment
Are you my mother? Exploring the possible microbial ecology of LUCA
One persistent question has always been: where did it all begin? What was the origin of the complex life that we have today? What happened billions of years ago that resulted in beautiful giant manta rays, magnificent Sequoias, and even … Continue reading
The final nail in the coffin of Patagonian megafaunal extinctions
Are our ancestors responsible for Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions? Were the Ice Age giants doomed to extinction because they couldn’t adapt or is it human fault that there is no woolly rhino, giant deer and cave bear today? A new … Continue reading
Posted in evolution, natural history, Paleogenomics
Tagged extinction, megafauna, Patagonia, radiocarbon dating, South America
1 Comment
New World snakes are "mimics until proven otherwise"
Henry Walter Bates spent more than a decade living in the Amazon, having the sort of adventures that inspired generations of naturalists. His most famous and lasting contributions to natural history are his foundational descriptions of mimicry among species. The type … Continue reading
Posted in adaptation, evolution, natural history, phylogenetics
Tagged bad photoshop, mimicry, snakes
1 Comment
Personal narrative of a journey from zoos to academia
The Molecular Ecologist receives a small commission for purchases made on Bookshop.org via links from this post. Back in February, the South Carolina Aquarium and The Center for Humans and Nature hosted the finale in the Holland Lifelong Learning series of “Why do … Continue reading
Posted in blogging, book review, career, community, conservation, evolution, natural history
Tagged aquaria, conservation, Humboldt, marine biology, Monterey, Sylvia Earle, zoos
Leave a comment