Every living thing on the planet had parents. This is a law of biology so fundamental that it’s usually taken for granted, but it holds the key to the phenomenon known as descent with modifications, which is the mechanism of…
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Weapons are tools, and tools leave marks. A weapon in a violent crime can be anything from a gun to a knife, to a fist, to a mouthful of teeth. Each of these tools leaves a signature mark that can…
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In biology, the term obligate refers to a species which is dependent on a specific niche or circumstance in order to survive. All viruses fit that description, along with a few bacteria. None can multiply or perform other functions outside…
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Therapeutic cloning is a huge ‘hot button’ political issue and as a result both sides of the debate have muddied the scientific waters in the public’s understanding. Before one can form an opinion on the ethics of therapeutic cloning, one…
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Devolution is more consistent with life as it actually exists today, since devolution and the Second Law of Thermo-Dynamics are terms that can be used interchangeably in the humble opinion of this writer. Furthermore, the assumption that evolutionary processes, (either…
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When a crime is committed forensic experts are summoned to discover exactly what has happened. Their success at gathering evidence depends on many factors, from the reliability of signs present to examine, to the sophistication of equipment available. How forensic…
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Douglas Adams aficionado, cricket fan and one of the foremost biologists of our time, Richard Dawkins is amongst the staunchest defenders of reason against what some perceive as a raising flood of irrationality – and he does it in excellent…
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Many people hear the word mutation and they have a brief flash of fear. Mutation! The word itself sounds scary. Certainly no one wants to be a mutant. But how about words like evolution and progress. That is what a…
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You will never look at a mango or avocado the same way again, once you’ve read “The Ghosts of Evolution: Nonsensical Fruit, Missing Partners, and Other Ecological Anachronisms” by Connie Barlow. Barlow experienced a “eureka!” moment when she realized that…
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Botanists work in any field that requires a comprehensive understanding of plants, fungi and spores. There are areas where plant diseases, plant uses, plants as they relate to society, the atmosphere, the environment and each other need to be studied,…
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