I have an article in tomorrow’s New York Times on a provocative theory about our origins. Humans, other animals, plants, fungi, and protozoans are all eukaryotes. We all share a distinctive genome compared to other organisms (prokaryotes, which include bacteria and archaea). Our genes are more versatile: they can be switched on an off in more complex patterns than in prokaryotes, and one gene can make many different proteins, depending on which parts of the gene our cells look at. Some scientists would like to say that this distinctiveness must be the product of natural selection.
Author: Lori Jia
I’ll be in Ann Arbor for a talk on January 14 at the natural history museum in conjunction with the opening of the “Explore Evolution” exhibit there. I’ll talk about reporting on new research in evolutionary biology.
Originally published January 1, 2006. Copyright 2006 Carl Zimmer.
The New York Times, December 13, 2005
I drove into New Haven on a recent morning with a burning question on my mind. How did my daughter do against the chimpanzees?
A month before, I had found a letter in the cubby of my daughter Charlotte at her preschool. It was from a graduate student at Yale asking for volunteers for a psychological study. The student, Derek Lyons, wanted to observe how 3- and 4-year-olds learn. I was curious, so I got in touch. Mr. Lyons explained how his study might shed light on human evolution.
Continue reading “Children Learn by Monkey See, Monkey Do. Chimps Don’t.”
The New York Times, November 29, 2005
In the annals of life, insects are one of the great success stories.
A little over 400 million years ago, their six-legged ancestors came out of the water onto dry land. They have evolved into an estimated five million living species — dwarfing the diversity of all other animals combined. Even if you throw in all the known species of plants, fungi and protozoans, insects still win.
Insects are also a success in terms of sheer biomass. Put all of the insects on a giant scale, and they will outweigh all other animals, whales and elephants included.
Continue reading “A Pair of Wings Took Evolving Insects on a Nonstop Flight to Domination”
The New York Times, November 22, 2005
Islands hold a special place in the hearts of evolutionary biologists. When Charles Darwin visited the Galápagos Islands in 1835, he was stunned by the diversity of birds, which helped guide him to his theory of evolution by natural selection.
Beginning in the middle of the last century, the ornithologist Ernst Mayr laid the foundation for the modern understanding of the way new species evolve, arguing that they mainly emerged when populations became geographically isolated. Mayr based his theory on his studies of birds from Pacific islands.
Continue reading “In Give and Take of Evolution, a Surprising Contribution From Islands”