Silent struggles in the womb

Posted on by Lori Jia

The New York Times, March 15, 2006

Link

Pregnancy can be the most wonderful experience life has to offer. But it can also be dangerous. Around the world, an estimated 529,000 women a year die during pregnancy or childbirth. Ten million suffer injuries, infection or disability.

To David Haig, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard, these grim statistics raise a profound puzzle about pregnancy.

“Pregnancy is absolutely central to reproduction, and yet pregnancy doesn’t seem to work very well,” he said. “If you think about the heart or the kidney, they’re wonderful bits of engineering that work day in and day out for years and years. But pregnancy is associated with all sorts of medical problems. What’s the difference?”

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Evolution Resumes in November!

Posted on by Lori Jia

Harper has put up a new page on Amazon for the reissued paperback of Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea. It will include an introduction I’ve written that surveys some of the important developments in both the science and politics of evolution in the five years since the book was published. The Amazon page doesn’t show the cover yet, but it’s in the fall catalog–a subset of these lovely eyes. The publication date is scheduled for November (cough…Christmas gifts…cough). 

Originally published March 14, 2006. Copyright 2006 Carl Zimmer.

Frivolous Creationist Lawsuits

Posted on by Lori Jia

Last October, a lawsuit was leveled against an evolution web site at UC Berkeley, based on the claim that government funds had been used to promote religious belief. I contributed the section on the history of biological thought. Judy Scotchmoor, the project’s coordinator, just dropped me an email letting me know that the judge has dismissed the case. One less frivolous lawsuit clogging the courts. I’ve got to run, but if I get more information later, I’ll update this post. 

Update: Berkeley press release here. 

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Silent Struggle: A New Theory of Pregnancy

Posted on by Lori Jia

The New York Times, March 14, 2006

Link

Pregnancy can be the most wonderful experience life has to offer. But it can also be dangerous. Around the world, an estimated 529,000 women a year die during pregnancy or childbirth. Ten million suffer injuries, infection or disability.

To David Haig, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard, these grim statistics raise a profound puzzle about pregnancy.

“Pregnancy is absolutely central to reproduction, and yet pregnancy doesn’t seem to work very well,” he said. “If you think about the heart or the kidney, they’re wonderful bits of engineering that work day in and day out for years and years. But pregnancy is associated with all sorts of medical problems. What’s the difference?”

Continue reading “Silent Struggle: A New Theory of Pregnancy” →

Mothers, Children, and Genes in Conflict

Posted on by Lori Jia

Natural selection can favor genes that allow children to grow up healthy. But in order to grow up healthy, they need nurturing from their mothers, both before and after birth. If a baby’s development puts a strain on a mother, she may end up having fewer children. That means she may spread fewer copies of her genes to later generations . That creates conditions in which natural selection may also genes that allow mothers to restrain their children. Our particular way of having kids puts genes in conflict.

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