A movie monster, appearing in different forms in a series of movies, proves inspirational to two calculating scientists. They explain their calculations, in this study: “A Movie Monster Evolves, Fed by Fear,” Nathaniel J. Dominy and Ryan Calsbeek, Science, vol. 364, no. 6443, May 31, 2019, pp. 840-84. (Thanks to Tony Tweedale for bringing this […]
Tag: evolution
Did Bigger Penises Evolve to Protect Hermit Crabs’ Private Property?
Sex, economics, evolution, and stuckness all play roles in this new study about the evolution of larger penises in hermit crabs: “Private parts for private property: evolution of penis size with more valuable, easily stolen shells,” Mark E. Laidre, Royal Society Open Science, epub 2019. (Thanks to Thomas Michel for bringing this to our attention.) […]
Justin Bieber’s opinion on the Big Bang – inconsequential, or not? (new study)
“The vast majority of scientists believe that humans have evolved over time (98%; Pew Research Center, 2015). However, recent public opinion polls indicate much more variability in the views of the general public; only 65% of Americans (Pew Research Center, 2015), 61% of Canadians (Angus Reid Public Opinion Polls, 2012), and similar amounts of British […]
Evolution and motorcycles, musingly
John Long, a professor of paleontology at Flinders University, muses about motorcycles and evolution, in an essay published in The Conversation: “What evolution and motorcycles have in common: let’s take a ride across Australia.” It says, in small part: “By sheer coincidence, the distance from Perth to Melbourne is about 3,500km, a route I travelled on […]
