Five books for evolutionary biologists
Whenever I visit someone’s house, particularly the house of a fellow scientist, I like to browse their bookshelves, partly because I’m curious about what other people are reading and partly […]
Rebellion! Enslaved ants fight back against their captors
Parasitism is the most common lifestyle on earth, be it plant, animal or fungi virtually all species are affected by it. There is something that I find deeply fascinating about […]
The enigmatic fossa and the evolution of sociality
Madagascar is a land filled with wonderful creatures, from charismatic lemurs to chameleons so small they can stand on the tip of a pencil. It is also home to the […]
Highlights from the field season 2012
I’ve spent most of the last two months sitting in a small wooden box in the middle of a grey seal colony on the east coast of England. It wasn’t […]
Science and the gender problem
Within academic science there has long been a gender bias favouring men over women. Male scientists are more likely to be hired than women despite equivalent qualifications, men get paid […]
A frog with teeth and the violation of Dollo’s law
In 1893 a Belgian palaeontologist by the name of Louis Dollo formulated his law of irreversibility which stated that evolution is not reversible. According to Dollo, structures that have been […]
Help prevent creationism spreading in the UK
You may have seen or heard in the news over the past year or so that three groups intending to teach creationism have gained government approval to open Free Schools, […]
