At the Grocery The process is magical. Perfect red-cheeked apples line up in stylish rows beneath transparent domes.. Next to them lie delightfully bright yellow mangos. Each perfect form is unique, demonstrating their shy markings of orange, brick red and lavender whose beauty declares their nutritious freshness. You inspect each through the transparent plastic, looking […]
Lust In the Dust (10/21/13)
Must Sex Lead to Death? Never heard of the dasykaluta? The phascogale? Don’t be surprised. Small marsupials rarely get favorable media attention. Look at how we treat mice. But these otherwise insubstantial, arthropod ingesting (that includes roaches) rodents deserve our interest and perhaps our piteous respect. For they show the lengths evolution can go to […]
Multiple You (10/7/13)
One Person – Several Genomes You probably think you possess a single genome – one set of genes. Mom meets Dad, sperm penetrates egg, nine months later you appear. And your life is marked by a single set of genetic instructions that let you enjoy cartoons and ten food commercials every day, master calculus and […]
E-Cigarettes – The Way to Quit Smoking? (912/13)
Can E-Cigarettes Help Smokers Quit? Electronic cigarettes – now known as e-cigarettes – make many uneasy. Some think brilliant designs and candy tastes will make smoking so “cool” innumerable teenagers will plunk down their credit cards – and become hooked for life. Others think e-cigarettes might immediately decrease public harm by cutting the number of […]
Wild Type Humans Like Moving (9/5/13)
Walk on the Wild Side You have been part of a great biological experiment. You did not sign up for it. Yet it has changed the way you walk, the way you sleep, how you talk and socialize. Pretty much everything you do, in fact. In laboratories scientists make a major distinction between species born […]