KILL 'EM ALL They buzz. They bite. And they have killed more people than cancer, war, or heart disease. Ever since there have been humans, mosquitoes have been biting us, and we’ve been trying to kill them. Oh, and we visit a mosquito factory in eastern Brazil. And after listening, read this, from Radiolab producer Andy Mills: what if we don't kill 'em all? Special thanks to reporter David Baker Protein Reinforcement and DNA Consequentialism Followup to: Evolutionary Psychology It takes hundreds of generations for a simple beneficial mutation to promote itself to universality in a gene pool. Thousands of generations, or even millions, to create complex interdependent machinery. That's some slow learning there. Let's say you're building a squirrel, and you want the squirrel to know locations for finding nuts. Individual nut trees don't last for the thousands of years required for natural selection. Protein computers and sensors can learn by looking, much faster than DNA can learn by mutation and selection. How the heck does a double-stranded molecule that fits inside a cell nucleus, come to embody truths that baffle a whole damn squirrel brain? Consider the high-falutin' abstract thinking that modern evolutionary theorists do in order to understand how adaptations increase inclusive genetic fitness. Yet natural selection exploits links between local actions and distant reproductive benefits. Because it takes too long.
Lazear vs Krugman CEA Chair Eddie Lazear in May 2006: While there is no doubt that some people have been left behind, and that those left behind are certainly a major concern for all of us, there is some good news in this picture. The good new is that most of the inequality reflects an increase in returns to “investing in skills” – workers completing more school, getting more training, and acquiring new capabilities. NY Times columnist Paul Krugman yesterday: There's a persistent myth, perpetuated by economists who should know better -- like Edward Lazear, the chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers -- that rising inequality in the United States is mainly a matter of a rising gap between those with a lot of education and those without. The recent consensus is that technical change favors more skilled workers, replaces tasks previously performed by the unskilled, and exacerbates inequality. Source: Microeconomics, by Paul Krugman and Robin Wells, page 512.
The Population Biology of Isle Royale Wolves and Moose: An Overview | The Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale 1. Five decades of wolf-moose dynamics The wolves and moose of Isle Royale have been studied for more than five decades. The most important events in the chronology have been essentially unpredictable. 2. Each symbol on this graph represents the density of moose (read from the horizontal axis) and the density of wolves (read from the vertical axis) for a particular year. Wolf and moose densities are the total number of wolves and moose on Isle Royale, divided by the size of Isle Royale, 544km2. This graph tells a great deal about how wolf and moose populations are interconnected. By contrast, if moose abundance was determined primarily by wolf predation, and if wolf abundance was a good indication of predation pressure, then wolf and moose abundance would be negatively related. This graph shows that wolf and moose abundances are neither positively nor negatively related. 3. The most remarkable observation is just how variable kill rate is. 4. 5. 6. So how is it on Isle Royale? 7. 8. 9.
pearsonschool.com: Miller and Levine Biology ©2010: A Biology Curriculum by Pearson Miller & Levine Biology Curriculum - High School The respected author team of Ken Miller and Joe Levine are back with a new edition of biology books to inspire students to interact with trusted and up-to-date biology content. The authors' unique storytelling style engages students in biology, with a greater focus on written and visual analogies. With My Pearson Training, you can learn from hundreds of tutorials and videos at your fingertips. Learn more about: myPearsonTraining Get an insiders' look at the new program with authors Ken Miller and Joe Levine, take a tour of the next generation of digital instruction. Features and Benefits Miller & Levine Biology has personalized options for every type of classroom. Teacher Support Untamed Science Videos Bringing a perfect blend of energy and scientific knowledge, the Untamed Science team bring concepts from the textbook into the wild!
On Inequality A student asks a broad question: I was wondering if you could offer your views on income inequality. Let me offer a few observations as broad as the question: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. WolfQuest Conway's Game of Life "Conway game" redirects here. For Conway's surreal number game theory, see surreal number. The Game of Life, also known simply as Life, is a cellular automaton devised by the British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970.[1] The "game" is a zero-player game, meaning that its evolution is determined by its initial state, requiring no further input. Rules[edit] The universe of the Game of Life is an infinite two-dimensional orthogonal grid of square cells, each of which is in one of two possible states, alive or dead. Any live cell with fewer than two live neighbours dies, as if caused by under-population.Any live cell with two or three live neighbours lives on to the next generation.Any live cell with more than three live neighbours dies, as if by overcrowding.Any dead cell with exactly three live neighbours becomes a live cell, as if by reproduction. The initial pattern constitutes the seed of the system. Origins[edit] Examples of patterns[edit] Gosper glider gun Self-replication[edit]
IamA Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist. : IAmA Biomes of the World - Biome Map Click on a biome on the above graph for more information, informative videos, and links to scientist profiles, travel information, lesson plans and species profiles for each region. We'd like to know where you're coming from. If you've used this site for a class project or browsing for fun, add yourself to our map and communicate with other "ecogeeks" 2012 vs. 1984: Young adults really do have it harder today All young adults who think they’re getting a raw deal in today’s economy, let me tell you about how it was back in my day. In 1984, my final undergraduate year of university, tuition cost more or less $1,000. I earned that much in a summer without breaking a sweat. When I went looking for a new car in 1986, the average cost was roughly half of what it is now. The average price of a house in Toronto back in 1984 was just over $96,000. I had it easier than today’s twentysomethings, and I have no problem saying so. This became clear as responses poured in to last week’s column tying the Quebec student protests to the financial challenges faced by people who are trying to make the jump from college and university into the work force. Some responses were heartfelt, like the one from a 78-year-old gentleman who said he grew up “in abject poverty on a farm” and worked to pay for his education. My sense is that’s what they’re trying to do. In Ontario, the minimum wage is $10.25. Back in my day?
Using the Carbon Cycle Interactive Game in the Classroom - Windows to the Universe Have students read the Windows to the Universe page entitled The Carbon Cycle. Introduction: Ask students to (based of the reading) list the places where carbon is found on Earth. As a class, brainstorm why carbon is important and why carbon is sometimes hazardous. Tell students that for this online interactive game, they are all playing the role of carbon atoms. They will travel through the carbon cycle. Students write a paragraph about their trip through the carbon cycle. Carbon is the 12th element in the periodic table. The carbon cycle is one of the biogeochemical cycles. The six locations along the online game board "map" (atmosphere, plants, soils, shallow ocean, deep ocean, and marine life) are called carbon reservoirs or carbon pools. In this interactive game, students assume the identify of carbon atoms that are released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned.
Infographic: Envisioning Emerging Technology for 2012 and Beyond What developments will the next 30 years hold in the fields of AI, biotech, robotics, computing, the internet, materials science and more besides? That’s the question Michell Zappa, technology strategist and founder of trend forecasting firm Envisioning Technology, asked himself – and here is his response: a striking, concise infographic which outlines a range of probable developments, and their likely significance for society. Synthetic blood, anyone? [Click image for hi-res version] Population Issues & Facts - Population Connection When Population Connection was founded as Zero Population Growth, or ZPG, in 1968, there were 3.5 billion people on the planet. Since then, our world population has doubled – with no end in sight. The United Nations projects that world population will reach 9.6 billion by 2050, and nearly 11 billion by 2100. Why does it matter? One in eight people is hungry. As America's largest grassroots population organization, we focus on the connections between population and three main issue areas: Click play below to watch our famous "dot" video, tracking world population growth since 1 AD.