Blog Review:Why Evolution is True

The blog reviewed here is ‘Why Evolution is True‘ by Dr Jerry Coyne and colleagues. 2009 is the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s publication of ‘On the Origin of Species’, a work which has had a profound impact on biology and related disciplines such as medicine and well beyond. The authors of this blog focus on evolution using examples from the natural world as well as covering debates in the field.

Appearance and Design

The background on the left one-third of the screen is a graded red and is demarcated from the beige two-thirds of the screen on the right-hand side by a grey line. The colours might be playing tricks on my eyes but the text appears to me to light brown in colour. The rich array of colours are joined by orange category tags, calendar highlights and miscellaneous other text throughout. I thought the colour scheme worked. There are several articles per page and at the time of reading this amounted to 10 on the home page. The blog is navigable through the calendar whereby the reader can locate archived articles, through hypertext links to popular posts and through category clouds. Articles are displayed in part and the reader must click on those of interest to reveal the full article.

Content

The archive extends back to January 2009. Here is a selection of some of the articles I found interesting

• The first post tells the reader that the book ‘Why Evolution is True’ by the author of the blog is available.
  In this post, Coyne discusses evidence from a study of human directed selection in other species
• Evolutionary biology and medicine
• The Great Oxidation Event
• Human emergence from Africa
• Natural selection in human populations
• Mention of an annotated ‘On the Origin of Species’
• A review of a book on evolution – ‘what the fossils say’ which Coyne recommends
• In this post, Coyne links to a fantastic resource which shows a model of history running from the big bang through to evolutionary events on earth
• In this post, Coyne discusses various aspects of cat purring including an ‘endogenous neurological oscillator’ which vibrates the larynx
• The possible role of neuroporins in speciation in drosophilia is discussed in this post
• Speculation about morality in animals and here and here
• Discussion of the origins of morality
• Chimps throwing stones at the zoo
• 1% not Chimpanzee
• Dolphins blowing bubbles
• Dolphins and jellyfish
• Dogs and dreaming
• The evolution of house cats
• Natural selection in guppies
  The poisonous primate  – the Slow Loris
• Controversial theory on cooking and human evolution
• Dancing cockatoos and parrots
• The genetic history of populations in Africa (also covered elsewhere)
• Darwinius fossil here, here and here
• Evolution of laughter
• Grasp reflex in infants
• Is Depression an Evolutionary Adaptation. Parts 1 and 2
• Ardipithecus Ramidus
• Octupus with a mobile home
• Otters holding hands

Conclusions

The authors are prolific and cover a vast range of interesting material from nature to support evolution and to show the reader the many wonders that exist in the natural world. The articles are typically several hundred words in length and use various approaches. For example they may include debates on controversial topics, reports on recent news stories or discussion of certain notable topics in evolutionary theory. This blog will appeal to those with an interest in the natural world, those in the related life sciences or people with an interest in evolution.

Conflict of Interest

None

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Disclaimer

The comments made here represent the opinions of the author and do not represent the profession or any body/organisation. The comments made here are not meant as a source of medical advice and those seeking medical advice are advised to consult with their own doctor. The author is not responsible for the contents of any external sites that are linked to in this blog.